Vassily Sinaisky - Glinka: Orchestral Works (2000)

This is a more comprehensive survey than that available on ASV with the Armenian Philharmonic under Loris Tjeknavorian. Both conductors include the two 'Spanish Overtures', the Valse-fantaisie and Kamarinskaya in closely matched performances. Sinaisky is rather faster and brighter in the first 'Spanish Overture', Capriccio on the jota aragonesa, and in the second, Souvenir d'une nuit d'été, he reflects more subtly the French grace that also lies within the music.

Both conductors give good, vivid performances of the Valse-fantaisie and Kamarinskaya, with recordings that do justice to Glinka's brilliant orchestration. Thereafter the repertoire parts company. While Tjeknavorian gives the rest of his record up to a suite of six pieces from A Lifefor the Tsar, Sinaisky prefers Ruslan and Lyudmila, with a lively performance of the overture and then the Act 3 dances and the dwarf Chernomor's grotesque little march. This gives him room for the early Overture in D minor, which doesn't often feature on records, and for the Symphony on Two Russian Themes. The work survives in only a single movement, but fascinatingly anticipates Kamarinskaya. For a highly enjoyable introduction to Glinka's orchestral music, indeed to his whole original way of thinking, this Chandos disc is the one to go for. — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010