Nikolay Miaskovsky (1881-1950)

[Karl Henning]

https://www.ludwig-van.com/toronto/2021/05/14/lebrecht-listens-a-five-star-argument-for-prokofiev-over-stravinsky/

I am chilled steel to Lebrecht's perennial clickbait;  just wanted to remark that it is characeristically shallow of him to flog the dead Prokofiev > Stravinsky horse.

[foxandpeng]

I am chilled steel to Lebrecht's perennial clickbait;  just wanted to remark that it is characeristically shallow of him to flog the dead Prokofiev > Stravinsky horse.

Not a popular chap, then? As a novice to such things, I know no better 

[Karl Henning]

Not a popular chap, then? As a novice to such things, I know no better 

No worries. We're all learning.

[vandermolen]

I find the appreciation of different perspectives, fascinating. I'm no sort of expert on any area of orchestral music, and doubt I ever will be, so quite enjoyed this Prokofiev 6. I did read Lebrecht's review, who spoke of it as 'a game changer', but I need to hear a couple of comparators to gain a better grasp in light of your wisdom.

What I did find particularly lacking in his brief review, was his take on the Miaskovsky #27 as a piece influenced by political weariness rather than its place as a valedictory in the face of terminal illness. The fact that he places it close to peak RVW was also interesting. 

https://www.ludwig-van.com/toronto/2021/05/14/lebrecht-listens-a-five-star-argument-for-prokofiev-over-stravinsky/

I must listen to Prokofiev's 6th again, especially as others have spoken so highly of it. I was very moved, as I always am, by NYM's 27th Symphony. The booklet note writer sees the finale as a kind of satirical take on the expected soviet tub-thumping upbeat finale, but I don't see it that way at all.

[BasilValentine]

The booklet for the Svetlanov complete set of Myaskovsky's symphonies was ineptly and sloppily thrown together, making it difficult to find which CD contains a particular symphony. For example, there is no entry for Symphony 18 but two for Symphony 8. Anyway, I got tired of it so I made a simple table of contents (just for the symphonies) to paste inside the box:

[Maestro267]

Must be the Warner/Erato one because the Alto/Olympia tracklisting is fine.

[BasilValentine]

Yeah, Warner France. Are there actual liner notes in the other edition?

[vandermolen]

Yeah, Warner France. Are there actual liner notes in the other edition?

Yes, Alto has a 36 page booklet of notes and a downloadable feature on their website for the four symphonies inadvertently left out of the booklet (see below):
http://altocd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ALC-3141-Extra-4-Pages.pdf

[kyjo]

Amongst the chorus of praise for Myaskovsky's music here, I must admit that I have issues with his style of orchestration. I often find it to be rather "dour" and "grey" without the delicious dashes of color and flair that, say, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Kabalevsky provide in their orchestration. In Myaskovsky's music I find there to be a lot of emphasis on middle register instruments (clarinets, violas, etc.) and not enough contrast between the upper and lower registers of the orchestra. Of course, this is just a purely personal opinion and this may have been the intended expressive effect of M's way of orchestrating. I won't doubt that he was quite a fine melodist and had a talent for developing motives to create long-breathed symphonic statements.

[vandermolen]

Amongst the chorus of praise for Myaskovsky's music here, I must admit that I have issues with his style of orchestration. I often find it to be rather "dour" and "grey" without the delicious dashes of color and flair that, say, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Kabalevsky provide in their orchestration. In Myaskovsky's music I find there to be a lot of emphasis on middle register instruments (clarinets, violas, etc.) and not enough contrast between the upper and lower registers of the orchestra. Of course, this is just a purely personal opinion and this may have been the intended expressive effect of M's way of orchestrating. I won't doubt that he was quite a fine melodist and had a talent for developing motives to create long-breathed symphonic statements.

