As early as 1882, audiences acclaimed the premiere of the first symphony by Alexander Glazunov, who was just 16 years old. The Niederrheinische Sinfoniker, under the baton of their principal conductor Mihkel Kutson, now present an extremely attractive selection from the early composer's extensive oeuvre, in which the folk-typical national Russian elements of the "Mighty Little Group" combine most advantageously with Tchaikovsky's Central European-influenced tonal language.
Glazunov calls his 7th Symphony "Pastoral", and the parallel to Beethoven - especially in the bucolic opening movement - is unmistakable. The still young man has mastered his compositional tools, acquired from Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov, to perfection.
Glazunov's Stenka Razin also appears, with The Poeme lyrique and the Carneval Overture rounding off a programme that is not only convincing in terms of content but is also captured in three-dimensional sound and presented in the best Super Audio CD quality.
