A clarifying response from JoAnn Falletta about her recording: "We played every single note."

Thanks to you, dear Sir, I've discovered the absolute hypnotic joy of this work late in my life. Today I ordered the 4 volumes of the score and am going to explore different recordings. I'm in love with this Symphony!!

The epithome of epic! It's like a movie but in music. My favorite recording is Farberman/Royal PO on Alto. Despite its length (around 90 minutes) it does make sense with its slow pacing (especially in the 1st movement), which doesn't mean it's not thrilling and monumental when needed. A lush, gorgeous, cinematic rendition. I can't get enough of it.

So great to have this! But I don't agree that it fails to deliver what it promises. I don't find it static, either. I love it, the whole journey. The recap. of all the themes at the moment of petrification is one of the most poignant I know.

Ilya Muromets has always been one of my all time favorite symphonies. I have every commercial recording, several Stokowski broadcast recordings, the 4 volume score and I've heard it in concert on four different occasions. All were complete, uncut performances. The best two were Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall and a truly spectacular performance, also at Carnegie Hall, from the end of October, 2001 with Charles Dutoit conducting the 106 piece Montreal Symphony. I sure wish that performance had been recorded!! Like David said, there are no good Russian performances at all and its a shame someone like Temirkanov or Jansons never recorded it. For years, my favorite recording was by Downes. Falletta's recording is just terrific. But the best recording in my opinion is a fairly recent one by Gabriel Feltz conducting the Belgrade Philharmonic on the Dreyer Gaido label. Clocking in in at 83 minutes, it's a complete, uncut performance. It does not drag on and on forever like Farberman's and the sound is just glorious. I'm sorry David, but I just cannot get excited over the Johanos recording. The sound is too weak and the orchestra sounds small in comparison to other recordings. Falletta is absolutely correct when she referred to it as a "cult classic." Those who truly love it can't get enough of it!

Just this morning, I was listening to this Symphony on the radio (but missed the announcer) and I had to check who was conducting, it sounded so wonderful. And lo and behold, Falleta, your top pick (and a great one it is!).

The Faletta recording is absolutely fantastic. It’s the first version I of Ilya Muromets I ever heard, only found out about the bizarre recording history later.

Dear Hurwitz, I wonder what is your opinion to the Harp Concerto by Gliere? I've known the name of the composer for more than 30 years, but I have never bothered to study his works. Now I have discovered his Harp Concerto and I find it most loveable and I have listened to various interpretations of it. But I would very much love to know what His Master (i.e. you) has to say about it. Many greetings from Denmark.

A truncated but very fine version is Ferenc Fricsay's from 1956 with the RIAS orchestra, in excellent mono sound

A sidenote: any fan of this work should search out the incredible Soviet Mosfilm production (1956), an amazing film version of the epic, produced on a lavish scale, and garish and bizarre as only an authentic Russian legend...brought to the screen by classic, old-world Russian film-makers... can be. Half of the time, you can't be certain of what you're seeing on the screen: actual location footage, painted backdrops, blue-screen matte paintings, detailed miniatures and models, real actors in creepy body-suits equipped with bellows, etc. It's just breath-takingly weird...with a very effective, Rimsky-ish orchestral score. See if you can find a DVD copy by the Ruscico company (incredible battle scenes, reportedly with 10,000 extras). The film was "acquired" and dubbed into English in 1960, and released as "The Sword and the Dragon". PS-- The finale of Gliere's Symphony is sometimes translated as "The Heroic Deeds and Stoning of Ilya Muromets. Yeah, baby.... LR

Thank you for reviewing recordings of one of my all time favorites! Oh, Gliere. This symphony is so bad it's great. Brilliant tone colors, expansive repetitive sections of nothing but the same melodies over and over again. It's a lesson in patience that never quite pays off in the way a Bruckner symphony would. But Gliere was no Bruckner, thankfully. I discovered this symphony through Ormandy's first recording for Columbia (1956). That still holds up today, if only for sentimental reasons (in fact, I think sentimentality is probably the only reason this symphony gets any attention these days). His 2nd recording for RCA (1971) is really good at 59 minutes. I came back to this symphony later through the Johanos disc and recently added the Faletta, both of which are fantastic. But I would also like to bring up Rakhlin. That old Melodiya recording sounds harsh and shrill on cd, but the original lps sound MUCH better and Rakhlin plays the bejeezus out of that score! He goes for broke. It's as fiery and atmospheric as you can make this symphony. For those of you who collect vinyl, Rakhlin is worth seeking out.

