Nikolay Miaskovsky (1881-1950)

[vandermolen]

Myaskovsky's Symphony No. 24 is still my favorite with Symphony No. 27 coming in a distant second place.

There's a very good new Japanese recording of Symphony 24, interestingly coupled with Franz Schmidt's 4th Symphony. Unfortunately it's doubled in price since I obtained a copy:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MYASKOVSKY-Hiroshi-Kiyotaka-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B00Z7NC3XM/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1463304511&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=Myaskovsky+symphony+24

[Scion7]

Well, it's not my favorite - I like the other two better.
It's not bad but it isn't outstanding.  The playing is sort of subdued.
The score may be marked in this way (?), and the other players are ignoring this and playing with a romantic verve,
which would make Ivashkin's more authentic - but less emotionally involving.

http://eventful.com/helsinki/events/hpo-schubert-v-/E0-001-064286585-1

Some day I'd like to track this one down:

[vandermolen]

Well, it's not my favorite - I like the other two better.
It's not bad but it isn't outstanding.  The playing is sort of subdued.
The score may be marked in this way (?), and the other players are ignoring this and playing with a romantic verve,
which would make Ivashkin's more authentic - but less emotionally involving.

http://eventful.com/helsinki/events/hpo-schubert-v-/E0-001-064286585-1

Some day I'd like to track this one down:

Looks like a fascinating release; hope you track it down to its lair. 

[J]

Well, it's not my favorite - I like the other two better.
It's not bad but it isn't outstanding.  The playing is sort of subdued.
The score may be marked in this way (?), and the other players are ignoring this and playing with a romantic verve,
which would make Ivashkin's more authentic - but less emotionally involving.

http://eventful.com/helsinki/events/hpo-schubert-v-/E0-001-064286585-1

Some day I'd like to track this one down:

Wow.  This Gutman recording (which I was never aware of) appears to be on YouTube also (I can't provide a link at the moment, but just do a search).  What a fabulous video, - until now I don't think I'd ever viewed a live performance of the piece.  Gutman plays it right. 

You must check it out Scion & Jeffrey.

[Scion7]

All I found was a live performance of the Sonata, not the Concerto.

[Scion7]

Well, that's a live performance - which for some reason my search on YT didn't list!!
I have found that YouTube's search engine is one strange varmint.
Would like to find a rip of that Melodya LP.   

[J]

You don't believe that live performance is what's on Melodiya?

[vandermolen]

Wow.  This Gutman recording (which I was never aware of) appears to be on YouTube also (I can't provide a link at the moment, but just do a search).  What a fabulous video, - until now I don't think I'd ever viewed a live performance of the piece.  Gutman plays it right. 

You must check it out Scion & Jeffrey.

Will do my best to do so Greg. 

[Scion7]

No, the LP is a studio recording.

NO!  It is a live LP.  Well, duh!

Concerto For Cello And Orchestra In C Minor, Op. 66   (28:38)
A1   Lento Ma Non Troppo   
A2   Allegro Vivace
   
Symphony No. 7 In B Minor, Op. 24   (23:44)
B1   Andante Sostenuto, Calmo. Allegro Minaccioso, Poco Stravagante   
B2   Andante. Allegro Scherzando E Tenebroso   

Recorded At – Grand Hall Of The Moscow Conservatoire

Cello – Natalia Gutman* (tracks: A1, A2)
Composed By – N. Myaskovsky*
Conductor – Evgeni Svetlanov, Leo Ginzburg*
Orchestra – USSR TV And Radio Large Symphony Orchestra, The* (tracks: B1, B2),
                  USSR Symphony Orchestra, The* (tracks: A1, A2)

Recorded live at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, 1985 (A1, A2), 1964 (B1, B2)

[Scion7]

Too bad there is no information on the YT video of when, where, and who the conductor-orchestra is ..........

[vandermolen]

Perhaps Miaskovsky's most beautiful short piece, especially the first movement of Two Pieces for String Orchestra Op.46, featuring his characteristic sadness, melancholy and nostalgic longing. It is an arrangement for string orchestra of the middle movements of his Symphony 19 written for Military Band. There are several recordings but this one by Veronika Dudarova with the Moscow SO is the best:

https://youtu.be/AxiHfa66oX8

[SymphonicAddict]

His first symphonies really did not impress me and I found them a little boring (except No. 5, No. 6, the third movement of No. 8 and maybe the No. 11). I found them very diffuse and flat, the moments of climax in them were not exciting, I was somewhat disappointed ... but when I got to No. 15 everything began to change for the better: what a great change there was in his music! From the 15th onwards they have been really fine and worth listening to. These are the symphonies "tasty" of him, great moments of strength, passion and expressivity accompanied by a more concrete melodic line. So far the best for me have been the Nos. 6, 15, 16 (stirring 3rd movement as vandermolen has stressed  , 17 (another astounding slow movement), 20, 22 and the folk No. 23. I hope to hear the rest this week.

[vandermolen]

His first symphonies really did not impress me and I found them a little boring (except No. 5, No. 6, the third movement of No. 8 and maybe the No. 11). I found them very diffuse and flat, the moments of climax in them were not exciting, I was somewhat disappointed ... but when I got to No. 15 everything began to change for the better: what a great change there was in his music! From the 15th onwards they have been really fine and worth listening to. These are the symphonies "tasty" of him, great moments of strength, passion and expressivity accompanied by a more concrete melodic line. So far the best for me have been the Nos. 6, 15, 16 (stirring 3rd movement as vandermolen has stressed  , 17 (another astounding slow movement), 20, 22 and the folk No. 23. I hope to hear the rest this week.

Of the early ones I like No.3, rather influenced by Cesar Franck and Scriabin. You should like 24 which is one of the best and I think that 25 and especially the movingly valedictory No.27 are amongst the finest of his symphonies.

