César Cui : Three Scherzos for orchestra Op. 82 (1910)

Scherzo No. 1 in C major 00:00-04:45
Scherzo No. 2 in F major 04:45-12:35
Scherzo No. 3 in C minor 12:35-18:50
Performed by the Russian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Valeri Polyansky.

[@maxmerry8470]

Although Cui is perceived as the least important of the Mighty Five (or least committed to their aesthetic manifesto), what little I've heard of his output has been enjoyable, well-crafted and, arguably, reliably "safe". I like all three of these pieces but especially the third which has, to my ears, an appealingly lyrical, elegant flow. Nice upload. Thanks.

[@simonvaughan6017]

Now that's what I call damning with faint praise!

[@steveegallo3384]

@@simonvaughan6017 -- I wonder if that could really have been Prof. Merry's intention?

[@simonvaughan6017]

@@steveegallo3384 Oh, I'm sure it wasn't. I just meant that his sympathetic description of the music can't conceal its limitations.

[@steveegallo3384]

@@simonvaughan6017 -- Oh, really? So NOW you perceive "CONCEALED LIMITATIONS"? In my capacity as Prof. Merry's Gonzo Barrister & Solicitor, Inns of Court and Bailiff to The Chiltern Hundreds, I shall see that this mischief stains your escutcheon....and those of your ilk, your kith, kin, heirs, assigns, executors and fiduciaries....except that I'm too busy right now listening to music and sipping Merlot. Cheers from San Agustinillo, Oaxaca !

[@simonvaughan6017]

@@steveegallo3384 You probably want something a bit more red-blooded than Cui to go with that Merlot!

[@NoriWakameKonbu]

When I was a little kid, I somehow believed his name was kiwi 🥝

[@robertcohn8858]

This beautiful, rich, lighthearted music does not sound like something that would be played in a performance about a plague. But maybe that's the point. Thank you for posting.

[@simonvaughan6017]

The Three Scherzos and the opera A Feast in Time of Plague are unrelated. They just appear on the same disc.