My favourite Gliere piece is the concerto for Horn - haunting music, wonderfully performed by Hermann Baumann.

Lucky me! I already have both the Falletta and the Johanos. I don't have to rush off and spend money this time.

Murometz is a color piece of the highest order. Formally, it's trash, but I absolutely love it!!! Cut or uncut, I love putting it on and laying back with a glass of red, sinking deep into the lush textures and Russian themes. It may be long and repetitive, but I just relax and let it play out. I love the Russian idiom and sound of the orchestras, so I haven't heard a truly BAD recording. Vive la difference!!!!

We have Downes, Botstein, and Faletta, and the excellence of the Faletta account blows me away.Committed, energetic, fabulously played; a real winner.

Love Ilya Muromets, as uncut and as slow as you can make it. If you're going to listen to a big, sprawling, illogical piece you're obviously up for an hour or so of wallowing. Farberman and Downes for me, they wallow perfectly. If precision and economy are what you're after, go listen to some of Stravinsky's neo-classical stuff or break out your Mozart and Haydn. When I'm good for nothing more than 60 minutes of lazing in a mudbath it's Ilya for me. Maybe Respighi's Sinfonia Drammatica for a marginal change of pace.

I can hear allusions to Parsifal in the early stages of the first movement. An enjoyable discovery .

The capacious "breathing space" and sonic opulence and clarity of virtuosity in the performance with Harold Farberman and the Royal Philharmonic make it my favorite recording of this saga of a symphony. I have a two-CD set on the old Univorn-Kanchana label, from about 32 years ago. Don't know if it's been reissued.

That’s what good criticism is all about- it makes you want to hear the music for yourself or read the book. I’d never listened to Gliere before so off I went to Spotify to get a taster and my initial impression is quite favourable although you can tell from the style that we will be going on a discursive and meandering journey. If in the right frame of mind, this could be a guilty indulgence. Thanks again for highlighting some interesting lesser known works...

One of my favorite works for a summer evening when the thunderstorms are raging. A good wine at hand helps. Some of the cut versions work really well, but I hate it when the great contrabassoon solo in the 2nd mvt is cut out - that's what ruins Ormandy's RCA recording. For the entire time in the CD era I kept hoping that Neeme Jarvi would but it on record -- and it's not too late!

I first heard the Gliere-3rd in one of Stokowski's recordings and was overwhelmed. Then, I got to know that Stokowski made sort of an arrangement, cutting and rescoring. I wanted eagerly to hear the complete thing. Well, long afterwards, I got the Downes-recording, and during I listened to it, I got more and more convinced that Stokowski knew what to do.

Have the Falletta blu-Ray. Big fan of Joanne.

A comment, if I may, on the truncated version(s) of Ilya Mourometz. Liner notes for the LP release of the Stokowski/Houston recording make the claim that “It was Mr. Stokowski who, with Gliere, edited the original to practicable concert length.” If true, might that suggest some degree of approval or, perhaps, second thoughts? At about 38 minutes, I believe that edition could have entered the basic repertoire. Thanks for noting that the Scherchen is presently not available singly.

Very useful review for a very problematical work.

Pity there isn't a live performance available on Y T

Listen to the opening of the second movement. I hear John Williams' Magic Music from Harry Potter. Just another composer he cribbed from. He's a master at it.

I really wanted to like Falletta's recording, but it just doesn't' sound "Russian" to me. I can't tell if it's her, or whether it's the Buffalo Phil, but I found the sound too "blended" and urbane for my taste. I miss the Russian earthiness, for lack of a better word. BTW, I had the same issue with her recordings of Bernstein's symphonies. Compared to Bernstein's own recordings, I felt hers muted some of the spikiness and inner texture of the instrumentation.