[cilgwyn]

I downloaded a sixties recording of Miaskovsky's Sixteenth Symphony today and transferred it to a cd-r. I find this a very interesting piece of music. Very absorbing indeed! Not what I expected from a soviet composer of this period at all.

[SymphonicAddict]

Of the early ones I like No.3, rather influenced by Cesar Franck and Scriabin. You should like 24 which is one of the best and I think that 25 and especially the movingly valedictory No.27 are amongst the finest of his symphonies.

I finished listening to them all. All of them are grandiose. In conclusion, the second half of the symphonies are the best ones (15 to 27 + 6). Miaskovsky could find his style (not quite as he wished), but he left a great legacy for all of us.

I downloaded a sixties recording of Miaskovsky's Sixteenth Symphony today and transferred it to a cd-r. I find this a very interesting piece of music. Very absorbing indeed! Not what I expected from a soviet composer of this period at all.

I agree. It's one of my favorite ones.

[vandermolen]

I finished listening to them all. All of them are grandiose. In conclusion, the second half of the symphonies are the best ones (15 to 27 + 6). Miaskovsky could find his style (not quite as he wished), but he left a great legacy for all of us.

I agree. It's one of my favorite ones.

Inspired by the 'Maxim Gorky Air Disaster' - the funereal slow movement is one of the best.

[cilgwyn]

I found the whole of the Sixteenth very absorbing. I'd never heard it until last night. The performance was from an old Melodiya Lp;and the sound was a bit rough and ready,being a transfer from an old Lp,as opposed to a professional job. The addition of a little surface noise actually contributing a nice little nostalgic ambience to the music itself. Incidentally,when I observed that it was "Not what I expected from a soviet composer of this period at all",I didn't mean that in a disparaging way. I just expected something more outgoing or heroic. The Sixteenth reminded me of late Havergal Brian. No,I don't mean it sounds like Brian;but that feeling of a strange hinterland. Not quite as blatantly strange or remote as Brians,but one of those pieces of music that seem quite different to anything else being composed around it (at the time of it's composition). The music really gets into the corners of your mind and draws you in. The performance of Symphony No 21,that accompanied it,was very absorbing I might add. One of the best single movement symphonies ever,imho! The Sixteenth is a fascinating piece of music,though. I was really impressed. The recordings I listened to were conducted by Konstantin Ivanov (I think? I'll have to check!).

[vandermolen]

I found the whole of the Sixteenth very absorbing. I'd never heard it until last night. The performance was from an old Melodiya Lp;and the sound was a bit rough and ready,being a transfer from an old Lp,as opposed to a professional job. The addition of a little surface noise actually contributing a nice little nostalgic ambience to the music itself. Incidentally,when I observed that it was "Not what I expected from a soviet composer of this period at all",I didn't mean that in a disparaging way. I just expected something more outgoing or heroic. The Sixteenth reminded me of late Havergal Brian. No,I don't mean it sounds like Brian;but that feeling of a strange hinterland. Not quite as blatantly strange or remote as Brians,but one of those pieces of music that seem quite different to anything else being composed around it (at the time of it's composition). The music really gets into the corners of your mind and draws you in. The performance of Symphony No 21,that accompanied it,was very absorbing I might add. One of the best single movement symphonies ever,imho! The Sixteenth is a fascinating piece of music,though. I was really impressed. The recordings I listened to were conducted by Konstantin Ivanov (I think? I'll have to check!).

[asin]B00NWZIOGM[/asin]
I think that the same performances are featured on this great set with its extraordinary cover image.

[cilgwyn]

Another incentive! I tend to agree with SymphonicAddict about the early symphonies. I recall not being too excited by No 6,for example,when a recording was broadcast some years ago. The Sixteenth was a differnt kettle of fish (sorry to call it that!). I was just thinking wouldn't it be a good idea if someone was to package the later symphonies separately,and then you posted that! Interesting that I like the later Miaskovsky symphonies first. In the case of Havergal Brian it was the bigger,more expansive ones I liked first (bar 10 & 16,which I've always enjoyed). Of course,unlike HB,Miaskovsky doesn't actually abandon the 'punctuation marks',which makes the discourse allot easier to follow. The fact that Miaskovsky's later symphonies are on a smaller,more pared down scale is hardly a surprise,though. Allot of composers seem to follow this trajectory. Even a throwback like Holbrooke took this approach later in his composing career. Indeed,are there any composers whose symphonies progressively became bigger and more expansive in scale....perhaps finishing off with a final blockbuster? 

[vandermolen]

Another incentive! I tend to agree with SymphonicAddict about the early symphonies. I recall not being too excited by No 6,for example,when a recording was broadcast some years ago. The Sixteenth was a differnt kettle of fish (sorry to call it that!). I was just thinking wouldn't it be a good idea if someone was to package the later symphonies separately,and then you posted that! Interesting that I like the later Miaskovsky symphonies first. In the case of Havergal Brian it was the bigger,more expansive ones I liked first (bar 10 & 16,which I've always enjoyed). Of course,unlike HB,Miaskovsky doesn't actually abandon the 'punctuation marks',which makes the discourse allot easier to follow. The fact that Miaskovsky's later symphonies are on a smaller,more pared down scale is hardly a surprise,though. Allot of composers seem to follow this trajectory. Even a throwback like Holbrooke took this approach later in his composing career. Indeed,are there any composers whose symphonies progressively became bigger and more expansive in scale....perhaps finishing off with a final blockbuster?

Miaskovsky's last-ditch, valedictory 27th Symphony, for which he was posthumously awarded a Stalin Prize is quite an expansive work. It has a characteristically gloomy opening, a deeply moving slow movement and a life-affirming finale. It's a wonderful work in my opinion.