Nikolay Miaskovsky (1881-1950)

[vandermolen]

I can't agree: Myasovsky wrote 27 while he was dying. IMHO the last movement is personal answer against illness.

I tend to agree. For me, the finale of No.27 is a great Paean to Life, as if the dying Miaskovsky is welcoming the return of Spring after the Winter, knowing full-well that he would not be there to see it. I find it deeply moving and coherent in the context of the symphony as a whole.

There's a new recording coming soon (Petrenko/Oslo PO) coupled with Prokofiev's 6th Symphony.

[aukhawk]

Listening to No. 9. I wonder what it is that makes composers lose their grip on their skill and profundity during finales. You have three incredibly deep and profound movements and then a party emerges out of nowhere for no apparent reason.

Music intended for the concert hall generally needs to end on a high.  == rapturous standing ovation.  == 'received well'.  (I know there are exceptions.)

[André]

Symphony no 14 didn't register bigly. It's a light, folk-based work in 5 movements, more of a suite maybe. Nice slow movement.

No 22 (in 3 movements) otoh is another one of these super intense, petterssonian, angst-ridden works so typical of this composer. The finale is a positive, life-affirming movement that manages to fit perfectly with the first two. It was written in 1941, just as Hitler had turned against the USSR. One of Myaskovsky's most successful opuses, I think.

[Symphonic Addict]

Yes, the Symphony-Ballad is a formidable and cogently argued work. There are no many recordings of this one, but Svetlanov is the one to go.

[Mirror Image]

I need to get back to both the SQs and symphonies --- I've already forgot where I left off from last time.

[André]

I solved that problem 5 years ago with these 2 simple tools:





Mini post-its and a self-inking dater. They're right next to the cd player. That's how I know when I last listened to a work, and how many times. 

[Mirror Image]

I solved that problem 5 years ago with these 2 simple tools:





Mini post-its and a self-inking dater. They're right next to the cd player. That's how I know when I last listened to a work, and how many times. 

That is an excellent idea, but I'm not quite at that point where I feel the need to have post-it notes everywhere.

[vandermolen]

Symphony no 14 didn't register bigly. It's a light, folk-based work in 5 movements, more of a suite maybe. Nice slow movement.

No 22 (in 3 movements) otoh is another one of these super intense, petterssonian, angst-ridden works so typical of this composer. The finale is a positive, life-affirming movement that manages to fit perfectly with the first two. It was written in 1941, just as Hitler had turned against the USSR. One of Myaskovsky's most successful opuses, I think.

Titov (Northern Flowers) is also excellent in No.22. Here is a comparative review:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/may09/miaskovsky_sys.htm

[aukhawk]

That is an excellent idea, but I'm not quite at that point where I feel the need to have post-it notes everywhere.

Plus, they don't stream well.

[André]

Second go at this disc today. The andante intro to 15:I reminds me a lot of the main theme from Rimsky's glorious Russian Easter Overture. Not note by note, but the rythmic pattern and the chant like melody evoke the same atmosphere. Very nice. The rest of the symphony is good - particularly fine thematic material in the middle movements. A fine opus.

The last symphony gave the composer some trouble. He was ailing at the time and his mind may not have worked with its usual speed. Not that it matters one bit. I find the 27th to be one of his most inspired creations. As usual there is a strong first movement that builds steadily, a gorgeous - nay, sublime - slow movement and a slightly ordinary (soviet) finale meant to make the crowds rejoice. Myaskovsky had enough métier to cook up an unobjectionable final movement. At that juncture in a symphonic work the authorities expected a composer to wrap up things in an uplifting way. No mahlerian angst allowed. Folk tunes, march rythms, gaudy orchestration and voilà! Here's your soviet moment of rejoicing for today.

A word about the production. The notes mention that, except for nos 3 and 22, all the recordings were made in the same hall by the same engineering crew and at roughly the same time (1991-1993). Why is it then that the sound in no 27 is so different from the others? The volume setting has to be turned way down and even then a sense of hall ambience is missing. It's very much in your face, up close and too personal for comfort. Very strange. I wonder if other recordings of no 27 are worth seeking. I'd be willing to duplicate.

