Nikolay Miaskovsky (1881-1950)

[Brahmsian]

Sadly, I think it most unlikely. He hasn't posted here for years.

That's unfortunate.  Please, do give him my regards if you are in contact with him. 

[vandermolen]

That's unfortunate.  Please, do give him my regards if you are in contact with him. 

OT
Will do.
We usually exchange Christmas cards and my wife and I had the pleasure of meeting him in London many years ago.

[Papy Oli]

Jeffrey !!!

Advertised in this week's Presto email :

https://www.prestomusic.com/books/products/8794580--nikolay-myaskovsky-a-composer-and-his-times

[Brahmsian]

Jeffrey !!!

Advertised in this week's Presto email :

https://www.prestomusic.com/books/products/8794580--nikolay-myaskovsky-a-composer-and-his-times

That's great, but where is the book written by Jeffrey? 

[vandermolen]

Jeffrey !!!

Advertised in this week's Presto email :

https://www.prestomusic.com/books/products/8794580--nikolay-myaskovsky-a-composer-and-his-times

Thanks Olivier, I'm aware of this but at £60 it's a bit expensive for now.

[Dima]

In the UK the release date of the Petrenko/Oslo PO recording of Symphony No.27 (with Prokofiev's 6th Symphony) has been pushed back from April to 21st May:

Vasiliy Petrenko is not a bad conductor but this recording was upset for me (in my view he is young conductor who like analytic style of conducting with energetic tempos). May be you know after the summer of 2021 he will change Vladimir Jurowski in the Svetlanov's orchestra. I have listened 6 symphony of Prokofiev - very ordinary if compare with other recordings of this symphony.
Myaskovsky is played analytically in western way without russian poetry I used to. You hear only beautiful melodies but you don't feel the context of the last work and the results of life - it's a pity.

[Karl Henning]

Jeffrey !!!

Advertised in this week's Presto email :

https://www.prestomusic.com/books/products/8794580--nikolay-myaskovsky-a-composer-and-his-times

And only $93.75!

[Karl Henning]

Thanks Olivier, I'm aware of this but at £60 it's a bit expensive for now.

Priced for acquisition by music libraries, I expect.  When things are back to normal, I'll ping my friend in the NEC library.

[JBS]

And only $93.75!

Amazon MP has it priced at $83. Still a bit steep.

[vandermolen]

That's great, but where is the book written by Jeffrey? 

Haha! Thanks 
If I ever get to properly retire (my 'part-time' teaching and counselling work seems to be taking up an increasing amount of my time) I have thought of writing something more substantial on NYM but there are now two large biographies in English (I helped a bit with the earlier one written by Gregor Tassie) and I'm quite happy to have written the booklet notes for half-a-dozen NYM CDS (included in the Alto boxed set as well). Also, I don't speak Russian which doesn't help!

PS I'm adding symphonies 4 and 11 (on the same CD) to my list of favourite NYM symphonies - I hadn't realised how good No.4 is.

[vandermolen]

Priced for acquisition by music libraries, I expect.  When things are back to normal, I'll ping my friend in the NEC library.

That's a good idea Karl. I might ask my local library if they can source a copy.

[foxandpeng]

It's been years since I've listened to Miaskovsky's work, but I've been looking for ways to help my wife connect to classical music, so played #27 to her last night as a wind down after a busy day. Seems to have been something of a success!

I have an abiding love for lots of Russian/Soviet composers, so the lyricism and melodic accessibility of each movement is a welcome return. Thanks again to you all for a worthy reminder.

[vandermolen]

It's been years since I've listened to Miaskovsky's work, but I've been looking for ways to help my wife connect to classical music, so played #27 to her last night as a wind down after a busy day. Seems to have been something of a success!

I have an abiding love for lots of Russian/Soviet composers, so the lyricism and melodic accessibility of each movement is a welcome return. Thanks again to you all for a worthy reminder.

No.27 is a great way into Miaskovsky's music - one of his finest I think. I find it sad, moving and yet inspiriting - I see the finale as a kind of paean to life from the dying composer after the most heartfelt slow movement. Which recording were you playing?

[aligreto]

It's been years since I've listened to Miaskovsky's work, but I've been looking for ways to help my wife connect to classical music, so played #27 to her last night as a wind down after a busy day. Seems to have been something of a success!

No.27 is a great way into Miaskovsky's music - one of his finest I think. I find it sad, moving and yet inspiriting - I see the finale as a kind of paean to life from the dying composer after the most heartfelt slow movement. Which recording were you playing?

