Boris Tishchenko (1939 - 2010)

Started by Mirror Image, October 29, 2012, 10:11:54 AM

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Mirror Image



Life:

Tishchenko was born in Leningrad. He studied at the Leningrad Musical College from 1954 to 1957. There he learnt composition under Galina Ustvolskaya and piano under Mikhelis. Then from 1957 to 1963 he studied composition with Vadim Salmanov, Victor Voloshinov and Orest Evlakhov, and piano with L. Logovinski at the Leningrad Conservatory. He took a postgraduate course with the composer Dmitri Shostakovich from 1962 to 1965.
He taught at the Leningrad Conservatory from 1965, and became a professor there in 1986.

Tishchenko actively assisted in the secret delivery of the manuscript of Shostakovich's memoirs to the West. Later, however, he raised his voice in dispute against the authenticity of Testimony published by Solomon Volkov in 1979. In March 2006 he was announced as the first laureate of the 'Epokha Shostakovicha' prize instituted for the centennial of Shostakovich's birth. He died in Saint Petersburg.

Music:

His opus includes more than seven symphonies, two violin concertos, two cello concertos, a piano concerto, five string quartets, two cello sonatas, ten piano sonatas, a requiem, chamber and vocal works, the opera The Stolen Sun, the operetta A Cockroach, three ballets The Twelve, Fly-bee and Yaroslavna (The Eclipse), and incidental music for theatre and film.

Tishchenko's music style and composing manner shows him to be a typical representative of the Leningrad composers' school. He was very much influenced by music of his teachers Dmitri Shostakovich and Galina Ustvolskaya, turning these influences in his own way. He tried to use some experimental and modernist ideas like twelve-tone or aleatoric techniques, but was much more attached to the native traditions of his homeland. He demonstrated a kind of originality, scoring his Second Cello Concerto for 48 cellos, 12 double-basses and percussion (1969). Ten years later, however, he re-orchestrated it for a more practical combination.

He was honored by Shostakovich's orchestration of his First Cello Concerto, and repaid his master by the orchestration, editing and transcription of a few scores by Shostakovich. Tishchenko's Requiem, to the forbidden poem by Anna Akhmatova, written in the period of political stagnation in 1966, was a courageous cultural gesture.

Taken from Wikipedia

Have any of you heard any of Tishchenko's music? I listened to his Symphony No. 7 on YouTube and bought Yablonsky's recording almost immediately after. Bought two more recordings in the process. Look forward to exploring this composer.

some guy

A few things.

String quartets 1 and 4
Dante symphonies 1, 2, and 3
Concerto for violin, piano and string orchestra
Symphony 6
Symphony 7

Dundonnell

#2
Tishchenko wrote a total of seventeen symphonies.

BORIS TISHCHENKO: A CATALOGUE OF THE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC

1956:      Concertino for Voice and Orchestra
1957:      Prelude and Fugue for string orchestra, op.7
1958/93:French Symphony, ops.12/116
1959/64:Violin Concerto No.1, ops.9/29: 25 minutes   +  (Northern Flowers cd)
1959:      Cantata "Lenin is Alive" for chorus and orchestra, op.15
1961:      Symphony No.1, op.20: 42 minutes      +  (Northern Flowers cd)
1962:      Piano Concerto, op.21: 22 minutes    +  (Northern Flowers cd)
1963:      Concerto for Cello, seventeen wind instruments, percussion and harmonium, op.23 (Cello Concerto No.1): 26 minutes   + (Brilliant, Northern Flowers and
                                                   Chandos(in the orchestration by Shostakovich) cds)
                Symphonic Poem "Danaide", op. 24
                Ballet "The Twelve", op. 25: 45 minutes
                "Octaves" for orchestra, op.26
1964:      Symphony No.2 "Marina" for chorus and orchestra, op.28: 46 minutes   +  (Northern Flowers cd)
                Suite "Suzdal" for soprano, tenor and chamber orchestra, op.30: 12 minutes     +   (Northern Flowers cd)
1965:      "Palekh" for orchestra, op. 34
1966:      Requiem after Anna Akhmatova for soprano, tenor and orchestra, op.35: 60 minutes
1967:      Symphony No.3, op.36: 30 minutes     +  (Northern Flowers cd)
1967/98:Pushkin Symphony, ops. 38/125
1968:      Ballet "Fly-Bee", op. 39: 25 minutes
1969/79:Cello Concerto No.2 for cello, forty-eight cellos, twelve double-basses and percussion or orchestra, op.44: 40 minutes    +  (Art Music cd)
1970:      "Sinfonia Robusta" for orchestra, op.46: 14 minutes
1972:      Concerto for Piano, Flute and String Orchestra, op.54: 32 minutes
1974:      Ballet "Yaroslavna", op.58: 90 minutes    +   (Northern Flowers cd)
                "Hard Frost" for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, op.60a
                Symphony No.4 for narrator and orchestra, op.61: 93 minutes  *
1976:      Symphony No.5. op.67: 44 minutes     +  (Olympia cd)
1977:      Harp Concerto, op.69: 45 minutes    +   (Northern Flowers cd)
1982:      Violin Concerto No.2, op.84: 52 minutes    +   (Olympia cd)
1983:      Symphonic Piece "Praeludium in E" for orchestra, op. 87
1984:      "The Blockade Chronicle Symphony", op.92: 36 minutes   +   (Northern Flowers cd)
1988:      Symphony No.6 for soprano, contralto and orchestra, op.105: 55 minutes    +  (Northern Flowers cd)
1989:      Concerto all Marcia for sixteen soloists, op. 106
1994:      Symphony No. 7, op.119: 52 minutes     +   (Naxos cd)
1997:      "Beatrice" for chorus and orchestra, op.123
                Dante Symphony No.1 "Among the Living", op.123, No.2, : 28 minutes     +   (Northern Flowers cd)
2000:      Dante Symphony No.2 "Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here", op.123, No.3:   39 minutes      + (Northern Flowers cd)
2001:      Dante Symphony No.3 "Inferno", op.123, No.4: 39 minutes    (Fuga Libera and Northern Flowers cds)
2002:      "Huge Sonata" for string orchestra, op. 132
2003:      Dante Symphony No.4 "Purgatorio", op.123, No.5: 50 minutes     +   (Northern Flowers cd)
                "The Run of Time" for soprano and string orchestra, op. 135b
2005:      Dante Symphony No.5 "Paradise", op.123, No.6: 33 minutes              +   (Northern Flowers cd)
                Variations on three themes by Shostakovich for orchestra, op. 143
2006:      Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Orchestra, op.144: 31 minutes       +  (Fuga Libera cd)
2008:      Symphony No.8



I have all of Tishchenko's symphonies on cd or from other sources with the exceptions of the French Symphony, the Pushkin Symphony, Sinfonia Robusta and Symphony No.8 and the only concertos I am missing are the Cello Concerto No.2 and the Concerto for Piano, Flute and string orchestra.

Tishchenko's music does not necessarily qualify as "light listening" ;D It has a grimness and intensity however which I find very appealing. Shostakovich clearly admired Tishchenko's music and he is a prime candidate for the role of the finest post-Shostakovich Russian composer.

You have plenty to listen to ;D ;D

Mirror Image

Thanks for this, Colin. Yeah, I knew he composed a lot of orchestral but not that much! ??? Yikes! I'm going to try to build my Tishchenko collection slowly as many of those Northern Flowers recordings are quite expensive.

some guy

Their list price seems to be pretty consistently twenty bucks.

Their actual prices vary widely, from 7 to 70, approximately, but mostly around 13 dollars, at least on Amazon.



Mirror Image

Quote from: some guy on October 29, 2012, 04:18:51 PM
Their list price seems to be pretty consistently twenty bucks.

Their actual prices vary widely, from 7 to 70, approximately, but mostly around 13 dollars, at least on Amazon.

Arkivmusic is having a storewide sale, so I definitely took advantage of this and bought many of these Northern Flowers for $13. Not bad considering they list for much more.