I'll readily admit that I know absolutely nothing about this symphony. My knowledge of Glière is limited to small-scale chamber pieces: nothing earth-shattering, to be sure, but certainly elegant and accomplished compositions, sporting a quite charming melodic invention. Maybe he wasn't really suited to tackle the large forms, who knows. Now I'm kinda intrigued by "Ilya Muromets", though. Falletta on Naxos looks particularly inviting, but I'm also curious about that Feltz recording on the obscure Dreyer Gaido label.

A truly dreadful piece. I just love it! Downes on Chandos for me.

In a way, I am not surprised about JoAnn Falletta. Rarely is she not excellent. Anyway, I sprung for this recording many months ago and think the disk is fabulous.

I so agree about the Concerto for Coloratura.

Gliere should have moved to Hollywood. He would have gotten a lot of work there. Like Miklos Rozsa, his music is tailor made for films.

If I want to listen with a magnifying glass, I take some Bruckner or Brahms. Glieres 3rd has become my got to Symphony for when I am sitting in a train and the weather is wet and cold. Or if I need some background mudic when I am alone.

I disagree vehemently regarding the close of the symphony. To begin with, I'm a great fan of B Minor - which here is literally as gloomy as hell! It's practically the second edition of the close of Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique" - which, after all, is one of the greatest miracles in all of musical history!

2nd symphony for me any time.

The problem is all the drama is front-loaded: the tempest of scales and thundering chords. The Stokowski highly cut one works well but must admit, i do more often than not, get enveloped in the atmosphere with the Downes, Chandos

Aye, I so agree regarding the concerto for coloratura soprano. I find the Soviet-era ballet music in the absence of dancers even more grueling. I love that the version to have is the one conducted by a guitarist.

I love the Johanos recording!!!! too bad the horn section misses so many notes in the fanfare theme when Ilya is riding his horse in the 2nd movement. sounds like they're trying to play while riding a horse too

True enough, it is lengthy. Fortunately I'm retired, so I have the luxury of setting aside enough time to listen to this work in its entirety, when I am so inclined (which is not very often). In my opinion, Gliere's orchestration skills help to keep the symphony from becoming tiresome, in spite of the repetition. I have no use for the semi-idiotic story line, and I try to forget about it while I listen. I agree that Madame Maestro Falletta's reading with the Buffalo Philharmonic is excellent.

"Good evening, KZfaq. You people are beautiful. I just flew in from the coast and, boy, my arms are tired! (ta-daaaah!)". Gliere has been your best straight man to date, David. But seriously, I'm going to buy myself a copy of the JoAnn Falletta. She and Naxos should put you on commission for this one. I'm sold. . . . And by the way, I found a used copy of a Mahler 8 that JoAnn Falletta from the end of her stint in Virginia. Let me tell you, it's shockingly good! Same story: she manages to keep Part II from sounding dragged out; yet, she's not rushing it either.

This could suite Leif Segerstam perfectly...

Alas....Kalmus is now kaput!!!!

I generally prefer Glière's small-scale works. I really feel his sense of form and proportion generally fits best with shorter pieces. Many people have already mentioned his colatura concerto, which is delightful. I can't get enough of his harp concerto either, an amazing work full of colourful harmonies and hauntingly beautiful melodies. And I recently brought to my cello cello teacher his amazing 12 album leaves for cello and piano, which greatly impressed him and are yet to be discovered as encores or as a very fine recital pieces that could stand on their own and work perfectly fine as an introduction to a classical sonata.

I’m listening to it uncut on the radio right now, conducted by Falletta. The orchestration is voluptuous and quite beautiful. But, good gravy, where the hell is it going? It’s been 40 minutes and still in the first movement.

A true case of musical Stockholm syndrome if ever there was one. And for me, it's also way inferior to Gliere's first two symphonies in spite (or because) of the pretentiousness.

Psst! Here's a secret: the best Gliere symphony is actually the 2nd. The 1st is forgettable, the 3rd is a bloated disaster (though I don't mind the first movement). The 2nd is succinct and memorable, and its style is classic 19th century Russian nationalism -- with a strong dash of Bruckner! There are four recordings, and only the Naxos one is to be avoided (poor playing and sound). Apart from this symphony, Gliere's best orchestral works are his concertos (horn, harp, coloratura).