In a previous review of recordings on the Naxos label of all the Symphonies by Ukrainian composer Boris Lyatoshynsky (1895-1968), I believe my enthusiasm and appreciation for this composer's highly dramatic and expertly orchestrated music was more than obvious. I had pointed out that his style and sound was an amalgamation of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Granville Bantock and Reinhold Glière. Upon listening to this new recording I noticed that I should have included Ottorino Respighi in that list, as a segment of the opening movement of Lyatoshynsky's Symphony No. 3 in B minor, Op. 50 brings to mind the 'Pines Near a Catacomb' movement from Respighi's famous 'Pines of Rome'. The aforementioned composers were all great orchestrators, and adept at evoking strong and vivid imagery within their music, all characteristics highly present in Lyatoshynsky's own music.

This new recording on the Chandos label, featuring the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Kirill Karabits, is the second volume in a series titled 'Voices from the East', featuring lesser-known composers from former Soviet Union countries. The first in the series was devoted to the music of Kara Karayev, a very impressive choice to launch this captivating new cycle of recordings. The booklet notes state that "Boris Lyatoshynsky taught orchestration at the Moscow Conservatory, and that Ivan Karabits (the conductor's father) was one of his students." This adds a personal and emotional connection to the music that I'm sure must have influenced Kirill Karabits' deeply expressive account. He projects really well the violent and destructive elements that come up in great swells of emotion during the first movement, and even better, how he shakes you to the core at the climactic burst of heart-wrenching sadness in the slow movement, a movement masterfully built around a touching and truly doleful melody, that seems to rise out from the oppressive weight of tyranny. Lyatoshynsky had been forced by the communist regime at the time to rewrite the final movement (which was considered subversive at the time) if the symphony was ever to be performed in public. This new recording includes the original final movement, as intended by the composer. A movement that leads to a glorious conclusion with heavy brass fanfares and tolling bells, clearing the heavens from the opening movement's clouds of war.

Grazhyna, Op. 58, the second work on this CD, is a tone poem of sorts, depicting the heroic efforts of a "mythical Lithuanian noblewoman in the face of the invading forces of the Order of the Teutonic Knights", which rises to Wagnerian levels of intense dramatic effect held aloft by masterful orchestration. This is definitely as series of recordings worth following.