These popular, richly orchestrated potboilers need little introduction. The earliest (it’s op. 5) is the “musical picture” Sadko from 1867, when Rimsky-Korsakov was still in the Russian Navy. Not surprisingly, a nautical motif predominates in the orchestral swells that begin and end the piece. The composer reworked it in 1896 as a fairytale opera that’s still Rimsky-Korsakov’s most popular stage work in the former Soviet Union. If you don’t know the complete opera, I would avoid the so-so Gergiev recording and look for the old Melodiya set, conducted with greater verve and passion by Nikolai Golovanov. That decent mono CD set contains a stunning Guest Scene, where the old Bolshoi’s greatest male voices (tenor Ivan Kozlovsky, baritone Pavel Lisitsian, and bass Mark Reizen) simply sing the lights out. The Overture to May Night, the second of 15 operas, dates from 1880, while Russian Easter was composed in 1888, one year after Rimsky-Korsakov’s two most popular orchestral works, Capriccio espagnol and, of course, Scheherazade.

I suppose if these readings by Enrique Bátiz and the Mexico Philharmonic were rated by Olympic Medal standards, they would deserve one gold, one silver, and two bronzes. The gold would go to what I feel is now the finest Sadko available. Comparing it to my previous favorite (Ansermet/Suisse Romande on Decca), the Bátiz emerges as marginally better played, definitely better recorded, and far more expressively interpreted (there’s some beautiful phrasing here from the strings). I would award a silver medal to this fine May Night Overture, which is really eclipsed only by Constantin Silvestri’s brilliant rendition with the Philharmonia in a 10-disc Disky CD set called “Silvestri: The Collection.” That set also includes a superb Scheherazade with the Bournemouth Symphony and a dazzling Capriccio espagnol from the Vienna Philharmonic.

The competition is tougher in Capriccio espagnol and Russian Easter. Bátiz is slightly heavy and emphatic in both works, though the playing itself is excellent. The recorded sound is among the best I’ve heard (the CD booklet omits any recording dates, but I would guess they are quite recent). My long-time benchmark recordings for Capriccio espagnol, in addition to the aforementioned Silvestri, are the brilliant Kondrashin/RCA Victor Symphony (RCA/BMG) and the tremendously virtuosic mono Scherchen/Royal Philharmonic on Tahra 413/416, which also contains my all-time favorite Russian Easter.

Most of those alternatives are either hard to find or far more expensive than this midprice Bátiz offering. If you are looking for an excellent single-disc compilation of these showpieces in outstanding sound, this CD is a compelling bargain. Highly recommended.

FANFARE: Jeffrey J. Lipscomb