Dundonnell

Few articles online mention Tishchenko's Symphony No.8 :o It is missing from both the Wikipedia article  and, more seriously, from the Saint Petersburg Musical Archive website.
It does appear to exist however. Onno van Rijen says that it was premiered in Novosibirsk in December 2008 and repeated in Saint Petersburg in March 2009.

I can find no further information about the symphony online.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Dundonnell on October 29, 2012, 04:32:13 PM
Few articles online mention Tishchenko's Symphony No.8 :o It is missing from both the Wikipedia article  and, more seriously, from the Saint Petersburg Musical Archive website.
It does appear to exist however. Onno van Rijen says that it was premiered in Novosibirsk in December 2008 and repeated in Saint Petersburg in March 2009.

I can find no further information about the symphony online.

It's hard to find much information on Tishchenko in general. It doesn't surprise that you can't find any information on Symphony No. 8. He's a pretty mysterious composer to me. He lived during a time of political stagnation, but was composing music that was quite boisterous and had an extroverted character. He wasn't afraid to bludgeon a listener over the head with a loud percussion. :) My kind of composer!

snyprrr

Wasn't it that the Penguin Guide raved over?

quote author=some guy link=topic=21097.msg671169#msg671169 date=1351538487]
A few things.

String quartets 1 and 4
Dante symphonies 1, 2, and 3
Concerto for violin, piano and string orchestra
Symphony 6
Symphony 7
[/quote]

Thanks for specifics (unless, haha, you're just listing cds you have!!)

Mirror Image

#9
This is just a badass movement from Symphony No. 7:

http://www.youtube.com/v/2_E-LrVVUrU

hemmesjo

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 29, 2012, 04:21:25 PM
Arkivmusic is having a storewide sale, so I definitely took advantage of this and bought many of these Northern Flowers for $13. Not bad considering they list for much more.

Just an FYI.  Due to high export costs out of Russia, Northern Flowers would send a master copy to their US distributor Albany who would burn CD-Rs.  I don't know if that is still happening but I prefer a pressed CD over and burned CD-R anytime.  I get my Northern Flowers CD directly from Moscow by using an ebay seller.  http://stores.ebay.com/Rare-Russian-Records/_i.html?LH_TitleDesc=1&_nkw=northern+flowers+&_cqr=true&_nkwusc=norther+flowers&_sid=209008270&_rdc=1

Not cheap but reasonable especially if you can deal with the CDs being sent without jewel cases.

Mirror Image

#11
Quote from: hemmesjo on October 29, 2012, 08:23:47 PM
Just an FYI.  Due to high export costs out of Russia, Northern Flowers would send a master copy to their US distributor Albany who would burn CD-Rs.  I don't know if that is still happening but I prefer a pressed CD over and burned CD-R anytime.  I get my Northern Flowers CD directly from Moscow by using an ebay seller.  http://stores.ebay.com/Rare-Russian-Records/_i.html?LH_TitleDesc=1&_nkw=northern+flowers+&_cqr=true&_nkwusc=norther+flowers&_sid=209008270&_rdc=1

Not cheap but reasonable especially if you can deal with the CDs being sent without jewel cases.

The Arkivmusic orders I placed are for the original recordings not CD-Rs otherwise Arkivmusic would have indicated that they were. They were all $13, which is much better than $20. As I said, I took advantage of the sale and I'm glad I did. Here are the Tishchenko recordings I bought:











Three of the orders I placed are with Amazon. The Yablonsky 7th recording, the Rozhdestvensky on Fuga Libera, and the Yaroslavna recording.

Dundonnell

Wow ;D

You don't go in for half-measures do you ;D

I have each of these discs, plus the recent Northern Flowers recording of the Second Symphony and the old Olympia of the Fifth. The Fourth Symphony I obtained privately.

Enjoy :)

Mirror Image

#13
Quote from: Dundonnell on October 30, 2012, 07:21:30 AM
Wow ;D

You don't go in for half-measures do you ;D

I have each of these discs, plus the recent Northern Flowers recording of the Second Symphony and the old Olympia of the Fifth. The Fourth Symphony I obtained privately.

