GMG Classical Music Forum

Since we've had threads devoted to American, British, Scandinavian and Japanese composers, I thought that it was time for a Russian/Soviet one. Of the lesser known ones, Miaskovsky stands out for me, a key linking figure between the 19th Century nationalist figures (Rimsky, Borodin, Tchaikovsky, Balakirev, Liadov etc) and the great 20th Century figures like his friend Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Miaskovsky is well served on CD now with a complete set of symphonies on Warner and the Olymia/Alto set of symphonies being completed in August. In some ways, though, the best introduction is the one and only Naxos CD of Miaskovsky symphonies, containing two of the best, No 24 and 25. There is a separate Miaskovsky thread here too.

Gavril Popov (1904-72) is another great figure, whose First Symphony is the only one I know, apart from Vainberg's (or Weinberg's) Symphony No. 5 which stands comparison with Shostakovich's 4th Symphony. A terrifically compelling manic score.

Vissarion Shebalin (1902-63) is another composer whose music has meant a lot to me, especially symphonies 1 (like Miaskovsky) and the moving, valedictory 5th Symphony. Sadly, with the demise of Olympia his music is now difficult to find on CD.

Finally, for now, there is Vadim Salmanov (1912-78) , whose four symphonies, on a double CD set are well worth exploring. Mravinsky obviously thought highly of them as he recorded them all. Nos 1 and 4 are my favourites, No 2 is also a fine score. I have been listening to No 4 a lot recently. It was premiered by Mravinsky in 1977, not long before Salmanov's death (the performance is the one featured in the set) and there is a photo of Mravinsky and Salmanov together, at the premiere in the accompanying booklet. One critic described it as a "farewell symphony" and the last movement is very touching. The symphonies are a bit derivative of Shostakovich but I think that Salmanov is still well worth exploring. I am about to explore his string quartets, which are highly regarded by some.

These are just a few composers, but I look forward to reading about others.

Good idea, Vandermolen. It's still a bit of an effort to find Russian composers. Or Lithuanian, Estonian, Latvian, et cetera. Even in 2008.

I have, for instance, only one CD of the very talented and interesting Tarnopolski, who has made it onto CD only one or two other times, who is still fairly young, but try finding anything new by him!

I have three CDs of Tishchenko, which means the seventh symphony, the third symphony, the concerto for violin, piano, and strings, and the string quartet no. 4. (This last is something a Russian friend of mine burned for me years ago, so I don't yet have the first quartet, which is coupled with the fourth.)

Even the indefatigable IMEB has only come up with a couple of people doing electroacoustics. Eduard Artemiev is one. (I have his dark and almost orchestral "I would like to return" on the stereo as I type this.)

Thank you Some Guy  :)

I never heard of Tarnopolski and the others (apart from Tishchenko), but will see what I can discover.

You are, of course, quite correct in what you say about Miaskovsky, Jeffrey, so I shall take that as read.

I agree too about Popov. It is unfortunate that Olympia did not get around to issuing recordings of Popov's 3rd and 4th symphonies before its demise. The other four are all interesting works. There is a Telarc version of No.1(London symphony Orchestra/Leon Botstein) which i have not heard.

Olympia did manage to issue a complete set of the Shebalin and his symphonies too are attractive and rewarding.

Can I mention one or two others then-

Boris Tchaikovsky(no relative) is an extremely impressive composer of obvious real integrity. I have managed to build up a collection of most of his major orchestral works-the four symphonies, the piano, violin, cello and clarinet concerti, and a considerable number of other pieces. Naxos has done him a service by recording Symphony No.1 coupled with two good pieces-the Suites "The Mourning Forest" and "After the Ball" and the piano and clarinet concerti. Chandos has issued Symphony No.3 "Sebastopol" and there is a really good Hyperion disc with the Chamber Symphony, Sinfonietta, Six Etudes for Strings and Organ and the Prelude "The Bells". Perhaps the best Symphony is No.2(coupled with No.4-Symphony with Harp on Relief or with some Khachaturian on Russian Disc).
Boris certainly stands in the wake of Shostakovich but is no mere imitator and his music is being promoted by a Boris Tchaikovsky Society.

Tishchenko I find to be uneven. I like Symphony No.5 and the Violin Concerto No.2(both following Shostakovich's model) but haven't been able to come to terms with Symphony No.1 or the huge Symphony No.6. Naxos has issued the Seventh Symphony-an odd work which mixes some impressive passages with others which are bizzarely grotesque. I have just acquired Tishchenko's first two Dante Symphonies but have not yet listened to them.

Neeme Jarvi recorded Maximilian Steinberg's early Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2. Steinberg(1883-1946) was Rimsky-Korsakov's son-in-law and Shostakovich's teacher. The first two symphonies did not strike me as particularly inspired but they were written while Steinberg was still in his twenties. He wrote three more(1928, 1933 and 1942-the last two using themes from the Russian Asiatic Republics) which might be interesting.

I did recently manage to buy an ancient recording of Kabalevsky's 4th Symphony-a work which turned out to be better than I had anticipated!

I haven't heard a note of the Soviet era composer Yuri Shaporin(1887-1966), who was once highly regarded but I do have a recording of Lev Knipper's Symphony No.4 "Poem of the Komsomol Fighter". Knipper(1898-1974) was, strictly speaking, Georgian rather than Russian but he did work under the Soviet regime. He produced twenty symphonies, many on patriotic subjects, which I doubt will now see the light of day!

Ok..there are a few more names for you :)

Quote from: Dundonnell on July 13, 2008, 04:57:53 PM
You are, of course, quite correct in what you say about Miaskovsky, Jeffrey, so I shall take that as read.

I agree too about Popov. It is unfortunate that Olympia did not get around to issuing recordings of Popov's 3rd and 4th symphonies before its demise. The other four are all interesting works. There is a Telarc version of No.1(London symphony Orchestra/Leon Botstein) which i have not heard.

Olympia did manage to issue a complete set of the Shebalin and his symphonies too are attractive and rewarding.

Can I mention one or two others then-

Boris Tchaikovsky(no relative) is an extremely impressive composer of obvious real integrity. I have managed to build up a collection of most of his major orchestral works-the four symphonies, the piano, violin, cello and clarinet concerti, and a considerable number of other pieces. Naxos has done him a service by recording Symphony No.1 coupled with two good pieces-the Suites "The Mourning Forest" and "After the Ball" and the piano and clarinet concerti. Chandos has issued Symphony No.3 "Sebastopol" and there is a really good Hyperion disc with the Chamber Symphony, Sinfonietta, Six Etudes for Strings and Organ and the Prelude "The Bells". Perhaps the best Symphony is No.2(coupled with No.4-Symphony with Harp on Relief or with some Khachaturian on Russian Disc).
Boris certainly stands in the wake of Shostakovich but is no mere imitator and his music is being promoted by a Boris Tchaikovsky Society.

Tishchenko I find to be uneven. I like Symphony No.5 and the Violin Concerto No.2(both following Shostakovich's model) but haven't been able to come to terms with Symphony No.1 or the huge Symphony No.6. Naxos has issued the Seventh Symphony-an odd work which mixes some impressive passages with others which are bizzarely grotesque. I have just acquired Tishchenko's first two Dante Symphonies but have not yet listened to them.

Neeme Jarvi recorded Maximilian Steinberg's early Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2. Steinberg(1883-1946) was Rimsky-Korsakov's son-in-law and Shostakovich's teacher. The first two symphonies did not strike me as particularly inspired but they were written while Steinberg was still in his twenties. He wrote three more(1928, 1933 and 1942-the last two using themes from the Russian Asiatic Republics) which might be interesting.

I did recently manage to buy an ancient recording of Kabalevsky's 4th Symphony-a work which turned out to be better than I had anticipated!

I haven't heard a note of the Soviet era composer Yuri Shaporin(1887-1966), who was once highly regarded but I do have a recording of Lev Knipper's Symphony No.4 "Poem of the Komsomol Fighter". Knipper(1898-1974) was, strictly speaking, Georgian rather than Russian but he did work under the Soviet regime. He produced twenty symphonies, many on patriotic subjects, which I doubt will now see the light of day!

Ok..there are a few more names for you :)

Thanks Colin  :)

As always, we seem to be in agreement. I do have a B Tchaikovsky CD somewhere (Russian disc I think). I had not made much of it before but following your posting I am going to search it out and explore some of his other works. I didn't realise that there was anything on Naxos. I agree about Tischenko; I have the Olympias not the VC and Symphony 5.

My main point of agreement is concerning Kabalevsky Symphony No 4, which I would love to hear a modern recording of (Chandos?). It invariably gets a bad press but I enjoyed it very much. I have it on a very old Olympia CD, double album with K's overblown requiem, which I do find rather heavy going. His masterpiece I think is his wonderful, deeply felt Cello concerto No 2, which contradicts those who suggests that all his music was facile and superficial. The notorious Tikhon Khrennikov's Second Symphony is not without depth either.

The recording of the Kabalevsky 4th I managed to find is on the Monopole label. It is a recording from 1956 with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer in what I suspect is the work's premiere. The couplings are the Violin Concerto in a 1949 recording with David Oistrakh and the Piano concerto No.3 with Emil Gilels from 1954. The sound quality is pretty ropey but the performances are not! The Olympia disc of symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 is virtually unobtainable except at exorbitant prices.

I hope that Chandos keeps its Vainberg/Weinberg series going. The works by Vainberg I have heard, first in the incomplete Olympia series and now on Chandos, indicate a composer of real depth and eloquence, albeit that the huge later symphonies(Nos. 17, 18, 19 for example) are so full of anguish that they do not bear frequent listening(not a Russian Pettersson exactly but certainly a lot of angst!).

Thanks for all the information.

There must still be a wealth of quasi unexplored music in those Russian archives...

I recently acquired a CD with Andrey Petrov's (°1930) "The time of Christ" - a symphony ( ca 2002) in 6 movements with a choral finale. Dark & brooding ...but after only one listen I cannot say much more.
I occasionally listen to Vyacheslav Artiomov's ( °1940) works. I have a symphony ( Way to Olympus), the Gurian hymn, Invocations for soprano and percussion, Totem and Sonata of meditations for percussion and a huge Requiem (recorded in 1989) that I like . Both Petrov's and Artiomov's music is basically tonal and "acessible" - but both composers use "the whole arsenal of current compositional techniques" ...It can make for uneven, strange stylistic changes.

Leon Mouraviev (1905-1987) I know only by  "Nativité" a wonderful and haunting little work ( ca 13mins.) for stringtrio and stringorchestra ( on a Christophorus CD / Sudwestdeutsches Kammerorchester / Paul Angerer).  He's one of several Russian composers who studied and worked in France.

The strangest of them all may be Nicolai Obouchov ( 1892-1954) See Maciek's link to Modern Russian composers. 

And then there is Sergei Protopopov ...
Sergey Protopopov was the chief proponent of a compositional strategy devised by Kiev-based theorist Boleslav L. Yavorsky. Published in book form as Structure of Musical Speech in 1908, the technique used modal rhythm as its basis, in combination with the uncertain harmonic pull of the tritone. Modal speech-rhythm, as Protopopov called it, is a close kin to the general style and techniques employed by Russian composer Alexander Scriabin in his late works. Protopopov's approach, especially when applied in low passages, is also clearly informed by the work of Mussorgsky, in particular such pieces as "The Witches' Hut on Fowl's Legs" from Pictures at an Exhibition.

After completing a term in the faculty medical school at Moscow, Protopopov studied under Yavorsky, and took his degree from the Kiev Conservatory in 1921. Protopopov was mainly known as a conductor who worked with various orchestras throughout the U.S.S.R. His diminutive catalogue consists of only 11 works dating from 1917 to 1931. Protopopov's key pieces are the Three Piano Sonatas Opp. 1 (1920 - 1922), and 5-6 (1924 - 1928). The level of pianism required in these works is extreme, to the extent that the scores ask for notes beyond the standard range of the keyboard. Much of Protopopov's piano music is written on three staves, rather than two. Protopopov loved sequences and frequently applied them to single harmonic complexes. As all of these complexes are based on the tritone; this leads to extended passages of suspended harmonic movement. The effect of it is similar to that of advanced heavy metal rock music, a coincidental resemblance that is punched up by Protopopov's tendency to work with short, repetitive rhythmic units over long periods. Protopopov also utilized unbarred measures, birdcall like figures that anticipate the work of Messiaen and even marked one passage in the Third Sonata "dolce, indeterminato."

