Reinhold Glière - Symphony No. 3 "Ilya Muromets"

Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (11 January 1875 [O.S. 30 December 1874] – 23 June 1956) was a Russian composer of German-Polish ancestry.

Symphony No. 3 in B minor "Ilya Muromets", Op. 42 (1908-11)
dedicated to Alexander Glazunov

This is a program symphony, which depicts the life of Kievan Rus' folk hero Ilya Muromets.

I. Wandering Pilgrims: Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor
Andante sostenuto – Allegro risoluto. Two pilgrims tell Ilya to become a bogatyr. The most powerful bogatyr, Svyatogor, bequeaths his strength to Ilya as he dies.

II. Solovei the Brigand
Andante. Ilya encounters Solovei the Brigand, a bandit whose whistle can kill. Ilya shoots him in the eye with an arrow and drags his body to the palace of Prince Vladimir.

III. The Palace of Prince Vladimir
Allegro. Vladimir the Great of Kiev holds a great feast, at which Ilya decapitates Solovei.

IV. The Feats of Valor and the Petrification of Ilya Muromets
Allegro tumultuoso – Tranquillo – Maestoso solemne – Andante sostenuto. Ilya defeats Batygha the Wicked and his army of pagans in a great battle. Ilya and his bogatyrs later encounter two heavenly warriors who multiply each time they are killed; pushed to retreat, Ilya and his men are transformed into stone.

BBC Philharmonic conducted by Sir Edward Downes

Chandos 9041

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