Borodin: Symphonies 1 & 2, Etc

"With its wealth of striking and richly melodic themes and its original dramatic structure, Borodin's Second Symphony should by rights be one of the most popular of Russian symphonies... Ashkenazy's coupling is both apt and generous. If I regret that he did not include the unfinished Symphony No. 3 as well as No. 1... there is no doubt that the symphonic poem, In the Steppes of Central Asia, is a finer example of Borodin's genius, and is given a warmly atmospheric performance here.

If in the Symphony No. 1 Ashkenazy's performance is less high-powered than in No. 2, that reflects a rather less challengingly original work. None the less, its many delights come over richly, thanks not only to the quality of the RPO's playing but to the full-bodied recording. Though the three works were recorded in three different venues—respectively Watford Town Hall, Abbey Road and Walthamstow Assembly Rooms—the Decca engineers have produced sound consistently satisfying, full and brilliant." -- Edward Greenfield, Gramophone [8/1994]

MP3 320 · 154 MB