The rest of Protopopov's known output consists of Russian language songs, mostly on Pushkin texts. A single chorus of folk song arrangements credits Boleslav Yavorsky as co-composer. In 1930, Protopopov presented his ideas at a Soviet conference on the Theory of Modal Rhythm chaired by music commissar Anatoly Lunacharsky, and was favorably received. This allowed for the publication of Protopopov's life's work, a two-volume expansion upon Yavorsky's theories entitled Elements of the Structure of Musical Speech. This theoretical treatise also addresses Protopopov's interest in microtonal music, and Protopopov proposes a 72-pitch scale. However, in 1931 another Soviet music conference was held that declared "Modal speech-rhythm" contrary to the needs of the revolution. His theory discredited, Protopopov seems not to have written another note of music. Protopopov worked on the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory, departing in 1943. Afterward, little if anything is known of Protopopov's life until notice of his death is given at age 61 in 1954. ~  Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

Peter

Just a reminder:

Modern Russian composers (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,2315.0.html)

Contemporary Russian composers (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,2312.0.html)

And another one.

Quote from: some guy on July 13, 2008, 03:00:46 PM
Good idea, Vandermolen. It's still a bit of an effort to find Russian composers. Or Lithuanian, Estonian, Latvian, et cetera. Even in 2008.

I was certain I had started Ukrainian, Estonian and Latvian threads, since I remember making notes for them - but can't seem to find them now. So either this was on the old forum (quite likely; Christo, you should remember, I think you were active in those?), or I abandoned the project. But I really think it was on the old forum, since I also remember that the Lithuanian thread contained links to the other ones, and can't see those links now. (I also remember writing about Tarnopolski's Le vent des mots qu'il n'a pas dits somewhere, and can't find that either? :-\ And don't see a Yuri Laniuk thread, though I think I started one...? Damn, might I be having a senior moment? :o)

Anyway, here are the ones that exist right now:

Lithuanian composers (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,1693.0.html)

Belarusian composers (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,1694.0.html)

And once I'm done with some thorough searching, and make sure Estonian, Latvian and Ukrainian threads do not exist somewhere, I'll re-start them! $:)

Quote from: Maciek on July 14, 2008, 03:14:54 PM
Damn, might I be having a senior moment? :o)

I always knew you were mature beyond your years, Maciek.

As for Ukrainians, I like the music of Boris Lyatoshinsky (1895-1968). A Miaskovsky type figure who had to keep revising his music (ie Symphony 3) under pressure from the regime. No 3 is evidently highly regarded in the Ukraine and righly so. it has considerable power and eloquence and is darkly moving, conveying a sense of struggle and hard-won victory. there is a cycle of Lyatoshinsky's symphonies on Marco Polo (5 symphonies on three CDs) and there was a russian disc cycle (not so well recorded) and an individual (vg) CPO CD with Symphony 4 and 5 on. Marco Polo would be my recommendation (Ukrainian State SO, Theodore Kuchar).

I can upload an archive with 4 pieces of Tarnopolsky recorded live. It's about 100 MB.

One little-known Russian composer I find strangely fascinating is Alexei Stanchinsky, who produced a few piano works in what I suppose might be called a Bach-cum-Scriabinesque style before going insane and killing himself in his mid-20s. The second sonata (plus a four-voice canon) shows up in Thomas Ades' multi-composer recital on EMI, and there is also a rather tepid Marco Polo disc played by Daniel Blumenthal, and a more energetic (if perhaps lacking in subtlety) Etcetera recital from Nikolai Fefilov.

Anyone else here heard this composer, and have an opinion?

Quote from: edward on July 15, 2008, 07:23:50 AM
One little-known Russian composer I find strangely fascinating is Alexei Stanchinsky, who produced a few piano works in what I suppose might be called a Bach-cum-Scriabinesque style before going insane and killing himself in his mid-20s. The second sonata (plus a four-voice canon) shows up in Thomas Ades' multi-composer recital on EMI, and there is also a rather tepid Marco Polo disc played by Daniel Blumenthal, and a more energetic (if perhaps lacking in subtlety) Etcetera recital from Nikolai Fefilov.

Anyone else here heard this composer, and have an opinion?

I've heard Stanchinsky, several years ago one local pianist, Aleksandar Madzar, played few of his pieces in a recital (prelude en mode lydique and some etudes) and got me quite interested but Fefilov disc was unavailable at that time and I never followed it up. I do have some of his Preludes on Jenny Lin disc, those are from 1907-08 and they are very beautiful, more early Scriabin than Bach. As for an opinion, I don't yet have a strong one since haven't heard any of his major pieces (if 'major' can be used for someone who died in mid 20s). Should finally get Fefilov ::)

Stanchinsky's Prelude en mode lydique (1908) if anyone is interested
http://www.mediafire.com/?ovfjdz0xt3y     

Quote from: pjme on July 14, 2008, 02:40:10 PM
And then there is Sergei Protopopov ...

I'm interested but is there anything available on CD apart from 2nd Piano Sonata?

Quote from: tab on July 15, 2008, 05:43:39 AM
I can upload an archive with 4 pieces of Tarnopolsky recorded live. It's about 100 MB.

Please do, if it's something other than Kassandra, Eindruck-Ausdruck II, Echoes of the Passing Day, and Jesu, Your Deep Wounds.

Well, how self-centered of me. Just because I have those four doesn't mean et cetera.

So yeah, please do.

 Nikolai Kapustin eats all of those for breakfast and then some.

That cannot be healthy.

On 27th January this year the American Symphony Orchestra under the ever-enterprising Leon Botstein was scheduled to play Vladimir Shcherbachev's Symphony No.2(1922-26) , a work described by the British expert on Russian music David Fanning as "moumental apocalyptic". Can't find a review of the concert online.

Shcherbachev(1889-1952) was a pupil of Steinberg and Liadov, wrote 5 symphonies, taught at the Leningrad Conservatory and admired Shostakovich's 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'. Absolutely nothing by him appears to be on disc but if Botstein has taken the trouble to learn the work it must have something going for it :)

Quote from: tab on July 15, 2008, 05:43:39 AM
I can upload an archive with 4 pieces of Tarnopolsky recorded live. It's about 100 MB.

Please, please do! :D

Bother! Having not long ago buying an ancient recording of the premiere of Kabalevsky's 4th Symphony I see that CPO is about to release a two-disc set of all four Kabalevsky symphonies with the North German Radio Philharmonic conducted by Eiji Oue.

Oh well, at least that means that the Symphony No.3 "Requiem for Lenin" for chorus and orchestra now becomes available again!

And...a modern recording of Symphony No.4 for you, Jeffrey!

Now had a chance to listen to Boris Tishchenko's Dante Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 on a Northern Flowers CD recording of the premieres of both works. These are the first two symphonies in Tishchenko's massive 5 symphony cycle based on Dante's Divine Comedy. The Dante Symphony No.5 will be premiered in St.Petersburg in September, I understand.

The Symphony No.3(released on a Fuga Libera CD) did not make much impression on me at the time but I had best go back and have another listen to that CD because the first and second symphonies are pretty remarkable works! I don't think that I can remember hearing music quite so unrelentingly loud! The ear is battered by brass fanfares and timpani, side drum and bass drum assaults which do-at times-remind me of Nielsen No.4 or No.5. But they do work as depictions of the horrors of Hell as portrayed by Dante.

I don't really think that Tishchenko is a great composer. He is now-I suppose-the last of the pupils of Shostakovich who still works in an idiom which could be described as post-Shostakovich-which is to say that he is certainly now no slavish imitator. But he does now seem to me to be perhaps more interesting than I previously thought!

Would Sergey Taneyev be considered a "lesser known" Russian composer?  :-\

Alexander Lokshin (1920-1987)

A while ago i came across Alexander Lokshin, his works are quite nice. Some pieces can be downloaded from www.lokshin.org, there's also a biography / discography on the website.

from wiki..
He was born to Lazar Lokshin and Maria Korotkina, a doctor. He wrote eleven symphonies, two string quintets (one recorded), among other works. A pupil of a great Russian composer, Nikolay Myaskovsky, he refused to compromise with the Soviet regime and dearly paid for it by being persecuted and rejected by the censors . However, later in life there were allegations, never proved, that he had been an informer for the secret police. At the time of his death his name was forgotten in his native Russia and not known in the West. Some of his compositions he had never heard performed. His art, ironically, was introduced in the West only after his death. His close friendship with famed Russian conductor Rudolf Barshai led to their close collaboration, premier performances of his major works and recordings.

Quote from: daizowski on July 25, 2008, 01:57:47 AM
Alexander Lokshin (1920-1987)

A while ago i came across Alexander Lokshin, his works are quite nice. Some pieces can be downloaded from www.lokshin.org, there's also a biography / discography on the website.

from wiki..
He was born to Lazar Lokshin and Maria Korotkina, a doctor. He wrote eleven symphonies, two string quintets (one recorded), among other works. A pupil of a great Russian composer, Nikolay Myaskovsky, he refused to compromise with the Soviet regime and dearly paid for it by being persecuted and rejected by the censors . However, later in life there were allegations, never proved, that he had been an informer for the secret police. At the time of his death his name was forgotten in his native Russia and not known in the West. Some of his compositions he had never heard performed. His art, ironically, was introduced in the West only after his death. His close friendship with famed Russian conductor Rudolf Barshai led to their close collaboration, premier performances of his major works and recordings.

BIS released a couple of Lokshin discs containing his 4th, 5th, 9th and 11th symphonies. Nos. 5 and 9 are for baritone and strings and No.11 for soprano and orchestra.

Afraid I didn't really take to them very much. Found them rather dry to be honest.

Another persecuted Russian composer was Mikhail Nosyrev(1924-1981). There is an excellent website-http://www.nosyrev.com/
I find Nosyrev more accessible than Lokshin. Unfortunately the excellent Olympia series containing all of Nosyrev's major works will be difficult to obtain.

Here is Tarnopolsky's live concert.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/mnmr68

Quote from: Dundonnell on July 13, 2008, 04:57:53 PM
Neeme Jarvi recorded Maximilian Steinberg's early Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2. Steinberg(1883-1946) was Rimsky-Korsakov's son-in-law and Shostakovich's teacher. The first two symphonies did not strike me as particularly inspired but they were written while Steinberg was still in his twenties. He wrote three more(1928, 1933 and 1942-the last two using themes from the Russian Asiatic Republics) which might be interesting.

I listened again last night to Maximilain Steinberg's Second Symphony. I must say that I rather like this work (in memory of his teacher and father-in-law N Rimsky-Korsakov), especially the redemptive ending with the tolling bell like motive and the percussive use of the piano, which to me looks forward to the music of his pupil Shostakovich.

Feinberg anybody? I'm a novice and would appreciate comments.

Quote from: Dundonnell on July 24, 2008, 09:50:43 AM
Now had a chance to listen to Boris Tishchenko's Dante Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 on a Northern Flowers CD recording of the premieres of both works. These are the first two symphonies in Tishchenko's massive 5 symphony cycle based on Dante's Divine Comedy. The Dante Symphony No.5 will be premiered in St.Petersburg in September, I understand.

The Symphony No.3(released on a Fuga Libera CD) did not make much impression on me at the time but I had best go back and have another listen to that CD because the first and second symphonies are pretty remarkable works! I don't think that I can remember hearing music quite so unrelentingly loud! The ear is battered by brass fanfares and timpani, side drum and bass drum assaults which do-at times-remind me of Nielsen No.4 or No.5. But they do work as depictions of the horrors of Hell as portrayed by Dante.