[André]

Both symphonies were written during the War exile, when soviet authorities sent their most prominent artists in the Caucasus or Central Asia republics. Folk influences from Northern Caucasus dominate the thematic material in no 23. I found the work absolutely superb both in its choice of themes and its construction. Very soulful tunes, lament-like, filled with longing in the first two movements, life-affirming joy in the third. The 24th was written in memory of his dear friend the musicologist and publisher Derzhanovsky. It, too, is indebted to the folk material Myaskovsky heard in his caucasian exile. This last disc of the set is one of the most satisfying. Other symphonies rely on russian folk tunes, the material of which tends to be somewhat melancholy and evocative of vast spaces. By contrast the melodies in 23-24 have more lilt, even when moving slowly, and spice in their harmonies. The difference is sufficiently marked to give these a distinctive character.

[André]

Cross-posted from the WAYL2 thread:

Omce past the symphonies there is still more Myaskovsky ! I found that the three works on this disc are much more than mere byways or chips from the workbench. Silence from 1909 is a full-blown late-romantic tone poem. The very perceptive booklet notes by JeffreyDavis mention the recently heard Isle of the Dead by Rachmaninov as well as Siegfried's Funeral March as influences. And yet it's pure Myaskovsky. Excellent. The Sinfonietta (1929) is a 3-movement work for string orchestra, whose many solos bring back to life the old concerto grosso model. Strong themes and a searching, beautiful slow movement. Pretty much the same can be said of the concluding Divertissement from 19 years later. Same length, same structure, same tempo relationships between movements, same strongly atmospheric central slow movement. A truly excellent disc with works spanning 40 years of the composer's career. And, like I said, very informative and unusually well-researched program notes  .

[vandermolen]

Oh, that's nice to read!
Where did that quote come from André?

[André]

From the WAYL2 thread. I forgot to mention it. Corrected .

[vandermolen]

From the WAYL2 thread. I forgot to mention it. Corrected .

Thanks 

[vandermolen]

I'd love to be able to attend this!
https://en.sgaf.ru/festival/28110

[Irons]

I'd love to be able to attend this!
https://en.sgaf.ru/festival/28110

Themed or "dialogues" is an excellent idea. I wonder if the concerts will be filmed or streamed?

[vandermolen]

Themed or "dialogues" is an excellent idea. I wonder if the concerts will be filmed or streamed?

Hi Lol,
Here is part of the email I received about them:

'Just hope that you are well, I have been invited to a music festival celebrating Myaskovsky's 140th birthday, it looks very interesting indeed but probably I can't go simply because of covid, in Russia concerts have restarted but there aren't even any flights there.

I think they are going to broadcast the concerts so perhaps it will be possible to see them online, and indeed the concerts seem very interesting indeed.'

[Irons]

Hi Lol,
Here is part of the email I received about them:

'Just hope that you are well, I have been invited to a music festival celebrating Myaskovsky's 140th birthday, it looks very interesting indeed but probably I can't go simply because of covid, in Russia concerts have restarted but there aren't even any flights there.

I think they are going to broadcast the concerts so perhaps it will be possible to see them online, and indeed the concerts seem very interesting indeed.'

That sounds promising, Jeffrey. I would love to see a performance of a string quartet. I intend to listen to recordings of the symphonies grouped as the theme of each concert. With so many it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees.

[vandermolen]

That sounds promising, Jeffrey. I would love to see a performance of a string quartet. I intend to listen to recordings of the symphonies grouped as the theme of each concert. With so many it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees.

Sounds like a good plan Lol. I was lucky that my brother and my late sister-in-law took me to a concert including Miaskovsky's 21st Symphony, for a birthday treat some years ago and I also got to see the 6th Symphony live (Jurowski) in London. A kind member of the LPO Choir invited me to a rehearsal and introduced me to the conductor - who was charming. My friend and I had to go to the pub afterwards in order to calm down!