Khachaturian: Spartacus - Suites Nos. 1- 3

The story of Spartacus and his slave revolt is well known, not least from the epic film that featured a wonderful score by Miklos Rosza. The tale offered many attractions to Soviet composers as well, not least because the slave revolt could be portrayed as a genuine uprising of oppressed workers against the decadent capitalist ruling elite. For this very, very long ballet, Khachaturian provided some of his most exciting (and loudest) music, along with some lyrical moments that are very beautiful. One of them, the famous "Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia" made it into the soundtrack of 2001: A Space Odyssey. This disc offers an effective, budget-priced overview of the complete score, which is not otherwise available. --David Hurwitz