Search - Boston Pops, Fiedler :: Pops Caviar

A Rich Recording of Russian Favorites

Timothy Kearney | Hull, MA United States | 02/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"POPS CAVIAR is a collection of Russian music that includes works from the masters of the nineteenth century as well as some selections from the Soviet era. Many of these pieces are favorites of conductor Arthur Fiedler and delighted Pops audiences throughout his tenure. Fielder is not the only conductor who has recorded some of the better known works included in the collection. "Flight of the Bumblebee," "In the Steppes of Central Asia" and the "Polovtsian Dances" from PRINCE IGOR are among classical music's most recorded works and all the great conductors from that era seem to have these Russian masterworks in their recorded legacy. Khachaturian's music from GANYE and MASQUERADE has become familiar but when Fiedler recorded these works, they would have been relatively recent and displayed the way Fiedler not only enjoyed the music he performed but respected the intelligence of his audience who enjoyed old favorites but also appreciated contemporary music.



The CD cover is a reproduction of an actual Pops recording of the same name from the 1950's, which give sit a nostalgic feel, but it is remastered in a way that gives the Pops a more fulsome sound that sometimes lacked in the LP release.

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