Product Description

Gliere's most successful orchestral work, the spectacular Symphony No.3, is heard on this recording in it's uncut version. Scored for a large orchestra including eight horns, two harps and celesta, it was inspired by the adventures of Il'ya Muromet's, the legendary warrior from the Middle Ages of Mother Russia.

Review

If, however, you combine the disc's stupendous performance quality, rafter-shaking sound and a brilliant and gloriously revisionist contribution to our understanding of classical repertoire, this Naxos disc recorded in Kleinhans Music Hall last May is absolutely on a level with Thomas' epochal Ruggles set...Listen to this magnificent disc and you will never again be moved to argue, merely, that the Buffalo Philharmonic is a world-class orchestra. What you have on this disc, giving a magnificent performance of one of the great and massive repertory rarities, is the work of a truly great world-class orchestra. --Jeff Simon, Buffalo News
The Glière Symphony No 3 has always been a piece that shimmered on my horizon--a cult piece, in a way, renowned as the composer's towering masterpiece but rarely played in concert. As long as a Mahler symphony and enormous in its instrumental requirements, it was a work that people spoke about reverently but almost never heard live. The recording was an adventure that changed our orchestra, strengthened us, and became an artistic benchmark for our musicians. This work is a cathedral in sound that unfolds in breathtaking swashes of color, poetry and monumental climaxes. --JoAnn Falletta
What we have here, then, is an excellent performance that is enhanced by its superb - and superbly balanced - sound-picture. Even without the attractive Naxos price, it would be among the best recommendations for a listener coming new to Gliere's mammoth score. --Musicweb International
10/10. This is an important recording for several reasons. First, it contains the finest version yet recorded of Glière's epic Third Symphony, "Il'ya Muromets". Second, it defines once and for all how the piece is supposed to go. --ClassicsToday