The title of this disc is somewhat misleading, as there is very little music on it originally composed by Shostakovich. The Overture (Entr’Acte) to Poor Columbus was written by Shostakovich at the behest of Soviet officials to add the appropriate political “spin” to Ervin Dressel’s opera. It’s in the chaotic style of the Russian master’s other theater works of the period, notably The Nose and The Bolt. Cut from the same stylistic cloth are the Two Preludes of 1920, orchestrated by Alfred Schnittke to sound nearly as if written by Shostakovich himself.

Grechaninov was one of the many composers who did not like the takeover of power by the Bolsheviks in Russia. He seized the first opportunity to leave with both hands and took refuge in Paris. Just before the Second World War, in 1939, he chose New York as his permanent residence. Grechaninov wrote his first opera "Dobrinya Nikitich", in which the famous Shalyapin played the title role, under the inspiring leadership of his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov. As a convinced Russian Orthodox believer, he also wrote many religious works. "Liturgia domestica" from 1917 is based on the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (1856-1915) is an exceptional figure in 19th-century Russian music. He had nothing in common with the Russian National School. Taneyev's abstract approach to composing was in stark contrast to the outbursts of emotion that we encounter in many of his contemporaries. People tend to call him the Russian Brahms, were it not for Taneyev's disapproval of his music. Taneyev was a composition student of Tchaikovsky and, as a pianist, provided the premieres of Tchaikovsky's works for piano and orchestra. A close friendship developed between the two, which would last until Tchaikovsky's death, despite the sincerity with which Taneyev was one of the few in the Tchaikovsky area to dare to criticize his work.

Polyansky and the Russian State Symphony have done Taneyev a superb service with these thoroughly prepared, expertly recorded performances. The music itself may be too firmly tied to academic apron-strings to be viable in the concert hall, and the composer’s verdict in not releasing them was surely the right one. But these are still need-to-know pieces for anyone interested in the Russian symphonic repertoire.

This is a striking, and very well-recorded pair of performances, well worth the attention of lovers of Russian music who have not yet encountered the works.

The setting of 13 sacred musical texts is natural territory for Grechaninov, a member of the so-called 'new Russian choral school’ that included Sergey Rachmaninov and Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov. They were all associated with the Moscow Synodal School of Church Music and its Synodal Choir.

Polyansky brings plenty of energy and excitement to the faster music…with their refined brass, nicely expressive solo winds, and resplendent strings, Polyansky’s Russian State Symphony is by far the best orchestra to essay this music so far.

Prokofiev's score for Ivan the Terrible is some of the best film music ever written, fusing the composer's melodic gifts, his salty version of high-romantic orchestration, his love of grand church chants and thrilling marches. Despite the lack of Eisenstein's visuals, this powerful recording captures much of the film's epic grandeur, with Polyansky drawing some massive climaxes and breathtaking moments of intimacy from his forces.

A performance like this makes me wonder why it isn’t (the Mass) performed more often… this mass is a treasury of beautiful sounds… I can’t imagine better readings than the ones here.

Grechaninov’s long life (1864-1956) covered much, from birth in Moscow and training with Rimsky-Korsakov to exile when he was already old, and death in New York. His quiet Russian lyricism never left him, and his idiom did not range as wide as his experience. The Missa festiva is one of several attempts at reconciling Eastern and Western traditions, and to this Orthodox composer’s surprise it won a prize in 1937 for a setting of the Catholic liturgy. As in his subsequent Missa oecumenica, he tries to bring together different styles, making use of Gregorian-influenced melodies but avoiding the use of polyphony in favour of a more chordal, Russian manner; however, there is an important part for the organ. The most successful movements are the closing “Benedictus” and Agnus Dei, where his essential gentleness finds touching expression.

Chandos presents the premiere recording of the one-act opera 'A Feast in Time of Plague', Three Scherzos, Op.82 and three songs for solo voice and orchestra. César Cui is the least-known member of the group of five Russian nationalist composers (with Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky and Borodin) who together became known as 'The Mighty Handful'. He was considered to be the most dramatic of these composers. His music is highly tuneful and approachable, full of the colour we expect from the Russian romantic tradition.

Polyansky continues to record some great off the beaten track repertoire for Chandos with this latest version of Arensky's First Symphony. The disc also includes a number of rarities that are making it onto disc as first recordings.
I don't recall that Svetlanov's thrilling Melodiya version of this work was ever issued on CD so I believe this has the field to itself, at least for the moment. Polyansky directs with a firm hand and his knowledge of the score is palpably evident in the beautiful First movement with its quirky 'Allegro patetico' tempo.

Chandos’s previous Prokofiev series, recorded in the 80s with Neëme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, is still probably the most recommendable complete cycle available. Chandos now seem to feel the need to start again, the reason possibly being that they are now using ‘authentically’ all-Russian forces. Whatever the company’s motivation (or if indeed it is to be a complete cycle), the results are impressively powerful, and the coupling stimulating and generous.