And Melodiya recorded not only amazing Russian symphonies, etc that could be found nowhere else and the quality didn't matter to me, just to get to hear some of it, also they recorded music of Russian women composers long before the rest of the world. I listen to Taneyev Sym 2 often, the final movement usually has me out of my chair and waving my arms. I am currently listening to Alfven's symphonies, another excellent series with that Scandinavian je ne sais quoi. Especially like No. 3
I agree with every word of that, Jim. Alfvén is a composer very dear to my heart because the first piece of classical music I ever was entranced by was his
Midsommarvaka (Swedish Rhapsody no 1). My older sister, alas now gone to glory, used to play it on the wind-up gramophone, and she'd have to pick me up out of my baby carriage to dance me round the room because I bounced up and down to the rhythm so exuberantly, she was afraid I'd overturn the thing and do myself a damage. That's a tad short of 70 years ago now but I still remember it as if it were last week. Don't ask me to remember what I had for lunch today, though. :-[