I don't really think that Tishchenko is a great composer. He is now-I suppose-the last of the pupils of Shostakovich who still works in an idiom which could be described as post-Shostakovich-which is to say that he is certainly now no slavish imitator. But he does now seem to me to be perhaps more interesting than I previously thought!

I used to listen to quite a lot of Tishchenko -- some syms, VC 2, cello concerti and some of the piano works. I think he's a very good composer, original and haunting if sometimes tedious with the repetitive buildups. His violin concerto 2 is a masterly piece of music. Do you know it? As for the Dante syms, I've been wanting to hear them for some time. Someone I know mentioned that the orchestral performances could be improved upon but overall you make it sound well worth hearing.

Tab, thanks so much for the Tarnopolsky concert.

It's superb. Some very different performances of two pieces I already have* and two new pieces. I'm listening to Маятник Фуко as I type this. It's a real treat, very colorful and full of variety.

*preferable to the recorded performances I already have, just by the way!

Quote from: ezodisy on August 01, 2008, 09:59:14 AM
I used to listen to quite a lot of Tishchenko -- some syms, VC 2, cello concerti and some of the piano works. I think he's a very good composer, original and haunting if sometimes tedious with the repetitive buildups. His violin concerto 2 is a masterly piece of music. Do you know it? As for the Dante syms, I've been wanting to hear them for some time. Someone I know mentioned that the orchestral performances could be improved upon but overall you make it sound well worth hearing.

Agree about the Second Violin Concerto. I also admire the 5th Symphony a good deal.

The St.Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra is not the body it was in Soviet times(which Russian orchestra is!) and the two conductors in the premieres of the lst and 2nd Dante Symphonies-Yuri Kochnev and Nikolai Alexeev-are no Mravinskys but I would say that the performances are probanly adequate. It is obviously difficult with a premiere; one has to imagine what Mravinsky or Kondrashin would have made up them.

Quote from: erato on August 01, 2008, 09:27:45 AM
Feinberg anybody? I'm a novice and would appreciate comments.

Samuil Feinberg neatly fits into Pianist-Composer drawer since all, or vast majority (seem to recall reading about existing string quartet) of his compositions include piano - solo piano, piano concertos and songs (with piano accompaniment). Songs are I believe, mostly unrecorded, piano concertos I haven't heard but few are recorded.
Most easily available are piano sonatas (12) on two separate BIS CDs, most obvious point of reference would be Scriabin's late sonatas, but sufficiently different, denser, less mystical more angular, not that easy to penetrate, last few are bit lighter in style. Bottom line if you generally like Sriabin's late sonatas give Feinberg's a try, if not avoid.   

Quote from: tab on July 25, 2008, 04:24:44 AM
Here is Tarnopolsky's live concert.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/mnmr68

Thank you very much! I had been curious about Tarnopolsky's music, but never had the chance to listen to any work of his. For the moment, I have listened to Chevengur and I must say I'm impressed. By the way, do you know who the performers are? Cheers!

Regarding Vladimir Shcherbakov, I wish they would record some of his music; it'd be great if Botstein registered the Symphony, as he did with Popov's 1st. I know two of Shcherbakov works: one is his piano Invention, a flaming constructivist bravura piece continuously doubling in speed - driven to a delightful coda. The other, his Nonet (the eigth "instrument" being a soprano, the ninth - a mime!), which I listened (and recorded in casette) at an Euroradio transmission; a gorgeous composition. It's odd he's so little known even by 1920s Soviet progressive music standards.

Cheers!   

Quote from: Allegro ben articolato on August 02, 2008, 05:52:57 PM
Thank you very much! I had been curious about Tarnopolsky's music, but never had the chance to listen to any work of his. For the moment, I have listened to Chevengur and I must say I'm impressed. By the way, do you know who the performers are? Cheers!

Regarding Vladimir Shcherbakov, I wish they would record some of his music; it'd be great if Botstein registered the Symphony, as he did with Popov's 1st. I know two of Shcherbakov works: one is his piano Invention, a flaming constructivist bravura piece continuously doubling in speed - driven to a delightful coda. The other, his Nonet (the eigth "instrument" being a soprano, the ninth - a mime!), which I listened (and recorded in casette) at an Euroradio transmission; a gorgeous composition. It's odd he's so little known even by 1920s Soviet progressive music standards.

Cheers!   

Interesting comments on Shcherbakov! Yes, Botstein does seem to have a knack for rescuing little known composers and some of their works so perhaps there may be some hope of interesting a record company ;)

Quote from: Drasko on August 01, 2008, 02:40:36 PM
Samuil Feinberg neatly fits into Pianist-Composer drawer since all, or vast majority (seem to recall reading about existing string quartet) of his compositions include piano - solo piano, piano concertos and songs (with piano accompaniment). Songs are I believe, mostly unrecorded, piano concertos I haven't heard but few are recorded.
Most easily available are piano sonatas (12) on two separate BIS CDs, most obvious point of reference would be Scriabin's late sonatas, but sufficiently different, denser, less mystical more angular, not that easy to penetrate, last few are bit lighter in style. Bottom line if you generally like Sriabin's late sonatas give Feinberg's a try, if not avoid.   

Thanks, and as I fall into the late Scriabin crowd (not that its very crowded her) tis seems worth a try.

Also I would like to second the Tischenko 2nd Vn Concerto, a major and jawdropping work. Almost makes him a major composer even if all the rest he has composed is utter crap.

Quote from: Allegro ben articolato on August 02, 2008, 05:52:57 PM
Tarnopolsky's...Chevengur and I must say I'm impressed.

oh my god, Chevengur!!!!!! Do you know that that is the major work by Platonov which has not been translated into English yet? I have been waiting yeeeeeeeeeears to read that. Bloody Russian, can't read it properly, and with him it wouldn't make much sense anyway unless you were a native speaker or extremely advanced. Apparently Robert Chandler is working on a translation. Anyway thanks for mentioning it, it undoubtedly will be one of the major translations of the decade when it finally comes out. Going to listen to the music now....

This (http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh120/Ljubljanatallinn/Scan10020.jpg) is the Shcherbakov Invention's moving last page ;) Most unexpected resolution I have ever faced in a piano score, ex-aequo with Aribert Reimann Sonata's - I swear. On the other hand, it seems that Chevengur has been edited here in Spain (Ediciones Cátedra, 1998). I had never heard about this novel, but after listening to Tarnopolsky's music and reading about it, I'm definitely looking forward to read it.

Quote from: erato on August 02, 2008, 10:34:37 PM
Thanks, and as I fall into the late Scriabin crowd (not that its very crowded her) tis seems worth a try.

Also I would like to second the Tischenko 2nd Vn Concerto, a major and jawdropping work. Almost makes him a major composer even if all the rest he has composed is utter crap.

Oh, that's a bit harsh, isn't it? I don't imagine that you have heard everything Tishchenko has composed :) He is certainly a very uneven composer but-as I said above-I do think that the 5th Symphony is a good work and the lst and 2nd Dante Symphonies are certainly interesting.

Quote from: Dundonnell on August 03, 2008, 04:59:27 AM
Oh, that's a bit harsh, isn't it? I don't imagine that you have heard everything Tishchenko has composed :)

Didn't say he was a bad composer, just that this work makes him a significant one whatever the quality of the rest of his oeuvre.

Quote from: Dundonnell on July 19, 2008, 04:39:02 PM
Bother! Having not long ago buying an ancient recording of the premiere of Kabalevsky's 4th Symphony I see that CPO is about to release a two-disc set of all four Kabalevsky symphonies with the North German Radio Philharmonic conducted by Eiji Oue.

Oh well, at least that means that the Symphony No.3 "Requiem for Lenin" for chorus and orchestra now becomes available again!

And...a modern recording of Symphony No.4 for you, Jeffrey!

Just noticed this message. Great news Colin, thank you. Am currently listening to Tishchenko's Second Violin Concerto, inspired by this thread. I've had it since the Olympia CD came out but never made much of it before. It is really good. Kabalevsky's Symphony No 1 is also good, v much in the spirit of his teacher Miaskovsky.

I'm afraid nothing I've heard of Tischenko (7th Symphony, Cello Concerto (1st?)) made me very eager to go for more.

But I'd like to second on Nosyrev, great colorist if not always the most concise. Particularly fond of 1st Symphony, totally anachronistic but utterly gorgeous.

Quote from: Drasko on August 03, 2008, 05:59:56 AM
I'm afraid nothing I've heard of Tischenko (7th Symphony, Cello Concerto (1st?)) made me very eager to go for more.

But I'd like to second on Nosyrev, great colorist if not always the most concise. Particularly fond of 1st Symphony, totally anachronistic but utterly gorgeous.

Yes, the 7th Symphony is a wildly bizarre work and wouldn't have made me enthusiastic for more Tishchenko either :) The 6th Symphony is a huge, choral tedious work too....but I DO like the 5th!

Glad you like Nosyrev! The poor guy had a horrendous experience at the hands of Stalin's regime :(

Quote from: Drasko on August 03, 2008, 05:59:56 AM
I'm afraid nothing I've heard of Tischenko (7th Symphony, Cello Concerto (1st?)) made me very eager to go for more.

The first CC is rather cool (the one with Rostropovich playing) but the second (with R. conducting) is absolutely mindnumbingly dull. I couldn't believe the amount of repetition Tishchenko used. Completely killed it for me. Anyway it's a shame I no longer have his VC 2 because otherwise I would upload it for you. It is very intense with a killer finale, only criticism I would say is that the very long second movement cadenza is really quite bad (or unmusical). I remember Harry Collier quite rightly pointed out here just how bad, though I think he missed the point of the work as a whole. If I get it again I'll let you know.

Tishchenko's Violin Concerto No.2, op 84(Sergei Stadler and the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky).

1. Allegro moderato

http://www.mediafire.com/?vqt5zzfilxb

2. Presto

http://www.mediafire.com/?hiyz9ykbwdx

3. Allegro

http://www.mediafire.com/?m73z49iicvx

4. Andante

http://www.mediafire.com/?isn2o9mpd5j

If-by any chance-these links suggest that these are the movements from Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto and Serenade Melancolique ignore that info'!! They are in fact the Tishchenko Violin Concerto No.2-I promise you :)

Thanks! Very interesting. Why does the file info say it is Tchaikovsky with other interpreters?

Quote from: Dundonnell on August 03, 2008, 05:12:37 PM
Tishchenko's Violin Concerto No.2, op 84(Sergei Stadler and the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky).

Thanks so much!

Thanks, Colin! (I have changed the info accordingly.)

Quote from: M forever on August 03, 2008, 06:25:20 PM
Thanks! Very interesting. Why does the file info say it is Tchaikovsky with other interpreters?

Search me! Windows Media Player came up with that info' when I put the CD into my PC to rip to MP3 format. I changed that info' to the correct details for the Tishchenko which is actually on the disc but when I uploaded the files to Mediafire it had all reverted to Tchaikovsky.
I tried to change it again on Mediafire but without success :( >:(

And let us not forget Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935), another interesting composer. The Caucasian Sketches are his best know work but I also really like the Three Musical Tableaux from Ossian and much of his other music. I think that he would appeal to admirers of Rimsky-Korsakov and Liadov.  The emotion in his music is understated, which makes it all the more poignant in some ways; an endearing figure I think.

Quote from: Allegro ben articolato on August 02, 2008, 05:52:57 PM
Thank you very much! I had been curious about Tarnopolsky's music, but never had the chance to listen to any work of his. For the moment, I have listened to Chevengur and I must say I'm impressed. By the way, do you know who the performers are? Cheers!

Here is the site of these performers: http://www.ccmm.ru/en/index.php?page=studio&part=about

I often attend their concerts. Here are the pieces of Tarnopolsky's pupils (Sound plasticity group): http://www.sound-p.rapsody.ru/Sound%20Plasticity.rar.

