Nikolay Miaskovsky (1881-1950)

Started by vandermolen, June 12, 2007, 01:21:32 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

W.A. Mozart

What do you think about the first symphony?

USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky.


relm1

Quote from: W.A. Mozart on May 17, 2023, 06:52:35 AMWhat do you think about the first symphony?

USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky.


Very Russian.  That's a good thing!  I hear Mussorgsky, Borodin, Tchaikovsky, and Rimsky Korsakov in it.

Roy Bland

#902
Sergey Prokofiev, Nikolai Myaskovsky "Correspondence"
"Dmitry Pozharsky University"


"Dear Serge, I have received your symphonietto and I hasten to blurt out my impressions. The general impression of this part is the most pleasant: fresh, cheerful, graceful, in places even piquant, it should be easy and pleasant to listen to; if the ending is the same, then again I regret that it will include swell (caca)."

(N. Ya. Myaskovsky - to S. S. Prokofiev, July 28, 1909, St. Petersburg)

And here is a volume of words and courtesies from the musical fields, unique in terms of the personalities of the interlocutors and the duration of communication. Nikolai Myaskovsky is not much performed now, but still one of the main Russian musicians of the first half of the 20th century, the author of 27 symphonies, a teacher at the Moscow Conservatory and an example of composer's stateliness and fortitude. And Sergei Prokofiev, on the other hand, is perhaps the main pop star of academic music in the first 30 years of the 20th century, a virtuoso giving concerts all over the world, a genius and an enfant terrible rolled into one. Prokofiev spent the first part of his life on a tour of America, Asia and Europe - from there he sent numerous letters to his best friend NYaM (an abbreviation for the initials of Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky), receiving answers in overwhelming quantities. And they contain everyday details of the nomadic life of musicians ("the piano does not play, oranges are bitter, it would be nice to have a rest, but no..."), the traveler's impressions of new places and works of their contemporaries like "Skryaba" (Scriabin) or "ZBS" (Zakharova Boris Stepanovich), very touching invitations to visit, in order to "drum" on the piano together (those who are familiar with Prokofiev's piano style may grin ...). This correspondence lasts from the carefree days of youth, full of energy and enthusiasm, to the dark fifties, in which already elderly masters, in spite of everything, still turn to each other "my dearest" and praise each other for new works.


https://umozrenie.com/?product=%D1%81-%E2%80%89%D1%81-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%84%D1%8C%D0%B5%D0%B2-%D0%B8-%D0%BD-%E2%80%89%D1%8F-%D0%BC%D1%8F%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9-%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5

Maestro267

The First was (appropriately) the first Myaskovsky symphony I heard, along with the 13th on that Naxos disc from 2019 which cycle wound up never ever being worked on again. Thankfully I was able to afford the Alto box the following year, and that wound up being my major highlight purchase of The Lockdown Year.

foxandpeng

Quote from: Maestro267 on May 18, 2023, 07:23:37 AMThe First was (appropriately) the first Myaskovsky symphony I heard, along with the 13th on that Naxos disc from 2019 which cycle wound up never ever being worked on again. Thankfully I was able to afford the Alto box the following year, and that wound up being my major highlight purchase of The Lockdown Year.

I like #1, but for me, the real big hitters are his later works.
"A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people ... then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbour — such is my idea of happiness"

Tolstoy

Karl Henning

I may not yet have listened to the First. And for now, I'll wait until I work my way thither.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Roy Bland


Maestro267

I just finished listening to the 17th Symphony. The slow movement in particular is stunning! Some of the chords in the high strings remind me of Holst's Neptune (all that's missing is the celeste! ;) ) and the second main section in E major is beautiful. It's shot up to become one of my favourite slow movements by any composer.

vandermolen

Quote from: Maestro267 on September 21, 2023, 03:33:44 AMI just finished listening to the 17th Symphony. The slow movement in particular is stunning! Some of the chords in the high strings remind me of Holst's Neptune (all that's missing is the celeste! ;) ) and the second main section in E major is beautiful. It's shot up to become one of my favourite slow movements by any composer.
+1
I like the (in my opinion) triumphant/defiant coda. It was composed during the Stalinist purges.
"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).

J

#909
Quote from: Roy Bland on May 25, 2023, 08:32:32 PM

Great to see this, though Volume 1 failed in leaving any enduring impression.  Myaskovsky perhaps not at his most comfortable with this genre, - though freely admit my own sensibilities may be the more immediately in question.

vandermolen

Quote from: J on September 23, 2023, 09:53:16 AMGreat to see this, though Volume 1 failed in leaving any enduring impression.  Myaskovsky perhaps not at his most comfortable with this genre, - though freely admit my own sensibilities may be the more immediately in question.
What we need is 'The Kremlin at Night'.
"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).

Scion7

a great way to start at dawn
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

vandermolen

Quote from: Scion7 on December 15, 2023, 01:54:48 AMa great way to start at dawn
Except that Svetlanov dispenses with the optional chorus at the end. Otherwise an excellent performance.
Am greatly enjoying this newish release:
"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).

foxandpeng

Quote from: vandermolen on March 04, 2024, 02:27:18 AMExcept that Svetlanov dispenses with the optional chorus at the end. Otherwise an excellent performance.
Am greatly enjoying this newish release:


Sacrilege, I know, but I prefer it without the chorus.
"A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people ... then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbour — such is my idea of happiness"

Tolstoy

Karl Henning

Quote from: foxandpeng on March 04, 2024, 12:50:52 PMSacrilege, I know, but I prefer it without the chorus.
I haven't formed an opinion, but I support you in yours!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

foxandpeng

Quote from: Karl Henning on March 04, 2024, 12:51:39 PMI haven't formed an opinion, but I support you in yours!

Generous hearted to the last, Karl 🙂🤗
"A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people ... then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbour — such is my idea of happiness"

Tolstoy

Maestro267

I can't really see how choral singing would add anything of worth to the finale. The "instrumental" version doesn't sound lacking in any way at all.

Karl Henning

Quote from: Maestro267 on March 05, 2024, 12:42:26 AMI can't really see how choral singing would add anything of worth to the finale. The "instrumental" version doesn't sound lacking in any way at all.
I dunno. Could we say that of the women's chorus in Debussy's Sirènes?
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Maestro267

Listening to the 14th Symphony currently, the link being that earlier I listened to Schumann 3, another five-movement symphony with the slow movement placed fourth.