garfield Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) **It's 1993!** The piece, "The Fire of Eternal Glory" (sic) is pure Shostakovich with the power and darkness that only Phantom could play him. The sweetness with which they treat the opening statement is enhanced by the visual of a Russian honorary court, complete with guard on the arm of the horns as they march into the great hall. The power they exude throughout the build to the end simply pulls you in to the determinant tempo, drives to the beat-3 cutoff that nearly sucks the air out of the stadum, and resolves to a full volume hold for a full four bars. God, it doesn't get any better than that. Useless, but interesting trivia: the name is actually "The Flame of Eternal Glory", written in 1960. It was written in honor of the city of Novorossiik, on the western Russian border on the Black Sea. The city, a seaport, was occupied by the Germans in 1942 but, because of the heroics of a small group of Russian sailors, held on until the Red army arrived and kept the Germans from capturing and using the seaport. It was named an official "Hero City" after the war. Shostakovich wrote the piece to honor the city, using a beginning he wrote years before in a contest to find a new Russian national anthem. Although several Philharmonics have performed the piece I think Phantom gave it the power and glory it deserved. I think Shostakovich would have loved to hear it. It's also interesting to see that Phantom's Russian dynasty lasted until 1994. (When you listen on FN listen to the crowd at the end of the opener! Fantastic!) Edited October 5, 2009 by garfield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomMoore Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 1994 was Claire de Lune (awesome, too!). I think you mean 1993. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 It is '93 Regiment, not '94. But yes, it is my favorite ballad ever. Second place goes to '06 Regiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 and 94 is possibly my third favorite ballad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 1994 was Claire de Lune (awesome, too!). I think you mean 1993. Yes, crap, I mean '93. I even wrote it down! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Yeah, 93 Phantom is my favorite ballad ever pretty easily....well, except for BK 99, anyway. A distance away from both would be 05 Cadets and 95 BD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 93 phantom is almost a great example of why we should still have G's... lol, but that is just one reason out of the many NOT reasons... PLEASE FOR GOD SAKE DON'T TURN THIS INTO A G Bb ARGUMENT... I really wish I saw 93 regiment live. I love that whole show, but the ballad is just soooo efin good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contrajedi8 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 00 SW or 05 Cadets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shostahoosier Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) 93 Regiment's ballad is probably my 2nd best....but only to their 94 ballad.....nothing has come close to Claire de Lune...and its been 15 years and counting.......... Edited October 6, 2009 by shostahoosier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldsmith1210 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 I'm a fan of 95 PR. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is classic. Nobody does a ballad like Regiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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