Quote from: Lilas Pastia on August 03, 2008, 05:32:10 PM
(http://www.russiandvd.com/store/assets/product_images/imgs/front/32145.jpg)

Please let us know your opinion on Knipper's fourth !

Well, nomen est omen in this case is accurate - symphony being subtitled Poem of the Komsomol Fighter. It's big burly, dramatic revolutionary* oom-pah of a piece brimming with brass fanfares, side drums and fervent choir passages. First three movements basically revolve around working, re-working and over-working of Polyushko Pole theme in all imaginable combinations of soloists, orchestra and choir. Finale, almost unexpectedly, departs from till then omnipresent theme. Strictly choral with orchestral accompaniment, first part, joyous sounding folk based morphs halfway through into typical militaristic triumphant march; in the coda Polyushko Pole theme returns, first in orchestra and then to end in some top of the lungs choral shouting.
So, if you want to get in the right mood for storming bunkers it's pretty good but otherwise I believe the song Polyushko Pole (actually derived from symphony) as sung by Red Army Choir distills all best moments of the symphony into three minutes.

For those who aren't familiar with the song I've uploaded relatively rare version by Red Army Choir from late 30s, presumably conducted by their founder Alexander Alexandrov.
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/7/24/2018019/polpol2.mp3[/mp3]

* which is somewhat odd given the fact that Knipper spent the revolution fighting on the opposite side, under baron Wrangel, leaving the Russia in 1920 with rest of the Wrangel's forces to return few years later to become Chekist. :o His life seems rather interesting, does anyone perhaps have some more precise info?   

Quote from: tab on August 04, 2008, 08:53:46 AMI often attend their concerts.

You lucky lucky bastard!

Quote from: tab on August 04, 2008, 08:53:46 AMHere are the pieces of Tarnopolsky's pupils (Sound plasticity group): http://www.sound-p.rapsody.ru/Sound%20Plasticity.rar.

This link gives me a 404. Could you update that for us? I for one would love to hear this.

Quote from: some guy on August 05, 2008, 10:18:50 AM
This link gives me a 404. Could you update that for us? I for one would love to hear this.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/4qidmr

tab,

Большое спасибо

some

(I got that off babelfish, so can only hope that it's right.)

Quote from: Drasko on August 05, 2008, 09:43:35 AM
For those who aren't familiar with the song I've uploaded relatively rare version by Red Army Choir from late 30s, presumably conducted by their founder Alexander Alexandrov.
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/7/24/2018019/polpol2.mp3[/mp3]

I know it. I had a record once with the Red Army Choir on which this was the first track. Thanks.

Quote from: ezodisy on August 03, 2008, 01:58:27 AM
oh my god, Chevengur!!!!!! Do you know that that is the major work by Platonov which has not been translated into English yet? I have been waiting yeeeeeeeeeears to read that. Bloody Russian, can't read it properly, and with him it wouldn't make much sense anyway unless you were a native speaker or extremely advanced. Apparently Robert Chandler is working on a translation. Anyway thanks for mentioning it, it undoubtedly will be one of the major translations of the decade when it finally comes out. Going to listen to the music now....

Quote from: Allegro ben articolato on August 03, 2008, 03:56:27 AMit seems that Chevengur has been edited here in Spain (Ediciones Cátedra, 1998). I had never heard about this novel, but after listening to Tarnopolsky's music and reading about it, I'm definitely looking forward to read it.

Apparently, one is better served with translations from Russian literature in Spanish - and Dutch, as we can boast a translation of Chevengur as well. You better learn Spanish or Dutch, perhaps!  :-\ (I've been told there are actually more translations of Russian literature available in Dutch than in English, but I can't check it). Anyhow, this is how it looks like in this translation:

            (http://blogsimages.skynet.be/images/001/023/910_3cffe33bd797d679d0a61f4cd23e018a.jpg)

(BTW, I didn't read it, but the reviews weren't over-enthusiastic, so perhaps this is not the Platonov to go for ... )

Quote from: Drasko on August 05, 2008, 09:43:35 AM
Well, nomen est omen in this case is accurate - symphony being subtitled Poem of the Komsomol Fighter. It's big burly, dramatic revolutionary* oom-pah of a piece brimming with brass fanfares, side drums and fervent choir passages. First three movements basically revolve around working, re-working and over-working of Polyushko Pole theme in all imaginable combinations of soloists, orchestra and choir. Finale, almost unexpectedly, departs from till then omnipresent theme. Strictly choral with orchestral accompaniment, first part, joyous sounding folk based morphs halfway through into typical militaristic triumphant march; in the coda Polyushko Pole theme returns, first in orchestra and then to end in some top of the lungs choral shouting.
So, if you want to get in the right mood for storming bunkers it's pretty good but otherwise I believe the song Polyushko Pole (actually derived from symphony) as sung by Red Army Choir distills all best moments of the symphony into three minutes.

For those who aren't familiar with the song I've uploaded relatively rare version by Red Army Choir from late 30s, presumably conducted by their founder Alexander Alexandrov.
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/7/24/2018019/polpol2.mp3[/mp3]

* which is somewhat odd given the fact that Knipper spent the revolution fighting on the opposite side, under baron Wrangel, leaving the Russia in 1920 with rest of the Wrangel's forces to return few years later to become Chekist. :o His life seems rather interesting, does anyone perhaps have some more precise info?   

Your excellent description inspires me to give the symphony another hearing :) Doubt if I have listened to it more than once :)

I wonder why more of Knipper's music was not recorded given that he was semi-politically acceptable to the Soviet regime? Not that I could face buying twenty Knipper symphonies ;D ;D

There is a nice sentence in David Fanning's chapter on The Symphony in Soviet Russia in 'A Companion to the Symphony'-

"None of his(Knipper's) later works hit the headlines, though they were occasionally given a ritual nod of disapproval for their supposed 'excessive individualism', a remarkable inversion of the truth". :) :)

Very interesting concert, tab. Thanks again for the link.

I was pleased to hear some evidence that the instrumental music tradition of Galina Ustvolskaya is apparently being furthered in the pupils of Tarnopolski. I've often wondered what had happened with that thread.

Do you ever hear much Russian electroacoustic music, either in concerts or on the radio (or on CD)? (Am I correct in assuming that you reside in Russia?)

Right...I have just listened to Knipper's 4th Symphony again....all of it :) :)

I can honestly say that it is probably one of the worst pieces of music I have ever had the misfortune to endure(and buy :()
No wonder I hadn't listened to it again since I bought the bloody CD ;D It is the most ghastly piece of tub-thumping Soviet era patriotic garbage imagineable!

When one compares this with the music that Miaskovsky, say, was writing around the same time....words fail me!!

In fact, there are no words to express how awful this was >:( ;D  so I am going to lapse into grateful silence ;)

Quote from: Christo on August 05, 2008, 12:39:08 PM
(I've been told there are actually more translations of Russian literature available in Dutch than in English, but I can't check it).

I believe it. When in Amsterdam I came across a Dutch bookshop specifically dedicated to Russian literature. It was a charming little store crammed with Russian books in Dutch and with a very nice guy working there.

Thanks, Milos. What an interesting description ! Maybe I should give this a listen  ;D. If I ever stumble on it in a second hand shop I might ask the clerk to sample the thing.

And what about the Red Poppy Suite?

Jenny Lin's disc: Prelude to a Revoluion covers an expansive range of little heard Russian composers and pieces. The most impressive being Obouhow whose life makes Scriabin appear to be quite normal.

Quote from: Lilas Pastia on August 05, 2008, 04:36:04 PM
Thanks, Milos. What an interesting description ! Maybe I should give this a listen  ;D. If I ever stumble on it in a second hand shop I might ask the clerk to sample the thing.

And what about the Red Poppy Suite?

You have been warned ;D :)

 

Quote from: some guy on August 05, 2008, 02:08:18 PM
Very interesting concert, tab. Thanks again for the link.

I was pleased to hear some evidence that the instrumental music tradition of Galina Ustvolskaya is apparently being furthered in the pupils of Tarnopolski. I've often wondered what had happened with that thread.

Hmm... This tradition is clearly French in one way and spectralistic in another. These pupils are "grandchildren" :D of Denisov (with Tarnopolsky as "father" ), who came from Shostakovich to Debussy and Boulez himself. Also Grisey is their main interest as I know it. As for Ustvolskaya... - I don't think so.

No argument there.

The operative word in my post was "some." And it was a mistake to use the word "tradition" in the same sentence. And there's really no Ustvolskaya tradition, is there?

What I heard, only, and only on that first hearing, was some of the harsh, gawky, awkward brutisme that I associate with Galina's music. But (other than first hearings being unreliable!) I suppose some of that could just be because they're students!

Quote from: some guy on August 05, 2008, 02:08:18 PM
Do you ever hear much Russian electroacoustic music, either in concerts or on the radio (or on CD)? (Am I correct in assuming that you reside in Russia?)

Yes, some young composers are experimenting with electronic stuff now. Generally, the result is unmature IMHO, and it's still terra incognita for them.

QuoteAnd there's really no Ustvolskaya tradition, is there?

What I heard, only, and only on that first hearing, was some of the harsh, gawky, awkward brutisme that I associate with Galina's music. But (other than first hearings being unreliable!) I suppose some of that could just be because they're students!

In this sense - no, there isn't. The compositions of "Sound plasticity" aren't brutal at all in comparison with the music of other major group called "Structural Resistance".

For example, here is the piece "бздмн" by B. Filanovsky (be prepared, very weird stuff). It's interesting to hear what do you think it's about. :)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/gkpb9s

Have today received Kabalevsky symphonies 1-4 (CPO NDR RPO, Oue). A very interesting disc with beautifully played and recorded performances.  The Miaskoskian opening movement of the First Symphony has more depth and power than in any other recording I have heard (ie ASV, Olympia) and the Fourth symphony, which has needed a modern recording for decades emerges,IMHO, as a much greater work than suggested by the Penguin CD Guide (where it was written off as "conventional...commonplace".) Infact, I would say that together with the Cello Concerto No 2 (Kabalevsky's masterpiece I think), it is his greatest work (of the ones I know.)

The cataclysmic, funereal ending of the first movement is a terrific moment in this version and the slow movement has greater depth than Kabalevsky's own recording.  I haven't yet been able to face Symphony 3 "Requiem for Lenin" but this is a very interesting set and thanks to Colin for alerting me to its existence.

Those CDs are on order, Jeffrey, and should arrive soon. From your description I am now certainly looking forward to hearing the symphonies :)

Just hope that the 3rd is not as bad as Knipper's 4th ;D

I can't find this set on mdt who usually is my reliable source of cpo discs (?)

Quote from: erato on August 06, 2008, 01:23:24 PM
I can't find this set on mdt who usually is my reliable source of cpo discs (?)

CPO releases in Germany two months before the UK. MDT will not therefore be stocking these discs until October.

Thank you. Kabalevskys 2nd cello concerto is a great work but I know nothing else (more or less) by the man. Is this a 2 x fullprice release BTW?

Quote from: erato on August 07, 2008, 02:07:05 AM
Thank you. Kabalevskys 2nd cello concerto is a great work but I know nothing else (more or less) by the man. Is this a 2 x fullprice release BTW?

24.99 euros until 15 August direct from company and then 29.99 euros.

Georg Sviridov anybody? I've got a couple of old Melodiya LPs and seem to remember there was stuff I liked quite well on one of them. Must get my LP player hooked up - one day.

Never heard any Svirdov :( Always wanted to sample him :)

Btw what's the weather like in Norway just now? Only a week until I head to Stockholm and ten days till I fly from there to Tromso :) :)
Am definitely going to make it to Bleik in Andoya :) :) Have been looking at photos on Google Earth. Looks fantastic :) :)

Here on the western coast: reasonably warm, cloudy and very little rain for the last week. Overall not bad - and we had a stunning end og July. In the north (if the weather forecast is anything to go by) it has been sunny. But in these  northern, Atlantic, climes, the whole key is variation, and unpredictability. I cross my fingers for you!  ;)

Thanks :)

Quote from: erato on August 07, 2008, 04:15:57 AM
Georg Sviridov anybody? I've got a couple of old Melodiya LPs and seem to remember there was stuff I liked quite well on one of them. Must get my LP player hooked up - one day.

