Janis Ivanovs

Started by schweitzeralan, April 17, 2009, 09:19:40 AM

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Roy Bland

Excellent disc and package,particularly lyrical playing of violin concerto
http://veikalsupe.lv/cd-1?product_id=500

vandermolen

We really need a CD of the excellent 11th Symphony.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

calyptorhynchus

I was listening to some Ivanovs today and I came across some passages that sounded very much like brass band music (in a good way) and then I remembered I had heard similar passages in music by some other Latvian C20 composers.

Does anyone know if brass bands are a big thing in Latvia?
'Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth.' Robert Burton

Symphonic Addict

Very punctual to the anniversary, aren't you?  ;)
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

calyptorhynchus

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on January 13, 2022, 02:50:11 PM
Very punctual to the anniversary, aren't you?  ;)

I had no idea, it was just a coincidence!
'Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth.' Robert Burton

kyjo

Any recommendations for this composer? A few weeks ago I listened to his Symphony no. 5 from this recording:




....and was singularly unimpressed. To me, it just seemed like a string of unmemorable ideas with little or no relationship to each other, not convincingly developed. I had to turn it off halfway through the slow movement. Maybe there are better works in his oeuvre? He seems like a composer I'd enjoy, but my hopes aren't high after my encounter with the 5th Symphony....
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

calyptorhynchus

#46
He's a composer I'm very fond of, but the 5th Symphony probably isn't one of his best works. I assume he wrote it unwillingly to celebrate the liberation of Latvia by the Red Army (much as his 13th Symphony is a hymn to Lenin but with spoken interludes carrying all the text meaning that he foresaw a time in the future when the spoken bits could be dropped leaving a normal symphony behind!).

1, 3, 4, 7-21 are very good IMO.
'Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth.' Robert Burton

Symphonic Addict

I have a list:


Good

1-9, 14, 19


Passable

11, 12, 15, 20, 21


Meh

10, 13, 16-18


I think, Kyle, you could enjoy 6 and 7 because of their tuneful and folk-influenced musical canvas. 1-3 debt more to Scriabin. No. 4 is quite the change: monolothic, ancient-sounding, with powerful brass and potent climaxes. There's a movement with a female chorus IIRC.

The symphonic poem The Rainbow is wonderful too, featuring a magical atmosphere.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

vandermolen

#48
I rather like his music. Francis Wilson of Olympia was considering issuing an Ivanovs cycle but then told me that he considered the music not memorable enough.

I like the following very much 2,3,4 'Atlantis',5,8,11 and 20. I don't know all the others.
The Violin Concerto has many admirers.
I also like the film score 'Late Frost in Spring' and 'Rainbow' as recommended by Cesar.

This is a good intro to his music:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Roy Bland

IMHO this is Ianovs at best.A somber,powerful and dark work without direct references to Latvian folklore but permeated by the atmosphere of the Baltic,I have lp but when it will be available on cd i am goung to buy
https://youtu.be/xNO5Nl1HpmY

kyjo

Thanks to all you Ivanovs experts for the very helpful advice! :D Much appreciated. I'll certainly give him another chance!
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

vandermolen

Quote from: Roy Bland on February 11, 2022, 04:26:10 AM
IMHO this is Ianovs at best.A somber,powerful and dark work without direct references to Latvian folklore but permeated by the atmosphere of the Baltic,I have lp but when it will be available on cd i am goung to buy
https://youtu.be/xNO5Nl1HpmY
Powerful stuff! I will buy it too if it appears on CD.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Symphonic Addict

#52
I wonder why Ivanovs made their music sound pessimistic in many symphonies, where the struggle seems to be won by vague memories of melancholy.

However, I couldn't resist to revisit the 6th Latgalian. Glorious music!

The melody from the 3rd movement is so unique and nostalgic. So haunting. What a tune! This movement is absolutely out of this world. Wow!
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

calyptorhynchus

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on February 11, 2022, 04:32:07 PM
I wonder why Ivanovs made their music sound pessimistic in many symphonies, where the struggle seems to be won by vague memories of melancholy.


Probably a good description of life in a Soviet Socialist Republic!
'Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth.' Robert Burton

vandermolen

Quote from: calyptorhynchus on February 11, 2022, 08:44:54 PM
Probably a good description of life in a Soviet Socialist Republic!
Yes!
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Roy Bland

 Skani told me that they will release 17 and 18.

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: Roy Bland on April 06, 2022, 05:49:06 PM
Skani told me that they will release 17 and 18.

We also need a modern recording of Nos. 11 and 13. In fact, a complete cycle is mandatory in these times!
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

vandermolen

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on April 06, 2022, 08:04:20 PM
We also need a modern recording of Nos. 11 and 13. In fact, a complete cycle is mandatory in these times!
Yes, definitely No.11 which is considered by some to be the greatest. I'm surprised that it has never AFAIK been released on CD.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Roy Bland

#58

real life isn't zhdanovian

vandermolen

#59
Quote from: Roy Bland on June 30, 2022, 08:44:19 PM

real life isn't zhdanovian
Thank you Roy - good news. I just wish that someone would issue Symphony 11 of which there is already an LP recording; it is one of the best.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).