Help me to recognize modern symphonic work in style close to Shostakovich

Started by Dima, April 25, 2020, 01:12:56 AM

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Dima

Help me please to recognize next composition. It sounds like modern symphonic work in style of Shostakovich.
Link to listen:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1IIIJuRGgANanwyUDpVlpBC4QB_YLqh-4

krummholz

Doesn't really sound like Shostakovich to me. A totally wild guess: Khachaturian maybe?

Pohjolas Daughter

No idea!  Do you remember where, date and what time you heard it (if over the radio, they often have playlists that you can consult)?  Or was it in a movie (if so, you could try doing some research into the soundtrack)?  Just curious.

Best,

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Dima

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on May 03, 2020, 01:09:12 PM
No idea!  Do you remember where, date and what time you heard it (if over the radio, they often have playlists that you can consult)?  Or was it in a movie (if so, you could try doing some research into the soundtrack)?  Just curious.

Best,

PD
I just listen to random music on soundcloud.com (it was many years ago), and this music attracted my attention and I just downloaded it. I don't know why, but I did not even look on the author. I decided it was composition of somebody whose profile was on soundcloud. But now I understand that it is something genius and I don't know who is it.


Pohjolas Daughter

Ah, sorry about that.  There's nothing in your file identifying the work...any tags?  :(

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

relm1

To me, it sounds like 1950's Soviet film music.  Not by Shostakovich but he cast a large shadow and was influential to subsequent generation hence you hear Shostakovich-isms such as the high wind trills, the angular trumpet theme, the timpani+snare duo, etc.  There is actually quite of bit of music of this nature from obscure composers.  I don't think its someone famous like Schnittke or Khachaturian because they have a more distinct style...where you know who they are quickly even if its a work you don't know they did, you can hear "Oh that's Khachaturian" for example.

Maybe someone listed here but not one of the more famous names in the list? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Soviet_film_score_composers

Dima

Quote from: relm1 on May 04, 2020, 06:27:35 AM
To me, it sounds like 1950's Soviet film music.  Not by Shostakovich but he cast a large shadow and was influential to subsequent generation hence you hear Shostakovich-isms such as the high wind trills, the angular trumpet theme, the timpani+snare duo, etc.  There is actually quite of bit of music of this nature from obscure composers.  I don't think its someone famous like Schnittke or Khachaturian because they have a more distinct style...where you know who they are quickly even if its a work you don't know they did, you can hear "Oh that's Khachaturian" for example.

Maybe someone listed here but not one of the more famous names in the list? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Soviet_film_score_composers
Thank you for your opinion.
The piece is polystylistic: I hear also Bach, Stravinsky and some other composers. I must say it is geniusly
composed. It can not be unknown composer who wrote just for soviet films. In my view this work belongs to world
known composer. It sounds to me as music for theatre (ballet or opera).

krummholz

Quote from: relm1 on May 04, 2020, 06:27:35 AM
To me, it sounds like 1950's Soviet film music.  Not by Shostakovich but he cast a large shadow and was influential to subsequent generation hence you hear Shostakovich-isms such as the high wind trills, the angular trumpet theme, the timpani+snare duo, etc.  There is actually quite of bit of music of this nature from obscure composers.  I don't think its someone famous like Schnittke or Khachaturian because they have a more distinct style...where you know who they are quickly even if its a work you don't know they did, you can hear "Oh that's Khachaturian" for example.

Maybe someone listed here but not one of the more famous names in the list? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Soviet_film_score_composers

I don't necessarily think it's Khachaturian either - but I'm not sure I buy the "I'd recognize anything by them because they have such a distinct style" argument. There are plenty of works by composers in that league - even Shostakovich - that if I had heard blind for the first time, I probably wouldn't have correctly identified the composer. As an example, if you had played for me the first movement of DSCH's 4th string quartet at a time when I only knew the first three quartets, and wasn't familiar with anything else from his "Jewish" period, I probably would not have recognized the composer. In fact I might not have recognized Shostakovich until the 3rd or 4th movement. I can name other examples from famous composers that might have fooled me - even Beethoven. Composers often do new things throughout their careers and sometimes what they are writing is new enough that few distinctive "fingerprints" make it into the music.

That said, I agree that it sounds like film music, and I'm curious what other Soviet-era composers wrote film music... most of the names in your link are completely unknown to me.

Dima

Quote from: krummholz on May 04, 2020, 01:52:21 PM

That said, I agree that it sounds like film music, and I'm curious what other Soviet-era composers wrote film music... most of the names in your link are completely unknown to me.

Traditionally most of film music in soviet era are songs not soundtracks.
Listen to this for examlple: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tzqvnVMbd4q0sDswCkUZHLfJemfG9grb
And this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIFjkIZyMvs
Symphonic music in soviet films after the time of Schnitke became poor. But the songs are really great.
Now something changing.
Listen to modern symphonic film music in Russia (that is all the best i can remember for last 20 years):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qErZVKvL28A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qxldP63ZQ8


Roy Bland