I have one, very enjoyable, CD with Sviridov's music. It is on Olympia, so presumably difficult to get hold of now or only available at a ridiculous price. It featured "The Snowstorm", a lovely, melodic "Musical Sketch to the story by A Pushkin" also featured are the "Three Choruses" which are very Russian sounding and the excellent Miniature Suite which, despite its diminutive title contains music of real substance. It ends on a musical "question mark" and the notes suggest that this may have a connecion with the year of its composition 1964; the year of the fall of the de-Stalinizer Khrushchev.  Sviridov wrote much choral music and the CD ends with the hauningly atmospheric Cantata "Snow is Falling". All this music is of a very high standard and unlike any other composer, although very Russian sounding and not modernist in any way.  I think that he is well worth investigating and it has been a pleasure playing this CD again. Hauntingly atmospheric music.

Is this Svetlanov conducting?

Tab, thanks for the Filanovsky, too. That was much fun. I'm not too fond of the singing, yet. Or not entirely. But the music is quite fun and the instrumental forces make for some fascinating timbral combinations. I have this on my hard drive now, so if anything changes as I listen, I'll let you know.

Sorry to hear that the electroacoustic scene is still struggling over there. I suppose that's only to be expected. But I just heard some stuff from China this spring, China being another place that's not been too good for electroacoustic music. The pieces were quite good, even from the young guys. Strong, adept, graceful, entirely competent and pleasing.

I listened to many samples today of russian composers, the ones I like and want to investigate further are:
Lourie, Kabalevsky, Markevitch, Roslavets, Mossolov, Polovinkin, Protopopov, Denisov, and Schnittke.

Quote from: Henk on August 10, 2008, 12:25:18 PM
I listened to many samples today of russian composers, the ones I like and want to investigate further are:
Lourie, Kabalevsky, Markevitch, Roslavets, Mossolov, Polovinkin, Protopopov, Denisov, and Schnittke.

Here's something for start:

Arthur Lourie - A Little Chamber Music - Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie
http://www.mediafire.com/?gxcxn4yb8nx

Alexander Mosolov - Iron Foundry - Los Angeles Philharmonic / Salonen
http://www.mediafire.com/?usyzwfg7b8t

Lourie was really a chameleon, don't know how many styles he changed throughout his career, from qiute radical avant-garde all the way to neo baroque. A Little Chamber Music is from his neoclassical period.

For Igor Markevitch you're stuck with nicely comprehensive but not that brilliantly played Marco Polo cycle. Try volumes with Icare and earlier L'Envol d'Icare, they make for nice comparison.

For Roslavets there is bit more choice, beyond various piano antologies including some of his pieces there are two Hyperion discs, Hamelin's and one with orchestral music (neither of which I heard).

Since Melodiya/BMG Musica non Grata series are insanely difficult to find, Mossolov other than piano music which is relatively well represented will prove a problem finding.

Even more for Protopopov and Polovinkin, other than their inclusion in two discs of piano anthology Soviet Avant-Garde by Steffen Schleiermacher on Hat Hut there is nothing that I know of.

I'm not that familiar with Denisov, and Schnittke is fairly easy to sample (don't miss the Piano Quintet)
   

Quote from: erato on August 07, 2008, 11:01:08 AM
Is this Svetlanov conducting?

No (Sviridov CD), it is conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev.

Quote from: Drasko on August 10, 2008, 02:30:35 PM
Here's something for start:

Arthur Lourie - A Little Chamber Music - Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie
http://www.mediafire.com/?gxcxn4yb8nx

Alexander Mosolov - Iron Foundry - Los Angeles Philharmonic / Salonen
http://www.mediafire.com/?usyzwfg7b8t

Lourie was really a chameleon, don't know how many styles he changed throughout his career, from qiute radical avant-garde all the way to neo baroque. A Little Chamber Music is from his neoclassical period.

For Igor Markevitch you're stuck with nicely comprehensive but not that brilliantly played Marco Polo cycle. Try volumes with Icare and earlier L'Envol d'Icare, they make for nice comparison.

For Roslavets there is bit more choice, beyond various piano antologies including some of his pieces there are two Hyperion discs, Hamelin's and one with orchestral music (neither of which I heard).

Since Melodiya/BMG Musica non Grata series are insanely difficult to find, Mossolov other than piano music which is relatively well represented will prove a problem finding.

Even more for Protopopov and Polovinkin, other than their inclusion in two discs of piano anthology Soviet Avant-Garde by Steffen Schleiermacher on Hat Hut there is nothing that I know of.

I'm not that familiar with Denisov, and Schnittke is fairly easy to sample (don't miss the Piano Quintet)
   

I've heard the Schleiermacher, which was my introduction of many of them. Unfortunately it's OOP.
Downloading now. Thanks for uploading.

Re Sviridov - on the september release lists:

(http://www.mdt.co.uk/public/pictures/products/standard/VVCD00067.jpg)

SVIRIDOV, GEORGY Small Tryptich, It is Snowing, Poem for Sergei Esenin. Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra / Vladimir Fedoseyev. Vista Vera

Vista Vera? That's a completely new name to me! A label I had never heard of.

Quote from: Dundonnell on August 13, 2008, 04:21:10 PM
A label I had never heard of.

Ditto. They seem to have a few September releases of interesting stuff, check mdt.co.uk September releases.

Quote from: Dundonnell on August 13, 2008, 04:21:10 PM
Vista Vera? That's a completely new name to me! A label I had never heard of.

Me too. Looks v interesting. Thanks for info.

I recently received a recording of the violin concerto by Tolia Nikiprowetzky (1916-1997). He was born is Russia, but thats nearly all I could find out about him. Anyone know more about him?

Tolia Nikiprowetsky was born in 1916 in Feodosia but lived and studied in France he became a French citizen.
Studies with : René Leibowitz and PLé-Caussade.
He worked for Radio Maroc and became (still is) a respected specialist on traditional African music.

He went through a "modal" and a "serial" period, did some research on electro-acoustics . His late works are written in a "freely atonal" style.
Claude Rostand mentiones in his Dictionaire de la musique contemporaine ( 1970) : a Symphonietta, a symphony "Logos 5",an large orchestral work "Homage à Gaudi" ( which I must have on an old LP - ORTF), choral & vocal works : Numina sacra, les Chants de la fille seule, les Noces d'Ombre etcv. A pianosonata, a string quartet and Etudes for piano.

He died in 1997.

Peter


Books :on Ebay /second hand ...
NIKIPROWETZKY, TOLIA, SAMUEL ENO BELINGA, GISELE BINON, MONIQUE BRANDILY, A. ESSYAD, ANDRE FRANCIS, PAUL MERCIER, MARIA ISAURA PEREIRA DE QUEIROZ, AMNON SHILOAH, BERNARD VERNIER, KHALIL ZAMITI & HUGO ZEMP. LA MUSIQUE DANS LA VIE: L'AFRIQUE, SES PROLONGEMENTS, SES VOISINS
Paris, Office De Cooperation Radiophonique (OCORA) & Editions R. Nagy., 1967, First Edition. Pictorial Wrappers, 8vo, 297pp, 11 b&w illustrations. Text in French. This is an anthology of scholarly essays on various aspects of the traditional music of the African continent. A presentable copy showing light wear and handling as well as some mild cracking of the wrappers at the spine.. Good +.

Quote from: Dundonnell on July 15, 2008, 04:05:11 PM
On 27th January this year the American Symphony Orchestra under the ever-enterprising Leon Botstein was scheduled to play Vladimir Shcherbachev's Symphony No.2(1922-26) , a work described by the British expert on Russian music David Fanning as "moumental apocalyptic". Can't find a review of the concert online.

Shcherbachev(1889-1952) was a pupil of Steinberg and Liadov, wrote 5 symphonies, taught at the Leningrad Conservatory and admired Shostakovich's 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'. Absolutely nothing by him appears to be on disc but if Botstein has taken the trouble to learn the work it must have something going for it :)

I am interested to see this name because a while ago I made an enquiry regarding Nicolai Shcherbachyov(1853 - ?). I wonder whether the two are related. I have since discovered on the back of my copy of Scriabin's 2 Impromptus Op. 12 in Belaïeff's edition (1897) a list of this composers piano works from Op8 to Op42. However, he is here spelt 'Stcherbatcheff' Spelling may be one reason finding information is so difficult!
Here are some other composers from Feofanov's edition of Russian composers from the 19th and early 20th centuries:
Achilles Alfaraky (1846-1919)
Yevgeny Alenev (1864-1902)
Arseny Koreshchenko (1870-1921)
Vasily Sapellnikov (1867-1941)
Joseph Vitol (1863-1948)
Feliks Blumenfeld (1863-1931)
Sergey Bortkevich (1877-1952)
Aleksandr Ilyinsky (1859-1920)
Boris Karagichev (1869-1946)
Sergey Lyapunov (1859-1924)
Genary Korganov (1858-1890)
Genrikh Pachulski (1857(9?)-1921)
Vladimir Rebikov (1866-1920)

Quite a bit of scope for research here.

Quote from: pjme on August 14, 2008, 01:04:40 PM
Tolia Nikiprowetsky was born in 1916 in Feodosia but lived and studied in France he became a French citizen.
Studies with : René Leibowitz and PLé-Caussade.
He worked for Radio Maroc and became (still is) a respected specialist on traditional African music.

He went through a "modal" and a "serial" period, did some research on electro-acoustics . His late works are written in a "freely atonal" style.
Claude Rostand mentiones in his Dictionaire de la musique contemporaine ( 1970) : a Symphonietta, a symphony "Logos 5",an large orchestral work "Homage à Gaudi" ( which I must have on an old LP - ORTF), choral & vocal works : Numina sacra, les Chants de la fille seule, les Noces d'Ombre etcv. A pianosonata, a string quartet and Etudes for piano.

He died in 1997.

Peter

Hello Peter,

thanks a lot for the additional information on Tolia Nikiprowetzky!

Quote from: Dundonnell on August 07, 2008, 05:20:40 AM
Never heard any Svirdov :( Always wanted to sample him :)

Btw what's the weather like in Norway just now? Only a week until I head to Stockholm and ten days till I fly from there to Tromso :) :)
Am definitely going to make it to Bleik in Andoya :) :) Have been looking at photos on Google Earth. Looks fantastic :) :)

Photos of Bleik for you erato! It was a glorious day when I visited Andoya :) Rather more cloudy in Langoya but a wonderful holiday :) :)

Thank you!  Ah, memories.....

This could be interesting. Only thing I ever heard from Deshevov is this short percussive, repetitive, motoric piano piece titled Rails.
(http://www.mdt.co.uk/public/pictures/products/standard/101323.jpg)
http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product/NR_September08/101323.htm (http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product/NR_September08/101323.htm)

official trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25LzcsA6vPo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25LzcsA6vPo)

Naxos is advertising an October release of Kara Karayev's 3rd Symphony coupled with two shorter orchestral tone poems-

http://www.naxos.com/upcomingreleases.asp

That should be interesting :) Karayev was from Azerbaijan and a pupil of Shostakovich. His third symphony is quoted as an "artistically successful blend of tonal and twelve-note styles". There is a useful website devoted to Karayev from the indefatigable Onno van Rijen -

http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/karaev.htm

Quote from: edward on July 15, 2008, 07:23:50 AM
One little-known Russian composer I find strangely fascinating is Alexei Stanchinsky.....