I'm sure that the music critic David Nice would agree with you Kyle - as far as I can see he has nothing but negativity to express about NYM's music. Having said that, he told me that he thought highly of the opening of the 4th symphony and since my exchanges with him I have come to appreciate that work much more.

[Karl Henning]

Amongst the chorus of praise for Myaskovsky's music here, I must admit that I have issues with his style of orchestration. I often find it to be rather "dour" and "grey" without the delicious dashes of color and flair that, say, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Kabalevsky provide in their orchestration. In Myaskovsky's music I find there to be a lot of emphasis on middle register instruments (clarinets, violas, etc.) and not enough contrast between the upper and lower registers of the orchestra.

Kyle, I am keenly alive to your objections:  I had never bothered with Nikolai Yakovlevich's music until I picked up the Pacifica Quartet's Shostakovich cycle which included the 13^th Quartet whose superb excellence frankly astonished me. I got to wondering about the symphonies, but when I listened to one on YouTube (I honestly do not recall which) I was put off by the colorlessness (an especially egregious fault in Russian orchestral music)

I have not yet pursued the early symphonies, but I have been very agreeably impressed with the later symphonies, in which the soundworld is more specific (to use a word with which Judith Shatin encouraged my efforts in Charlottesville.  Overall, I am very glad to have got over my Myaskovskophobia, and to have found several pieces which I genuinely admire and enjoy. I admit I am still cautious about the early symphonies.

[Karl Henning]

I'm sure that the music critic David Nice would agree with you Kyle - as far as I can see he has nothing but negativity to express about NYM's music.

I do like Nice's book on Prokofiev, Jeffrey. The subtitle A Biography: From Russia to the West 1891-1935 seems to suggest a subsequent volume. Do you know if we should expect one?

[Karl Henning]

I have, though, been meaning to investigate the early quartets:

https://www.youtube.com/v/csjQkFhLvio

[Karl Henning]

I do like Nice's book on Prokofiev, Jeffrey. The subtitle A Biography: From Russia to the West 1891-1935 seems to suggest a subsequent volume. Do you know if we should expect one?

I meant to add, too, that via Harlow Robinson's Bio of Prokofiev I unwittingly absorbed the author's prejudices against a number of Prokofiev scores, as well as Myaskovsky. Later, when I listened to and immediately admired those pieces, it taught me a lesson.

[Karl Henning]

This is good!

https://www.youtube.com/v/87WeGpaI94E

[Maestro267]

I think the Myaskovsky symphonies are full of colour.

[aligreto]

I think the Myaskovsky symphonies are full of colour.

The orchestral colour was one of the first things that struck me when I recently heard these works for the first time.

[Karl Henning]

I think the Myaskovsky symphonies are full of colour.

The orchestral colour was one of the first things that struck me when I recently heard these works for the first time.

Gents, as I do not recall which of them provoked this impression on my part, I cannot unpack it. As with the Eleventh above, the tone poem Silence and the Cello Concerto, I find him an apt "colorist" in a number of orchestral works which I enjoy unqualifiedly. And unlike Robinson (though perhaps obliquely thanks to him) I know better than to disdain Myaskovsky for working with a pallette different to Prokofiev's, e.g. After I survey the quartets, I'll work my way through the symphonies in an orderly fashion.

[aligreto]

Gents, as I do not recall which of them provoked this impression on my part, I cannot unpack it. As with the Eleventh above, the tone poem Silence and the Cello Concerto, I find him an apt "colorist" in a number of orchestral works which I enjoy unqualifiedly. And unlike Robinson (though perhaps obliquely thanks to him) I know better than to disdain Myaskovsky for working with a pallette different to Prokofiev's, e.g. After I survey the quartets, I'll work my way through the symphonies in an orderly fashion.

I admire your commitment to the research, Karl 

[vandermolen]

I do like Nice's book on Prokofiev, Jeffrey. The subtitle A Biography: From Russia to the West 1891-1935 seems to suggest a subsequent volume. Do you know if we should expect one?

I think that he's working on it Karl.