I don't think that one cane be but moved by that wonderful slow movement of No. 27.

[foxandpeng]

No.27 is a great way into Miaskovsky's music - one of his finest I think. I find it sad, moving and yet inspiriting - I see the finale as a kind of paean to life from the dying composer after the most heartfelt slow movement. Which recording were you playing?

This one... it has an emotive quality that is difficult to ignore. My wife isn't the greatest fan of classical music (describing Sibelius as 'lift music' last year), but remarked at its lyricism and beauty.

I'm intending to revisit the whole cycle in the next weeks.

[aligreto]

My wife isn't the greatest fan of classical music (describing Sibelius as 'lift music' last year),

Ouch! 

[foxandpeng]

Ouch! 

I find it quite bizarre. Our music outside of classical finds us as primary metalheads of the denser, more complex, and often dissonant type, so a difficult or challenging sound world present in many composers who don't focus obviously on melody until you hear them repeatedly, isn't something new. But Sibelius is hardly that. It is all, apparently, 'a bit like wallpaper'. As a software developer with postgrads in history and literature, she is no slouch, but it just doesn't seem to compute. Who knows?

Miaskovsky won't do any harm. I do need to poke his Quartets also... Any recommendations on best places to start, would be appreciated...

[aligreto]

Miaskovsky won't do any harm. I do need to poke his Quartets also... Any recommendations on best places to start, would be appreciated...

Unfortunately not, I am afraid. I am in the same position as you. I am not familiar with the Quartets......yet 

[vandermolen]

I find it quite bizarre. Our music outside of classical finds us as primary metalheads of the denser, more complex, and often dissonant type, so a difficult or challenging sound world present in many composers who don't focus obviously on melody until you hear them repeatedly, isn't something new. But Sibelius is hardly that. It is all, apparently, 'a bit like wallpaper'. As a software developer with postgrads in history and literature, she is no slouch, but it just doesn't seem to compute. Who knows?

Miaskovsky won't do any harm. I do need to poke his Quartets also... Any recommendations on best places to start, would be appreciated...

Try No.13 Danny (there are several recordings). Like the 27th Symphony it has a heartfelt valedictory quality which is very characteristic. I have to admit, however, that despite being 'The World's leading authority on Miaskovsky' ( ) I should be more familiar with the quartets than I am.

I can relate to the 'Wife Situation' however and am used to comments here like 'MUST WE LISTEN TO THIS NOISE?' and 'IT SOUNDS LIKE WORLD WAR 3 GOING ON IN THERE!' from my wife 

[foxandpeng]

Unfortunately not, I am afraid. I am in the same position as you. I am not familiar with the Quartets......yet 

Hehe. My intention, exactly. I am simultaneously poking Shostakovich SQs, which I am finding more challenging. Over the years, I have enjoyed the 'easier' ones like #4 and #8 and found them to be a real joy once I have got beyond a vague grasp of them, but others are just hard work. I doubt that Miaskovsky will be as tough.

Try No.13 Danny (there are several recordings). Like the 27th Symphony it has a heartfelt valedictory quality which is very characteristic. I have to admit, however, that despite being 'The World's leading authority on Miaskovsky' ( ) I should be more familiar with the quartets than I am.

I can relate to the 'Wife Situation' however and am used to comments here like 'MUST WE LISTEN TO THIS NOISE?' and 'IT SOUNDS LIKE WORLD WAR 3 GOING ON IN THERE!' from my wife 

Thanks, Jeffrey. I will run at #13 later today. Your status as something of an authority on Miaskovsky, however little you feel that, has been helpful in prodding my wife to listen. 'Did you know, I know the guy who...'

My wife has a favourite Basil Fawlty quotation based on Sybil's categorisation of Brahms' Third Racket which she has appropriated for everything outside of Philip Glass 1 & 4 (due to the Bowie connections), Glazunov 5, Rubbra 3, Pettersson 7 ('play that agonised one'), and Holmboe 6 ('not that again, but at least I am getting used to it now'). She was recently kind enough to buy me some lovely Sony WH-1000X M3 headphones 'to help my enjoyment'. Not so she doesn't have to share my rekindled passion for orchestral music. Honest. Particularly not because I have been listening to 'those appalling Hosokawa flute pieces that sound like the cat has got caught in the dryer, and those tuneless Rautavaara choral catastrophes'. Yeah, right.

Point is, Miaskovsky at bed time to aid sleep and distract from my ridiculous tinnitus, is acceptable. And predictable volume-wise, broadly. He is, at least, soporific.