New mostly Stanchinsky disc is coming out from Melodiya, some piano music and first time ever I think, a Piano Trio:

(http://www.melody.su/eng/fotos/picture1343.jpg)

Michael Glinka
1 Variations on a Theme of Mozart 4.18
2 Nocturne “La Séparation” 4.13
3 Skylark (trans. by M.Balakirev) 4.52

Alexei Stanchinsky
4 Piano Sonata in E flat minor (1906) 9.00

Twelve Sketches for Piano, Op.1
5 №1 – Moderato, in C minor 1.01
6 №2 – Presto, in G minor g-moll 0.35
7 №3 – Vivace, in D major 0.32
8 №4 – Lento cantabile, in E minor 2.06
9 №5 – Allegro, in A flat major 0.46
10 №6 – Andante epico, in D minor 2.37
11 №7 – Adagio teneramente, in C flat major 2.28
12 №8 – Molto vivace, in G sharp minor 0.54
13 №9 – Largamente, in D minor 2.29
14 №10 – Con moto, in A major 0.48
15 №11 – Allegro con spirito, in F sharp minor 0.45
16 №12 – Presto assai, in C major 0.59

Three Preludes for Piano (1907)
17 Prelude No.1 in C sharp minor. Lento 2.13
18 Prelude No.2 in D major. Con moto 0.46
19 Prelude No.3 in E flat minor. Adagio 2.27
20 Prelude in the Lydian Mode (1908) 4.55
21 Etude in G minor (1907) 2.31
22 Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello (1910) 11.05

Total playing time: 62.31
Alexander Malkus, piano
Grigory Feigin, violin (22)
Valentin Feigin, cello (22)
Recorded in 2001 (1–3), 1988 (4–22).
Catalogue number: MEL CD 10 01385

QuoteIt is not by accident that the piano compositions by Michael Ivanovich Glinka and Alexei Vladimirovich Stanchinsky, two composers who were quite distant from each other in terms of time and style, are recorded onto one compact disc. The connection between them seems to mark the boundaries of the time span for the Russian piano school of the 19th century, a century which, according to many, stretched as far ahead as 1914. That year marked the tragic death of Stanchinsky and the beginning of World War I, and with it of the new art of Russia and the whole world. No less remarkable is the circumstance of the two composers having so much in common in the inner spirit of their music, despite the immense difference of moods in it. Glinka’s music is similar to Pushkin’s verses: it is remarkably harmonious and sophisticatedly complex, its texture does not have anything redundant and its language is accessible to each and everyone. The music of Stanchinsky resembles the verse of the Russian symbolist poets; its language is vague and the poetical technique is on the verge of intricacy. Nonetheless, it also does not have anything redundant. And this lack of “redundancy” becomes a crucial feature both for Pushkin and for Glinka. The spirit of “pure” music, free from any exigencies, breathes in their music the way it wants to.
As is well-known, Glinka was the pupil of the famous John Field and in a famous spot in his “Memoirs” presented a vindication of his teacher, criticizing Liszt. “Neither I nor any other sincere admirer of the art of music would ever agree with the opinion of Liszt, who has once declared to me that Field played in a weak manner (endormi); no, Field’s performance was frequently bold, capricious and varied, but he did not distort his art with charlatanry and did not chop cutlets with his fingers the way most of the latest fashionable pianists do”. Glinka’s music in the virtuosic transcriptions of Liszt, Balakirev and Lyadov present the appearance to us as if it is dressed in a fancy concert suit, which does not fit its wearer in size. It is much more suited to the dressing gown with the hood from the composer’s celebrated portrait. Glinka’s “chamber” manner with its highlighted attention to concise articulation of each sound (Glinka’s music, similarly to Mozart’s, has “few notes”, but how exceptionally hard it is for some pianists who are able to tackle the most virtuosic passages by Liszt and Rubinstein to acquiesce their meaning), turned out to be long forgotten in Russia, which has been left for half a century under the dazzling spell of the Rubinstein brothers, who were, in essence, virtuosi of the Liszt school. Only at the very beginning of the 20th century with the dusk of Romanticism this tendency received an unexpected continuation in the music of Scriabin. The academician Assafiev, who perceived very subtly the tendencies of his time, wrote about this phenomenon as follows: “But let us say, for example, an exceptional, individual phenomenon – … namely, the pianist Scriabin – does he not evoke in our memories by some of his musical traits Glinka’s aesthetics of piano playing and his remark about John Field?”.
Alexei Stanchinsky was born on March 9 (21) 1888 in the village Obolsunovo, near Teikovo (presently, the Ivanovo region) into the family of an engineer. Along with many other young composers of his generation (including his colleague, Anatoly Alexandrov, who was born on the same year) he regarded Scriabin as his first idol, albeit, fortunately, not his sole one. Having moved to Moscow in 1904 Stanchinsky became a pupil of Sergei Taneyev, whose aesthetical positions were extremely opposed to Scriabin’s. A creator of a system of counterpoint, which was the only one of its kind, an astute specialist in the counterpoint from all the styles of the history of music, himself a virtuosic contrapuntal master, Taneyev instilled into the youth a love towards a fancy performance of melodies, which oppose with and combine with each other in the most diverse variations. It is not by chance, therefore, that we are able to find in Stanchinsky’s oeuvres numerous examples of canons and fugues. However, the harmonic foundation in these works comprises a bold musical language, opened by Scriabin for numerous generations ahead, lying beyond the limitations of customary diatonic intervals of the harmonic series. The few published compositions by Stanchinsky aroused a real sensation within the musical circles of Moscow and St. Petersburg. A rare kind of precision and elaboration of each phrase and each separate sound, forming phantomlike contrapuntal embroidery (these features were brought to life by the contrapuntal technique itself, which does not tolerate the question of “you could do it this way or that way”) is what distinguished the music of this newly emerged composer from the musical products of the numerous epigones of Scriabin. He was talked of as a new genius… but it all unexpectedly came to a close. The twenty-six year old composer drowned on September 20 in a small river, Balonovka, not far from Novospassky, the estate where Michael Glinka was born 110 years prior to that. Novospassky is where Stanchinsky is buried. The cyclical line, reaching far away from the center – Balakirev, Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Lyapunov, was closed unexpectedly, in a mystical fashion, in the Smolensk region.
Unfortunately, the piano compositions of Glinka and Stanchinsky, presently, do not appear frequently in performance in the big concert halls. The necessity of listening attentively and sharing the intimate emotional feeling dictates quite different forms of realization for them – among small-scale audiences in small concert halls. Of course, the performer must also posses those qualities which in our times are quite rare: the ability to listen attentively to his own instrument and to control each note, so that the result would be, to use John Field’s expression in regards to Glinka’s music, “strong, delicate and happy playing”. Alexander Malkus, and ardent promoter of Stanchinsky’s music, belongs to particularly this category of musician, which is so rare in our times. When listening to his performance on this compact disc one becomes permeated with the remarkable phenomenon of the “small-scale” chamber piano style of playing, which frequently presents a greater amount of an inner emotional experience than the performances of “stars” in orchestras in large halls.

Anybody tried the Sviridov on Vista Vera?

Quote from: erato on October 19, 2008, 11:16:54 PM
Anybody tried the Sviridov on Vista Vera?

Ordered it from MDT but they said it was out of stock at their suppliers. Ordered it from Europadisc but no word so far :(

Don't know how I can have missed this fascinating thread for so long, but here's a link to Sviridov's most famous piece of music, information here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time,_Forward!). The wiki page linked to describes this piece as 'the most recognisable music piece of the Soviet era. It became a sort of calling card of the Soviet Union. For a long time it was used as the signature tune of Vremya, the TV news program on USSR Central Television and Russian Channel One'

So I assume many here will have heard it already. Nevertheless, it's a pretty powerful if not exactly subtle piece!

Vremja, Vpered (http://www.mediafire.com/?cgzdmllzwxo)

I've noticed advance information of a Teldec disc with Roslavets piano trios by the trio Fontenay soon to be released, but have no further information.

After some research: This may be an Apex rerelease of an older OOP fullprice disc.

Quote from: Dundonnell on October 20, 2008, 02:26:05 AM
Ordered it from MDT but they said it was out of stock at their suppliers. Ordered it from Europadisc but no word so far :(

This CD seems to have disappeared :(

Quote from: Dundonnell on November 16, 2008, 05:54:26 AM
This CD seems to have disappeared :(

You could try Ruslania, they don't seem to have Vista Vera discs but do have some very nice Sviridov releases on Melodiya. I've never ordered from them but they should be ok, I think it's Finnish store.
This is Sviridov disc I have, and it is very good:
http://www.ruslania.com/context-161/entity-7/details-220619/language-1.html

Quote from: Drasko on November 16, 2008, 06:12:12 AM
You could try Ruslania, they don't seem to have Vista Vera discs but do have some very nice Sviridov releases on Melodiya. I've never ordered from them but they should be ok, I think it's Finnish store.
This is Sviridov disc I have, and it is very good:
http://www.ruslania.com/context-161/entity-7/details-220619/language-1.html

Thanks very much for the link!

I just might try them :)

PS: Have done ;D

I'm surprised that there is so little (nothing?) on CD by the composer Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov (b 1936). I first came across him as the composer of the terrific score for the Soviet era film version of "War and Peace" (S Bondarchuk 1968). He was apparently a student at the time and wrote eleven hours of music for the film! I have an LP of highlights, but it has never, to my knowledge, been issued on CD which is a great pity. I also have an LP of his impressive Symphony No 2 for String Orchestra.

I am going to bring up Maximilian Steinberg again :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Steinberg

Given the revival of interest in Miaskovsky's music might not there be a similar interest in Steinberg? As Rimsky-Korsakov's son-in-law, as the teacher of Shostakovich, as a composer who was once more highly rated than the young Stravinsky Steinberg sounds worth investigating!

I don't know whether the two early pre-First World War symphonies recorded by Neeme Jarvi for DGG are typical but the three later symphonies(No.3 1928, No.4 'Turksib' 1933, and No.5 'Symphonic Rhapsody on Uzbek Themes" 1942) seem never to have been recorded.



I wonder whether the fact that Steinberg was Jewish led to his neglect after his death in 1946?

Quote from: Dundonnell on November 22, 2008, 07:46:47 AM
I am going to bring up Maximilian Steinberg again :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Steinberg

Given the revival of interest in Miaskovsky's music might not there be a similar interest in Steinberg? As Rimsky-Korsakov's son-in-law, as the teacher of Shostakovich, as a composer who was once more highly rated than the young Stravinsky Steinberg sounds worth investigating!

I don't know whether the two early pre-First World War symphonies recorded by Neeme Jarvi for DGG are typical but the three later symphonies(No.3 1928, No.4 'Turksib' 1933, and No.5 'Symphonic Rhapsody on Uzbek Themes" 1942) seem never to have been recorded.



I wonder whether the fact that Steinberg was Jewish led to his neglect after his death in 1946?

Interesting post Colin. I would be very interested to hear the later Steinberg symphonies as I greatly enjoyed his Symphony 2, especially the tolling bell type redemptory ending, where the use of the piano tends to anticipate his pupil Shostakovich. I don't know his First Symphony.

I am hoping that Alto will reissue some or all of the Shebalin symphonies, once available on Olympia. This seems a definite likelihood as, unlike with the Popov symphonies, Alto are licensed to release the shebalins. Shebalin's fine First Symphony definitely bears the influence of Shebalin's teacher Miaskovsky (it is dedicated to him) and might well attract interest in view of the recent interest in Miaskovsky. Also a Warner box set of the complete Shebalin symphonies is unlikely to appear simultaneously!

Quote from: vandermolen on November 22, 2008, 11:32:01 PM

I am hoping that Alto will reissue some or all of the Shebalin symphonies, once available on Olympia. This seems a definite likelihood as, unlike with the Popov symphonies, Alto are licensed to release the shebalins.

That's a shame, what is the problem, do you perhaps know why the Popov symphonies can't be licensed?

Quote from: Drasko on November 23, 2008, 07:00:52 AM
That's a shame, what is the problem, do you perhaps know why the Popov symphonies can't be licensed?

I think that the Licence ran out, whatever that means. Maybe it is with Melodiya now but I'm not sure.

Quote from: vandermolen on November 23, 2008, 09:37:51 AM
I think that the Licence ran out, whatever that means. Maybe it is with Melodiya now but I'm not sure.

