At the conclusion of the century, there is a desire to capture historic moments for posterity. National Public Radio's "Milestones of the Millennium" series continues with RUSSIAN MUSIC & REVOLUTION 1890-1917, but the music chosen has little to do with the revolution or the political climate of the time. Instead, from the pastoral beauty of Mussorgsky's "Dawn on the Moskva River" and the optimistic voices of Borodin's "Polovtsian Dance no 2," these Russian compositions celebrate their nation's rich traditions and colorful past. A musical revolution soon followed on Russian soil. Composers found great joy in producing vigorous, technical pieces that clashed with traditional styles. Glazunov, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev created jarring works of great, dramatically different, beauty. Building upon the dramatic tradition of Tchaikovsky and his peers, this new generation added a 20th-century, industrial age sensibility. While not necessarily political in nature, the compositions reflected the world in which they were created. Culled from the Sony music libraries, the performances found in this collection are uniformly excellent. Digital remastering gives the album a coherent tone and balance.
