Search - Georgy Vasilevich Sviridov, Alexander Vedernikov :: Georgy Sviridov: Music for Chamber Orchestra; Time, forward!; It is snowing; The songs of hard times

Great music, better performances elsewhere

Wayne A. | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 09/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a stopgap, about the only way you can hear "Time Forward" with its extraordinary last movement--used by Guy Madden in his highly praised short flick "Heart of the World." That unique bit of music aside what you have here is essentially a Russian Carl Orff and take that in a really nice way. The music is simple, INSANELY Russian, yet intensely evocative and memorable. Sviridov is a household name back in the old country, that "Time Forward" bit was used to open the nightly news on TV for years, but he's largely unknown here. The sense is that here's a truly great 20th century Russian composer who slipped by us. I haven't heard much but everything I've encountered so far has been wonderful. Check out the RussianDVD site for more than you can get through Amazon. They have a kick-arse "Time Forward!" with a major conductor and it'll set your head on fire. I'm getting a growing sense that this guy is what all those commies wanted--a talented composer who could write evocative, unpretentious, and original works any average Ivan could get into. Yet, apparently he was no party bootlicker. One Russian web site touts him as a key to a revival of Russian culture."