Yes, I think I can get the concept of license running out, but who then has the original rights? Melodiya? Could be, but to my knowledge most of these recordings were premieres and never appeared on Melodiya. Only the Provatorov recording of 2nd Symphony had previous Melodiya LP release and they have released Chamber Symphony (both on LP and CD) but completely different recording than one on Olympia (Bolshoi forces under Lazarev). According to info I have that is about it when it comes to Popov on Melodiya.
So maybe it wouldn't hurt if people from Alto would make few phone calls about those rights, it looks to me unlikely that Melodiya has them, and maybe not the whole cycle but disc with 1st Symphony coupled with Chamber Symphony (Popov's best works imo) could have a market if reissued.

There is a Telarc disc-which I have not heard-coupling Popov's 1st Symphony with Shostakovich's Theme and Variations, op.3. Leon Botstein conducts the LSO.

Quote from: Drasko on November 24, 2008, 03:10:22 PM
Yes, I think I can get the concept of license running out, but who then has the original rights? Melodiya? Could be, but to my knowledge most of these recordings were premieres and never appeared on Melodiya. Only the Provatorov recording of 2nd Symphony had previous Melodiya LP release and they have released Chamber Symphony (both on LP and CD) but completely different recording than one on Olympia (Bolshoi forces under Lazarev). According to info I have that is about it when it comes to Popov on Melodiya.
So maybe it wouldn't hurt if people from Alto would make few phone calls about those rights, it looks to me unlikely that Melodiya has them, and maybe not the whole cycle but disc with 1st Symphony coupled with Chamber Symphony (Popov's best works imo) could have a market if reissued.

Ok thanks for this.  I'll see what i can find out.

Quote from: Dundonnell on November 24, 2008, 03:16:06 PM
There is a Telarc disc-which I have not heard-coupling Popov's 1st Symphony with Shostakovich's Theme and Variations, op.3. Leon Botstein conducts the LSO.

Yes, a good CD although i prefer the Olympia with popov's Second Symphony.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p89_A6p2HrE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p89_A6p2HrE&feature=related


Anyone ever heard Protopopov's 2nd Sonata? This is a piece that, let's just say when you're done with it you'll go , "Holy %$#^!"  :o

It may not be the most genius piece ever (i think the 16th notes are nice, but overdone), but it's definitely something that I'd like. Almost mistakeable for a late Scriabin sonata- very creepy yet sexy at the same time!

Just discovered a rather moving tone-poem: 'The Krasnodonians' by Arkady Mazaev (Mazayev). Mazaev lived from 1909-1987. The 17 minute tone poem commemorates the Anti-Fascist partisans of World War Two, most of whom were executed and thrown down a mine shaft. The musical style reminds me a bit of Lyatoshinsky, another composer I admire.

The piece is featured in the new Evgeny Svetlanov Edition on Brilliant Classics.

Anyone heard of Mazaev?

Quote from: vandermolen on December 18, 2008, 09:38:04 AM
Anyone heard of Mazaev?

Well, yes. (About a minute ago)  ;)

Quote from: Christo on December 18, 2008, 10:41:41 AM
Well, yes. (About a minute ago)  ;)

I guess I asked for that!  ;)

Hi,

FYI, check out this excellent group for discussions and downloads of rare Soviet music:

http://shostakovich.ning.com/



andrew

Protopopov's Sonatas are fascinating stuff - even if I'm not very fond of them discursively and, as with late Scriabin, I find his... "blurry" aesthetic a bit stifling. Listening to this Sonata while reading the score is indeed a mindblowing experience. I wish Schleiermacher had recorded the 3rd one (¡paso de estudiarla!), that one looks specially interesting judging from the score.

On a different note, I received the score of Tishchenko's 9th Sonata (I. Nocturne, II. Pastorale, III. Barcarolle) a couple weeks ago. Very appealing work - and a pretty demanding one too. The Nocturne's "melody" is actually a terrifying tangle of melodic lines at the r.h., and the finale is more like a James Bond boat chase rather than what you would expect from this genre!

QuoteProtopopov's Sonatas are fascinating stuff - even if I'm not very fond of them discursively and, as with late Scriabin, I find his... "blurry" aesthetic a bit stifling. Listening to this Sonata while reading the score is indeed a mindblowing experience.

It sure is!
....although more fascinating, i think, for the overall ideas and attitude. It doesn't sound like he's much of a contrapuntist, to put it vaguely.

I have been enjoying an out of print Russian Disc recording of Boris Parsadanian's (1925-1997) Symphonies # 1 ("To the Memory of the 26 Commissars of Baku" and # 2 "Martyros Sarian". Armenian born in Russia who lived most of his life in Estonia. He wrote 11 symphonies as well as chamber works.

His Symphony # 7 and Flute Concerto are available on an Antes disc conducted by Neeme Järvi.

Shostakovich and Prokofiev influenced like a lot of Soviet era music from the USSR, but quite interesting and listenable.

There's an extensive (and comprehensive), article on MusicWeb on  'soviet symphonies'. The reviewers's comment on Parsadanian's music is what kept me from buying it while it was available on Olympia at BRO :P. Rats! I guess I'll neve know !

Regarding Parsadanian:

Top drawer works? no both works can be rambling and are somewhat monochromatic

derivative?,  yes.. one can hear Khachaturian, Shostakovich and even Prokofiev hovering in the background

interesting? yes especially if you are fascinated with the Soviet era. They are good, listenable examples of Soviet era works. Better than Knipper, Shebalin, Khrennikov but not as interesting as Lyatoshinsky, Popov or Eshpai.

I got the disc used and probably would never have paid full price for it, but since I have a fascination with the music of the Soviet era, it is certainly worth listening to. 

Quote from: donaldopato on January 01, 2009, 04:53:55 AM
Regarding Parsadanian:

Top drawer works? no both works can be rambling and are somewhat monochromatic

derivative?,  yes.. one can hear Khachaturian, Shostakovich and even Prokofiev hovering in the background

interesting? yes especially if you are fascinated with the Soviet era. They are good, listenable examples of Soviet era works. Better than Knipper, Shebalin, Khrennikov but not as interesting as Lyatoshinsky, Popov or Eshpai.

I got the disc used and probably would never have paid full price for it, but since I have a fascination with the music of the Soviet era, it is certainly worth listening to. 

Not having heard anything by this composer I have obvious difficulty in being able to comment on your comparisons with other Soviet composers. I would say, however, that I certainly don't know enough Knipper to be able to make a valid assessment of his work in total while I must say that putting Shebalin and Khrennikov together does seem more than a little unfair on the former! Shebalin's five symphonies strike me as being in a completely different league to the three of that hack Khrennikov!

Shebalin's symphonies, concertos and string quartets as very good works. I find his music honest and fastidiously crafted. In the sense that he never strives for effect or novelty and has an excellent sense of proportions. His musical structures are concise and put to maximal use. IOW he doesn't inflate or overworks his material.

Nosyrev is another composer not discussed very often, and he certainly is one of the most original and striking voices of the Soviet Union. Shostakovich personally saw to it that he was rehabilitated as a composer after years of harsh treatment and imprisonment in a siberian gulag. His symphonies are major works by any standard. I find them on a par with the best by Popov and Vainberg/Weinberg.

I don't know Eshpai or Knipper, but the few works of Khrennikov's I've heard are distincly of a lower artistic standard.

The new Svetlanov box from Brilliant includes Parsadanian's Second Symphony which is rather derivative of Shostakovich's 8th Symphony. Personally I prefer the Symphony No 1 'To the memory of the 26th Commissars of Baku' which I have on a Russisn Disc CD. This is a darkly moving score with a poignant ending. It was poorly reviewed when it first appeared, probably by the rather pompous David Fanning in Gramophone, but I'm glad that I bought the CD.

For me the great discovery of the Svetlanov box is another moving score: Arkady Mazaev's The Krasnodonians.

Quote from: Lilas Pastia on January 02, 2009, 07:18:37 AM
Shebalin's symphonies, concertos and string quartets as very good works. I find his music honest and fastidiously crafted. In the sense that he never strives for effect or novelty and has an excellent sense of proportions. His musical structures are concise and put to maximal use. IOW he doesn't inflate or overworks his material.

Nosyrev is another composer not discussed very often, and he certainly is one of the most original and striking voices of the Soviet Union. Shostakovich personally saw to it that he was rehabilitated as a composer after years of harsh treatment and imprisonment in a siberian gulag. His symphonies are major works by any standard. I find them on a par with the best by Popov and Vainberg/Weinberg.

I don't know Eshpai or Knipper, but the few works of Khrennikov's I've heard are distincly of a lower artistic standard.

I agree. Shebalin's miaskovskian First Symphony is excellent and the valedictory Symphony No 5 is very moving.

I need to revisit Shebalin, or perhaps I had him confused with some other composer. Old age you know....  :-\

It's pleasing to find others interested in composers such as Lyatoshinsky.

A couple of his sonatas are on youtube - with the notations.

1st sonata - http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=NOPSd02CfaM&feature=related

2nd sonata - http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=slvBon3rxPE&feature=related

In fact the website is a valuable resource of such related composers as Stanchinsky, Roslavets, Feinberg et al. Lyatoshinsky seems addicted to octaves, double flats, quintuplets and the bottom octave of the piano.
I have a CD of his 4th and 5th symphonies, but I'm informed that the most impressive may well be no. 2. can anybody confirm this?

Lyatoshinky's 2nd is certainly his bleakest symphony. Whether it is the best......? I shall need to refresh my memory by replaying all five and then get back to you on that :)

Quote from: Dundonnell on January 09, 2009, 01:40:28 PM
Lyatoshinky's 2nd is certainly his bleakest symphony. Whether it is the best......? I shall need to refresh my memory by replaying all six and then get back to you on that :)

2 and 3 are my favourites. The Marco Polos are good.

For those who missed it the first time, here is a review by Martin Anderson of, among others, Lyatoshinsky.

http://www.mediafire.com/?iadjvjjynzs

Quote from: vandermolen on January 09, 2009, 03:30:50 PM
2 and 3 are my favourites. The Marco Polos are good.

In the name of the complete Ukrainian gas sector, I herewith solemnly protest against any association between Borys Mykolayovych Lyatoshynsky and this Russian composers thread.  ;) (But must confess to liking his symphonies too, even if I haven't heard all six like Dundonnell - always thought there were only five of them).

Quote from: Christo on January 09, 2009, 10:51:24 PM
In the name of the complete Ukrainian gas sector, I herewith solemnly protest against any association between Borys Mykolayovych Lyatoshynsky and this Russian composers thread.  ;)

Perhaps we should cut off this thread to put pressure on Putin?

Quote from: Christo on January 09, 2009, 10:51:24 PM
In the name of the complete Ukrainian gas sector, I herewith solemnly protest against any association between Borys Mykolayovych Lyatoshynsky and this Russian composers thread.  ;) (But must confess to liking his symphonies too, even if I haven't heard all six like Dundonnell - always thought there were only five of them).

Sorry! I inadvertently credited Lyatoshinsky with a sixth symphony ;D As Christo correctly says, the Ukrainian composer wrote five symphonies.

I have been listening to the Lyatoshynsky(Lyatoshinsky) symphonies again in the Marco Polo versions by the Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra under Theodore Kuchar.

They are very fine symphonies indeed :) I would almost go so far as 'magnificent' but would be, probably justly, accused of hyperbole ;D

I know that Christo(Johan) objects to discussion of the Ukrainian Lyatoshynsky here but he was a Soviet era composer :)

Mark Morris described the music as "too bland to be of any real interest"(in the Pimlico Dictionary of Twentieth Century Composers) and David Fanning called the 3rd Symphony 'tepid'(in 'A Companion to the Symphony'). These are astonishing misjudgments in my opinion.
These are substantial if almost consistently grim works which are a considerable cut above most other orchestral music written in Soviet Russia.

