Miaskovsky's twenty-first was for a long time the one symphony which kept his name alive in the West. Originally a 1940 Chicago Symphony commission (the orchestra had played several of his symphonies in the 1920s and 1930s) its tunefulness and concision helped it to win and keep a place in the affections of many listeners. The single 20-minute movement is in a well-behaved sonata form, framed by its introductory material. The subtitle 'Fantasy' is rather a misnomer; nor is there any conspicuous sign of the times in which it was composed. But the themes are attractive in their friendly, neo-romantic-Waltonian way, and for the most part they are capable of standing up to the extensive repetition to which they are subjected—altogether an audience-friendly and rewarding piece.
Kabalevsky's Second is no less indebted to the Rimsky-Korsakov academic line of symphonism—Russian romantic but without the emotional pressure. It is the kind of symphony which makes you want to file an examiner's report—a very laudatory report, mind you, but one in which admiration for craftsmanship is the abiding impression. In short this is, as later Soviet critics held (but for different reasons), a thoroughly formalistic work, and thoroughly enjoyable as such.
These Unicorn-Kanchana recordings were always much better than run-throughs, and their reissue is a welcome one, the more so since there is currently no alternative version of the Miaskovsky available. There is much sensitive phrasing from the New Philharmonia in this work, and the outer movements of the Kabalevsky go at a fine lick while the hushed conclusion of his slow movement is beautifully handled. The only signs of short acquaintance are some scrabbly passages in the violins, which are also a drawback in the National Philharmonic Orchestra's playing of the Palace Ball movement in the Shostakovich Hamlet Suite. But never mind. This too is an idiomatic performance in its gritty determination, and rival versions certainly show no superior understanding of this bleak score.
The recordings still sound first-rate, and all in all this is an extremely worthwhile issue.'