Vasily Kalinnikov was an impoverished Moscow composer who died at the turn of the century while still in his mid-thirties, though not before fashioning a modest but rewarding corpus of music. How to describe it? ‘Borodin without the tunes’ might seem a trifle uncharitable (both composers utilized similar folk-style melodic material), but it isn’t too wide of the mark. The most original stroke in this generous and representative programme occurs towards the end of Nymphs (second disc, track 8) where soft gong-sounds alternate with full tutti, representing “the threat which hangs omnipresent over our world of sunny grace”.
The Second Symphony is less well known than the First (a work that was programmed by Toscanini, Abendroth and Scherchen), although Mravinsky revived it with the Leningrad Philharmonic (a live recording from 1953 was released on Russian Disc) and Svetlanov followed suit with the USSR Symphony Orchestra. Some of the most appealing music is to be found in the latter half of the finale (try from 8'24''), though the swirling Allegro scherzando – a sort of fugitive “Polovtsian Dance” – recalls the carefree ebullience of Bizet’s Symphony in C. The programme pieces have their moments, too. The Cedar and the Palm blossoms handsomely for some Straussian climaxes (at 8'24'') and Bilina incorporates memorably romantic string writing with warming harp arpeggios (try from 5'39''), though it rather loses momentum thereafter. The pleasant Serenade for strings takes ten minutes to say nothing in particular; the 40-minute Suite in B minor features a delightfully off-beat Scherzo and a 19-minute Andante that doesn’t quite sustain its vast proportions, and there are two brief but charming Intermezzos that could happily serve as concert – or disc – ‘fillers’.
It goes almost without saying that Svetlanov and his players give their all, whether in the serviceable analogue sonics of 1968 or the more refined digital productions of 20 years later. Certainly they compare favourably with various Neeme Jarvi recordings that appeared on Chandos a few years ago. The earliest performance (of the Symphony) is the best played, though there is much piquant phrasing elsewhere.
Kalinnikov’s work is derivative but not plagiaristic (a comment that could equally apply to Svetlanov’s own music): individual pieces should make for as many happy encounters, though excessive familiarity will likely breed mild impatience.'