Rimsky-Korsakov Edition

What plays is great, but the set has manufacturing problems. Just looking at the problem disks tells why - the outer part of the base material is discolored (i.e. impure or something), and that is proportionally where the problem starts (usually outer 1/4 to 1/3, a few were 1/2). About half the disks were a problem. I bought several editions before I got around to ripping this one (i.e. was busy with items like Bach), and haven't decided what to do (contact the mfr). Such a shame, because I really wanted to enjoy Rimsky-Korsakov beyond the 2 or 3 CDs I have as individual disks (ex . Capriccio espagnol & Shéhérazade)

First of all: I was extremely disappointed/annoyed when I found out that this collection didn't include Rhapsody Espagnol OR the Russian Easter Festival Overture. Both of these works are indispensable in any Rimsky-Korsakov collection, and it's a shame they were not included. Also wish the Trombone Concerto, Mlada, and his piano works were included, but they weren't. This is why it lost a star.However, this edition is a great deal for the amount of music you are getting. The interpretations are all wonderful (the only slight annoyance was the Richter Piano Concerto, whose interpretation was excellent, but recording quality was obviously low; they could have included a more modern recording), and overall it includes a lot of Rimsky-Korsakov's music for a good price.It's strange how much of Rimsky-Korsakov's music they left out, however this does fill a lot of the holes of Rimsky-Korsakov you may have in your library for a good price.

I purchased this set mainly to plug a gap in my CD collection, that gap being Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's complete songs. I also wanted to acquire the operas included in this set to act as alternates to the Gergiev recordings I own on Philips (now on Decca), which are a mixed bag. So far, I'm happy with the operas I've heard.I have to say that I wonder what market Brilliant is going after with this set. A seasoned collector like myself will have their own reasons for purchasing this set, of course. But what about the fledgling collector who is looking to get a big chunk of NRK covered by making a single purchase? Well, he gets most of the operas and the complete songs, along with the symphonies and a number of orchestral and chamber works, which is good.But why include TWO recordings of NRK's most-played piece - Scheherazade - while including no recordings of NRK's #2- & #3-played orchestral pieces, Capriccio espagñol and Russian Easter Festival Overture? The omission of these two pieces is a MAJOR omission, and one has to wonder who at Brilliant was in charge of selecting the repertoire for this issue. It's a little like being asked to put together a Beethoven edition and failing to include the 5th Symphony and the "Emperor" Concerto.As far as those two Scheherazades go, the newer recording included is Tjeknavorian's early digital effort for ASV, a recording that has always struck me as amateurish and inept (and I say that as a person who generally likes Tjeknavorian's recordings). The other Scheherazade fares better, but why not just license in ONE GREAT recording of the piece and leave it at that? Brilliant has licensed from EMI on occasion (their Richard Strauss Collection), so why not include Beecham's famous recording?The set also includes 2 recordings of Symphony 3 but not a note from his opera/ballet "Mlada," whose "Procession of the Nobles" is probably NRK's 4th-best-known piece.I was pleased with the Brilliant Rachmaninoff and Richard Strauss editions, and that led me to take a chance on this set, which turns out to be not only a mixed bag, but a bag missing more than a few of the beans one expected to find in said bag.

For my son-in-law. He made a comment that music had no depth anymore, so I got him this. He loves it.

This item may have good music on it, but the manufacturing was so bad that I was completely unable to read the music into my computer except for the first 1/3 of each disc that I tried. Actually, I gave up after the first six discs out of 25, so I have no idea how bad the rest might be. A complete waste of quite a bit of money.

This is an exciting and generous anthology, an undoubted bargain. But one with a few disappointing performances amongst the gold, and with some misleading information.The set describes certain discs as "historical recordings", while other, equally historic performances have no such label put on them. It's confusing as many recordings are modern digital (or good stereo) recordings, but some are, frankly, quite rough and of strictly historical interest. Then there are curious duplications: two Scheherazades (neither an ideal performance) and why include the overture to The Tsar's Bride when elsewhere a complete recording of the whole opera is featured? This is not to say this is a bad set. It is full of wonderful things. But some clarification is helpful.The modern stereo recordings include the Three symphonies, Serbian Fantasy, Overture on Russian themes, Skazka and Tsar's Bride Overture well performed by the LSO/Butt in digital sound; Scheherazade, Sadko and opera suites rather less well performed by the Armenian Philharmonic/Tjeknavorian, but also digitally recorded; Pan Voyevode suite under Svetlanov; The complete songs, variably sung but interesting none the less, and four rare cantatas (the one based on Homer is a real gem) also digitally recorded, and several complete operas: The Golden Cockeral (well performed under Manulov), Tsar's Bride (reasonably good under Chistiakov), Vera Sheloga (old Angelov recording), Mozart & Salieri (Rozhdestvensky with Nesterenko), May Night (less good, with Chistiakov) and Angelov's disappointing Snow Maiden - which is extraordinarily dull for such a lovely opera (the Fedoseyev set is the one to find!).Then there are older recordings: Golovanov's Scheherazade, Rozhdestvensky's third sypmphony, his mother's recording of Fevroniya in the old Soviet Kitezh (a staggering work in a colossal performance, including Ivan Petrov, although Rozhdestvenskaya is a trifle mature for Fevronia). The suite from Kitezh (under Mravinsky in very old sound); Richter in the Piano Concerto. And a lovely trio and quintet, the former being especially rare.No Russian Easter or Spanish Caprice, but this set gives a proper focus on Rimsky's operatic work, and quite rightly; despite his orchestral panache, he considered himself an operatic composer. And it is good to have a broad selection of his stage works alongside his songs.So this is a useful, interesting, affordable set, although one needs to pick a choose and supplement a few recordings perhaps. The discs are in card sleeves (with casts and conductors listed) and there is a good essay by David Nice. No librettos or songwords though - naturally enough at this price (although more notes are accessible online).Lastly, for such a colourful composer, it does seem a shame the set was not packaged more attractively! A fabulous set design by Korovin or Bakst would have been just the thing...

Brilliant Classics puts reissues from several labels together into a sensibly-price box. While there's some real gems in some of their boxes, these composer-oriented productions tend to offer good to very good, but perhaps not great, versions of pieces. Also, while some customers assume these are complete repertoire collections, they are not.The Rimsky-Korsakov box is a good example: there's a lot of music here, but certainly not a complete set. The performers in this collection will not be considered "name-brand" for most listeners: there's a lot of relatively unknown orchestras and conductors here. Is that a bad thing? No: there's nothing second rate about the playing or performances, but it's also not earth-shattering stuff here. Pieces like the ever-popular Scheherazade are good, but not great. For me, the real value in this box is some of the pieces I didn't have in my LP and CD collections, plus the historical recordings on the last CD (there's 15 CDs total). The included booklet is brief, but not bad.Overall, a good collection of Rimsky-Korsakov music, but more for those looking for a bargain or to flesh out a collection than a sine qua non of Rimsky-Korsakov's works. Good value, no question, and some good music.