Updates | Contact | Cairo Opera House | Links
| |
Home | Composers Index
| Musical Epochs
| Musical Forms Updates | Contact | Cairo Opera House | Links |
Not surprisingly, even the revised version of this symphony is far removed from Rimsky-Korsakov's most characteristic style; however, one can still hear in it evidence of the composer to come. A brass-heavy Largo introduction leads into an equally brass-heavy Allegro first movement, whose first theme is based on a defiant Russian tune. The second movement also makes use of a Russian theme -- this one a languid, wistful folk song provided by Balakirev -- which makes its way through a series of felicitously scored variations. The Scherzo provides an effective rhythmic contrast, while the ebullient finale perhaps sounds closest to the mature Rimsky-Korsakov, with characterful melodies and much attention to orchestral details. While there is more promise than fulfillment in this symphony, it makes pleasing if undemanding listening nonetheless, and further provides a fascinating index for the astonishingly quick development of the composer's prodigious musical skills.