Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Symphony No. 3, Op. 32 (1886)

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (18 March [O.S. 6 March] 1844 – 21 June [O.S. 8 June] 1908) was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five. He was a master of orchestration. His best-known orchestral compositions—Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade—are staples of the classical music repertoire, along with suites and excerpts from some of his 15 operas. Scheherazade is an example of his frequent use of fairy tale and folk subjects.

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Symphony No.3 in C Major, Op. 32 (2nd version 1886)

1. Moderato assai—Allegro (0:00)
2. Scherzo. Vivo (14:30)
3. Andante (21:30)
4. Allegro con spirito.(29:57)

Russian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov

Description by Andrew Lindemann Malone [-]
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov became a professor of instrumentation and composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1871, after his Symphony No. 2 and tone poem Sadko brought him national renown. At this time, however, Rimsky-Korsakov was woefully ill-equipped to teach at a conservatory; as he wrote in his autobiography, he could not even harmonize a chorale properly. By 1873, however, he had mastered academic composition techniques to such a degree that he was able to complete his Symphony No. 3 in C major, a work which was derided after its premiere for its excessive reliance on counterpoint and preoccupation with structure. Fortunately, Rimsky-Korsakov's indefatigable work ethic led him to revise it substantially during a creative dry spell in 1886. He toned down the Western influences, shed some of the counterpoint in favor of more symphonic development, and tinkered with the orchestration, the result being a considerably improved composition A slow introduction opens the work, with a winding, almost pastoral, theme providing a foretaste of the music to come. The movement continues with a Moderato assai, which opens with a slashing, energetic theme in the strings, eventually yielding to a calmer, slower second theme on solo clarinet. After a leisurely development and a straightforward recapitulation, the coda suddenly slows down and slips into an eerie, almost funereal minor; even the soft major chords which end the movement seem haunted and tentative. The scherzo and trio which follow were actually composed in 1866 and 1870, respectively, before the rest of the symphony. The delicate, bright scoring and chirpy melodies of the scherzo are reminiscent of Tchaikovsky in ballet mode, while in the trio Rimsky-Korsakov indulges in what even for him is highly chromatic writing. A lush, vaguely Oriental theme dominates the Andante third movement, which swells to a gorgeous statement of the theme played on the strings alone, eventually leading into the Allegro con spirito finale. This finale is indeed spirited, as it opens with an ebullient theme which dominates the movement even after a second, more lyrical, theme is introduced. A suitably rousing coda brings the work to a close. Rimsky-Korsakov's Symphony No. 3 may not be as inspired as some of his other orchestral works, but it has its own charms and remains quite enjoyable.