Enjoy :)

Thanks, Colin. Yeah, I'm a little obsessive when it comes to CD collecting. :D But the reality is music is my only true passion and it's also a serious hobby of mine. Whether I'm listening to it, reading about it, or discussing it with other people, I maintain a high level of enthusiasm for it and always have. Somebody said when I start talking about music I tend to talk really fast and my eyes get a little twinkle in them. How much of this is true is hard to say, but I noticed my personality changes a bit when I discuss music.

P.S. I will be buying that Northern Flowers recording of the 2nd ASAP. :) I must have skipped over that one.

Dundonnell

No need to apologise-although I know that you really weren't apologising-just explaining ;D ;D

As a fellow-obsessive collector/completist I can share your enthusiasms :) :)

It is however a very expensive habit ::) ;D

Mirror Image

Quote from: Dundonnell on October 30, 2012, 07:38:55 AM
No need to apologise-although I know that you really weren't apologising-just explaining ;D ;D

As a fellow-obsessive collector/completist I can share your enthusiasms :) :)

It is however a very expensive habit ::) ;D

It's good to meet other collectors like yourself. We're a strange bunch, but, hey, this hobby isn't as expensive as partying/drinking at bars, working on or building cars, fishing, hunting, scuba diving, among others. These hobbies costs a lot of money whereas CD collecting will cost you a lot less in the long run. I'm not trying to justify my CDCDCD however, I'm merely pointing out that in comparison with many people's hobbies, this one isn't as expensive.

Dundonnell



Scion7

On this LP, ol' Boris played his own material.

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."

Scion7

#19
his Chamber Pieces
=========================================================


Rondo, op.2, vn, pf, 1956;
Prelude and Fugue, op.7, str qt/str orch, 1957;
Str Qt no.1, op.8, 1957;
Str Qt no.2, op.13, 1959;
Kaprichchio, op.31, vn, pf, 1965;
Severnïye etyudï [Northern Studies], suite, ens, op.42, 1968 [after film score];
2 p'yesï [2 Pieces], xyl, vib, pf, op.45/1, 2, 1970;
Str Qt no.3, op.47, 1970;
Tainstvennïye soplemenniki: kanon v protivodvizhenii [Mysterious Fellow Tribesmen: A Canon in Contrary Motion], op.45/3, perc, stop-watch, c1970;
2 starinnïkh tantsa [2 Old-Fashioned Dances], op.62b, vn, pf, 1975;
Andante espressivo, op.71b, va/vc, hp, 1978;
Str Qt no.4, op.77, 1980;
Str Qt no.5, op.90, 1984;
Pf Qnt, op.93, 1985;
Conc., op.109, cl, pf trio, 1990;
Fantaziya, op.118, vn, pf, 1994;
Syuita 'Portretï' [Portraits], op.122/2, pf duet, 1996
10 piano sonatas: no.1, op.3, 1957, rev. as op.121, 1995; no.10, op.4, 1957, rev. as op.124, 1997; no.2, op.17, 1960; no.3, op.32, 1965; no.4, op.53, 1972; no.5, op.56, 1973; no.6, op.64, 1975; no.7, op.85, pf, bells, 1982; no.8, op.99, 1986; no.9, op.114, 1992

Other solo inst:
3 polifonyudii, op.19b, pf, 1954, rev. 1961;
Variations, op.1, pf, 1956;
Egosyuita, op.6, pf, 1957;
Sonata no.1, op.5, vn, 1957;
Whims, 5 pieces, op.11, pf, 1958, rev. 1998;
Sonata no.1, op.18, vc, 1960;
3 zagadki [3 Enigmas], op.19, pf, 1960;
12 Inventions, op.27, org, 1964;
Sonata no.2, op.63, vn, 1975;
Sonata no.2, op.76, vc, 1979;
4 p'yesï [4 Pieces], op.94, tuba, 1985;
Marsh-Kontsert (Concerto alla marcia), op.106, 16 soloists, 1989;
12 portretov, op.113, org, 1992;
Pamyati Vitaliya Fomina [In Memory of Vitaly Fomin], op.122/1, org, 1996
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."