Glière: Symphony No. 3 'Il'ya Muromets'

Listening to Gliere's monstrously long symphony is kind of like being on a binge. You know you're going to be overstuffed when it's over, but it's so yummy that you just don't care. This richly scored, opulent confection takes a couple of good themes and stretches them out over a very large canvas. Back in the old days of LP, the piece was usually played with large cuts, but truthfully this only makes the music less satisfying, because it comes across as incomplete and unbalanced. If you're going to do it at all, you might as well do it right. This recording really does, and at budget price, it's a bargain binge at that. --David Hurwitz