GREATEST HITS Song of India, Hymn to the Sun, Flight of the Bumblebee, Capriccio Espagnole: Fandango,

Scheherazade: The Young Prince and the Young Princess, and others

Leonard Bernstein Andre Kostelanetz Eugene Ormandy New York Philharmonic Columbia Symphony Philadelphia Orchestra

Produced by John McClure and Thomas Frost MS 7509

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV'S GREATEST HITS

Side 1

THE FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE (Arr.: Arthur Harris) (bmi—1.21)

THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA, EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor

THE YOUNG PRINCE AND THE YOUNG PRINCESS from "SCHEHERAZADE," Op. 35 (p.d.-h:12)

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC, LEONARD BERNSTEIN, Conductor; John Corigliano, Violin Solo

PROCESSION OF THE NOBLES from "MLADA" SUITE (p.d.-4:44)

THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA, EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor

HYMN TO THE SUN from "LE COQ DOR" (bmi-4.35)

THE COLUMBIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, ANDRE KOSTELANETZ, Conductor

Side 2

DANCE OF THE TUMBLERS from "THE SNOW MAIDEN" (p.d.-3:24)

THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA, EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor

SONG OF INDIA from "SADKO" (Arr.: Arthur Harris) (bmi—3:28)

THE COLUMBIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, ANDRE KOSTELANETZ, Conductor

THE SEA AND SINBAD'S SHIP from "SCHEHERAZADE," Op. 35 (p.d.-h:04)

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC, LEONARD BERNSTEIN, Conductor; John Corigliano, Violin Solo

CANTO GITANO AND FANDANGO ASTURIANO from "CAPRICCIO ESPAGNOL," Op. 34 (PD-5 53)

THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA, EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor

In his introduction to Rimsky-Korsakov's autobiography,

"My Musical Life," the noted American author and critic

Carl Van Vechten described the great Russian composer

as "an adept at arranging instruments in subtle juxtaposi¬

tion, a skilled workman at setting folk-jewels in operatic

platinum, an artist without a peer in spreading nervous

shots of color through his orchestration. . .

It is precisely because of these "shots of color" that the

music of Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-

1908) has survived so successfully in the overcrowded

19th-century repertory of today's symphony orchestras.

Any work by tfiis Russian master is a virtual rainbow of

sonic splendor—strong, radiant colors, as brilliantly ex¬

otic as the Slavic culture that inspired so many of them.

For Rimsky-Korsakov was, indeed, a skilled workman

at setting folk-jewels in platinum. As a leader of the Na¬

tionalist movement, he helped turn music away from

German Romanticism toward the rich lore of the folk

idioms of his own beloved country. With Mily Balakirev,

Alexander Borodin, Cesar Cui and Modest Mussorgsky,

he formed the "Russian Five" to create a new music that

enriched the musical life of the Western world.

A fellow countryman, the great Peter Ilyich Tchaikov¬

sky, expressed his opinion of the "Five" in a letter of

2877: "All the new St. Petersburg composers are very

talented, but they are all permeated with horrible pre¬

sumptuousness and wholly amateurish conviction of

superiority to all other musicians in the universe. The

sole exception is Rimsky-Korsakov."

Tchaikovsky, who was then considered to be outside

the mainstream of "Russian" music, continued to admire

the works of Rimsky-Korsakov, for in 1887 he wrote to

him: "Your Spanish Capriccio is a colossal masterpiece

of instrumentation, and you may regard yourself as the

greatest master of the present day." And again: "I am a

mere artisan in music, but you will be an artist in the

fullest sense of the word."

Although Rimsky-Korsakov wrote some fifteen operas,

most of them based upon Slavic or Oriental folk elements,

only "Le Coq d'or" continues to hold the stage outside of

Russia. And "Scheherazade" and "Capriccio Espagnol," in

addition to their unfading appeal to concert audiences,

have served as the basis for brilliant ballets. But any work

by this great composer contains moments of unparalleled

beauty that reveal not only exquisite craftsmanship but

also the distinctive musical personality that made Rim¬

sky-Korsakov an artist in the fullest sense of the word.

Library of Congress catalog card number 78-750048 applies to MS 7509.

Other Greatest Hits albums:

GREATEST HITS von Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring/A Mighty Fortress

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and more

ORMANDY PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA E. Power BIGGS Pablo CASALS

Walter Carlos with Beniamin

(Switched-On Bach)

STRAUSS* GREATEST HITS

Blue Danube Waltz, Pizzicato Polka, Tales From the Vienna Woods,

and more ORMANDY

PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA

MS 7501

Tchaikovsky's GREATEST HITS Voi.i

1812 Overture, Waltz of the Flowers, Andante Cantabile, and more

BERNSTEIN ORMANDY NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA

PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

MS 7502 MS 7503

CHOPIN’S GREATEST HITS:

Minute Waltz/Military Polonaise Fantaisie Impromptu and others

Eugene Ormandy Andre Kostelanetz Philadelphia New York Orchestra Philharmonic

Philippe Entremont

MS 7506

MOZART’S GREATEST HITS

including the theme from “Elvira Madigan, Don Giovanni Minuet, Rondo Alla Turca, Marriage of Figaro Overture,

and others

MS 7507

COLUMBIA STEREO RECORDS CAN BE PLAYED ON TODAY'S MONO RECORD PLAYERS WITH EXCELLENT RESULTS. THEY WILL LAST AS LONG AS

MONO RECORDS PLAYED ON THE SAME EQUIPMENT, YET WILL REVEAL FULL STEREO SOUND WHEN PLAYED ON STEREO RECORD FLAYERS.

Cover art: Milton Glaser/Manufactured by Columbia Records/CBS, Inc./51 W. 52 Street, New York, N.Y./® "Columbia," j«g "Masterworks," Marcas Reg. Printed in U.S.A.