The opera "Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin, from which the Polovtsian dances originate, is based on themes from a 12th-century epic that depicts the battle between Russian princely houses and their invaders, the Polovtsians, in the Middle Ages. Prince Igor, who goes into battle against the Polovtsians who invaded his country, is captured. Kontschak, her chan, has the dances performed for him to distract the prince from his melancholy in captivity. The libretto for the opera was originally designed by the critic Stassow, but the text was written by Borodin himself. He added the dances to the second act of the opera, the first "Polovtsian Act". The composer's intention was to confront two completely opposing cultures in this opera.

In the Overture "Russian Easter", composed in 1888, Rimsky-Korssakoff used melodies from the Orthodox liturgy to capture the atmosphere of the Russian Easter - a Christian celebration as well as a festival to welcome the returning sun. It is characteristic of the composer, who was not Christian in his own right, that he nevertheless felt strongly attracted by the aesthetic and historical charm of the Russian Orthodox Church. A cadenza of the solo violin surprises in a work that is otherwise dominated by brass (trombone imitating the traditional, sonorous vocals of the Russian deacon); The subtle color of bell-like sounds, performed by triangle, cimbalom and bass drum as well as orchestral bells, is also amazing. The melodic familiarity of much of Borodin and Mussorgsky emphasizes the common origin more clearly than any other mutual musical bond. Like "Scheherazade" and "Capricio espagnol", the Overture "Russian Easter" is basically a study to evaluate the timbres in creating atmosphere. This music is more likely to show the reaction of an outside observer of the liturgical celebration than that of a participating believer.

Designed 1866. Instrumentation begun on June 12, 1867; the work ends on the evening of St. John's Day on June 23, 1867 - so the first score of Modest Mussorgsky notes the stages of the creation of the work "A Night on the Bald Mountain". It was sharply criticized; Mussorgsky nevertheless used many parts of this music in the opera "Milada", a ballet opera (1872) created in collaboration with Rimsky-Korssakoff, Borodin and Cui. In the scene for the second and third act of Musorgsky come, and for the opera "The Fair of Sorochinty" (1874-1880). After Mussorgsky's death Rimsky-Korssakoff worked on this first version very profoundly; the new version was premiered in 1886 in Petersburg. A first suggestion for the topic "One night on the Bald Mountain" - may have come from Liszt's "Danse macabre". The program to Mussorgsky's music is the description of a witches' Sabbath. He pursued the idea of ​​capturing in his composition all the exciting scenery, the gathering of the witches on the evening of St. John's Day, the obscene glorification of their master, Satan, and the subsequent witches' Sabbath, which ends with the first rays of the rising sun.

In 1887 Rimsky-Korssakoff interrupted his work on the termination and instrumentation of Borodin's "Prince Igor" and wrote one of his most brilliant compositions, the "Capriccio espagnol". It is based on the design of a "Fantasy on Spanish Themes" for violin and orchestra, so that explains the meaning, which is the part of the solo violin. At a later stage, he had thought of writing a Spanish folklore inspired instrumentation study (theme with variations). Rimsky-Korssakoff's five-movement composition reflects not so much the typical Spain as the one of the tourist, but for the lack of folkloric authenticity the piece makes up for it with a lot of charm and verve.

Page 1 
Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) 
Polovtsian dances from the opera "Prince Igor" 13:08 
(Orchestration Nikolai Rimsky-Korssakoff / Alexander Glazunov) 

Nikolai Rimsky-Korssakoff (1844-1908) 
Overture "Russian Easter" op.36 14: 08 
on Themes of the Russian Church for Large Orchestra 

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Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) 
A Night on the Bald Mountains op.posth. 10:29 
Concert Fantasy for large orchestra 
(Orchestration Nikolai Rimsky-Korssakoff) 

Nikolai Rimsky-Korssakoff 
Capriccio espagnol op. 34 for large orchestra 16:32 
I. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso 
II. Variazioni: Andante con moto 
III. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso
IV. Scena e Canto gitano: Allegretto 
V. Fandango asturiano 

Recording: Wolfgang Stengel 
Tonmeister: Klaus Scheibe 
Production: Günther Breest