Well worth hearing! And to answer the question...yes, I agree that the 2nd and 3rd are probably the best but Nos. 4 and 5 are fine works too.

(Lyatoshynsky was the teacher of that fine composer Valentin Silvestrov.)

YURI KASPAROV?

i have a gyorgy sviridov Olympia cd which has a very lovely piano trio.

Quote from: Dundonnell on January 12, 2009, 07:55:52 AM
I have been listening to the Lyatoshynsky(Lyatoshinsky) symphonies again in the Marco Polo versions by the Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra under Theodore Kuchar.

They are very fine symphonies indeed :) I would almost go so far as 'magnificent' but would be, probably justly, be accused of hyperbole ;D

I know that Christo(Johan) objects to discussion of the Ukrainian Lyatoshynsky here but he was a Soviet era composer :)

Mark Morris described the music as "too bland to be of any real interest"(in the Pimlico Dictionary of Twentieth Century Composers) and David Fanning called the 3rd Symphony 'tepid'(in 'A Companion to the Symphony'). These are astonishing misjudgments in my opinion.
These are substantial if almost consistently grim works which are a considerable cut above most other orchestral music written in Soviet Russia.

Well worth hearing! And to answer the question...yes, I agree that the 2nd and 3rd are probably the best but Nos. 4 and 5 are fine works too.

(Lyatoshynsky was the teacher of that fine composer Valentin Silvestrov.)

Totally agree with you Colin (just for once  ;D). Lyatoshinsky was a great composer in my view. I also disagree with David Fanning's pompous misjudgment. Mazaev's Krasnodonians (which will be coming your way soon) is a kind of Lyatoshinsky-meets-Shebalin piece (both composers I greatly admire).

Here is some Ivan Wyschnegradsky for download if anyone is interested. Relatively early piece for large orchestra, narrator and chorus ad lib.

День бытия  -  La Journée de l'existence, for recitation, orchestra & choir ad. lib., without Op. (1916-1917, revised 1927 & 1939)

Alexei Tarasov (recit.), Radio Symfonie Orkest en Groot Omroep Koor. Conductor – Pascal Roph.
Recorded 10 june 2004

http://files.mail.ru/P9E1MS

(single 160 kbps mp3, plus word file with some basic info in russian) 
to download wait 10 seconds countdown then click on word скачать (mid-right on your screen)

Fantastic! Many thanks!

A computer dimmo asks - what do I need to open it?

Quote from: Dax on January 09, 2009, 11:37:55 AM
It's pleasing to find others interested in composers such as Lyatoshinsky.

A couple of his sonatas are on youtube - with the notations.

1st sonata - http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=NOPSd02CfaM&feature=related

2nd sonata - http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=slvBon3rxPE&feature=related

In fact the website is a valuable resource of such related composers as Stanchinsky, Roslavets, Feinberg et al. Lyatoshinsky seems addicted to octaves, double flats, quintuplets and the bottom octave of the piano.
I have a CD of his 4th and 5th symphonies, but I'm informed that the most impressive may well be no. 2. can anybody confirm this?

I'm pleased you mentioned Lyatoshinsky.  I 'm familiar with four of his symphonies.  Excellent composer and reasonably prolific.  Roslavets' piano works recorded on Hyperion are wonderfully performed by Marc-Andre Hamelin. Feinberg's sonatas, particularly the 6th, are superb, as is his piano concerto. Also the 1st Symphony by Alexander Krein (entitled "After Scriabin) is quite rich in harmonic textures.  It's quite romantic but not cloying in any way.  I only wish his 2nd were recorded.  I have several scores, and several of his pianistic dances are quite rich in tonal color.  Recommended, at least by me.  Many unknown or little recorded Russian mentioned in this thread bear looking into.

Quote from: Drasko on January 28, 2009, 07:35:38 AM
Here is some Ivan Wyschnegradsky for download if anyone is interested. Relatively early piece for large orchestra, narrator and chorus ad lib.

День бытия  -  La Journée de l'existence, for recitation, orchestra & choir ad. lib., without Op. (1916-1917, revised 1927 & 1939)

Alexei Tarasov (recit.), Radio Symfonie Orkest en Groot Omroep Koor. Conductor – Pascal Roph.
Recorded 10 june 2004

http://files.mail.ru/P9E1MS

(single 160 kbps mp3, plus word file with some basic info in russian) 
to download wait 10 seconds countdown then click on word скачать (mid-right on your screen)

Who could resist? Totally obscure composer, a most interesting period in a dark but illustrious musical era, available for free !
I скачать-ed it. Now, is it good ?? :D

Quote from: Lilas Pastia on January 28, 2009, 05:28:30 PM
Now, is it good ?? :D

Had the time just for some partial listen, sounded ok, like some big, lush, scriabinian thing.

Quote from: Dax on January 28, 2009, 01:15:40 PM
A computer dimmo asks - what do I need to open it?

You need winrar to unpack it, inside is plain old mp3, anything you have on your computer will play it, or burn it on CD.

http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm

Quote from: Drasko on January 28, 2009, 07:35:38 AM
Here is some Ivan Wyschnegradsky for download if anyone is interested. Relatively early piece for large orchestra, narrator and chorus ad lib.

День бытия  -  La Journée de l'existence, for recitation, orchestra & choir ad. lib., without Op. (1916-1917, revised 1927 & 1939)

Alexei Tarasov (recit.), Radio Symfonie Orkest en Groot Omroep Koor. Conductor – Pascal Roph.
Recorded 10 june 2004

http://files.mail.ru/P9E1MS

I was at that ( Holland festival) concert. Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Maybe 150 people in the hall....The orchestra had threatened with a strike...Before the interval Anatol Ugorski played some Scrianbin.Then they did Obouchov 's Préface to Le livre de vie. Of all strange composers, Obouchov could well be strangest of them all. ( A combination of mysticism and religious extacy - apocalyptical pianoclusters, speaking, shouting,singing,whispering voices. )
The Wyshnegradsky i found a very tough sit - a full hour of recitation ( in the grandest, most "nobilmente" way) with Scriabinesque background proved hard to take...THe chorus appears briefly ( and eloquently) in the last part. But by then I KO already.
Still : a great concert.

Great story (with nice humorous undertones ;D), thanks for sharing it with us!

Well said, Mac !  ;) It's in the can, will need a good quiet, don't disturb hour to assess the thing.

Quote from: vandermolen on July 15, 2008, 04:28:05 AM
As for Ukrainians, I like the music of Boris Lyatoshinsky (1895-1968). A Miaskovsky type figure who had to keep revising his music (ie Symphony 3) under pressure from the regime. No 3 is evidently highly regarded in the Ukraine and righly so. it has considerable power and eloquence and is darkly moving, conveying a sense of struggle and hard-won victory. there is a cycle of Lyatoshinsky's symphonies on Marco Polo (5 symphonies on three CDs) and there was a russian disc cycle (not so well recorded) and an individual (vg) CPO CD with Symphony 4 and 5 on. Marco Polo would be my recommendation (Ukrainian State SO, Theodore Kuchar).

I like the four symphonies but prefer the 1st.  I guess I tend to appreciate
Glieresque  influences.  Lyatoshinksy's later works are quite devoid of his mentor's influence.

Quote from: pjme on January 29, 2009, 01:02:58 PM

The Wyshnegradsky i found a very tough sit - a full hour of recitation ( in the grandest, most "nobilmente" way) with Scriabinesque background proved hard to take...THe chorus appears briefly ( and eloquently) in the last part. But by then I KO already.

You mean not even enduring acres of those french oratorios could provide with enough stamina for this one. :o ;D

 :o Oooh ! That is mean! Drasko! But then nobody is perfect and an hour long French oratorio I can usualy understand - a bit!
I don't mind a good dose of "pathétique religieux" ( Jeanne d'Arc and the Holy Virgin, en tête!) ....vibrato, Vox Humana, Prière and Danse Laudative incl.! But Wyschnegradsky's "Confession de la vie, devant la vie" was, even for this old sentimental carcass, too much.

"From Existence' darkness of night, emerges Dawn.
It is the divine torch of consciousness.
The Spirit awakes from eternal sleep
So that he can follow his predestined path.
And in an eternally creating growth,
He will create Worlds , dazzling Life,....."

I am Life - I am Spirit!!! etc etc

Tarasov - the reciter- had good, healthy lungs and could have gone on for another hour, I guess.

Anyway, I took the trouble of going from Antwerp to Amsterdam for that concert. I had a really great week end!

Peter

Quote from: schweitzeralan on January 28, 2009, 03:50:26 PM
I'm pleased you mentioned Lyatoshinsky.  I 'm familiar with four of his symphonies.  Excellent composer and reasonably prolific.  Roslavets' piano works recorded on Hyperion are wonderfully performed by Marc-Andre Hamelin. Feinberg's sonatas, particularly the 6th, are superb, as is his piano concerto. Also the 1st Symphony by Alexander Krein (entitled "After Scriabin) is quite rich in harmonic textures.  It's quite romantic but not cloying in any way.  I only wish his 2nd were recorded.  I have several scores, and several of his pianistic dances are quite rich in tonal color.  Recommended, at least by me.  Many unknown or little recorded Russian mentioned in this thread bear looking into.

Unfortunately I don't have the 5th, yet.  The four that I am reasonanly familiar with are strong.  Personally I like the 1st.  It has many Glierian influences; I've always loved Gliere's monumental third.

Quote from: pjme on July 14, 2008, 02:40:10 PM
Thanks for all the information.

There must still be a wealth of quasi unexplored music in those Russian archives...

I recently acquired a CD with Andrey Petrov's (°1930) "The time of Christ" - a symphony ( ca 2002) in 6 movements with a choral finale. Dark & brooding ...but after only one listen I cannot say much more.
I occasionally listen to Vyacheslav Artiomov's ( °1940) works. I have a symphony ( Way to Olympus), the Gurian hymn, Invocations for soprano and percussion, Totem and Sonata of meditations for percussion and a huge Requiem (recorded in 1989) that I like . Both Petrov's and Artiomov's music is basically tonal and "acessible" - but both composers use "the whole arsenal of current compositional techniques" ...It can make for uneven, strange stylistic changes.

Leon Mouraviev (1905-1987) I know only by  "Nativité" a wonderful and haunting little work ( ca 13mins.) for stringtrio and stringorchestra ( on a Christophorus CD / Sudwestdeutsches Kammerorchester / Paul Angerer).  He's one of several Russian composers who studied and worked in France.

The strangest of them all may be Nicolai Obouchov ( 1892-1954) See Maciek's link to Modern Russian composers. 

And then there is Sergei Protopopov ...
Sergey Protopopov was the chief proponent of a compositional strategy devised by Kiev-based theorist Boleslav L. Yavorsky. Published in book form as Structure of Musical Speech in 1908, the technique used modal rhythm as its basis, in combination with the uncertain harmonic pull of the tritone. Modal speech-rhythm, as Protopopov called it, is a close kin to the general style and techniques employed by Russian composer Alexander Scriabin in his late works. Protopopov's approach, especially when applied in low passages, is also clearly informed by the work of Mussorgsky, in particular such pieces as "The Witches' Hut on Fowl's Legs" from Pictures at an Exhibition.

After completing a term in the faculty medical school at Moscow, Protopopov studied under Yavorsky, and took his degree from the Kiev Conservatory in 1921. Protopopov was mainly known as a conductor who worked with various orchestras throughout the U.S.S.R. His diminutive catalogue consists of only 11 works dating from 1917 to 1931. Protopopov's key pieces are the Three Piano Sonatas Opp. 1 (1920 - 1922), and 5-6 (1924 - 1928). The level of pianism required in these works is extreme, to the extent that the scores ask for notes beyond the standard range of the keyboard. Much of Protopopov's piano music is written on three staves, rather than two. Protopopov loved sequences and frequently applied them to single harmonic complexes. As all of these complexes are based on the tritone; this leads to extended passages of suspended harmonic movement. The effect of it is similar to that of advanced heavy metal rock music, a coincidental resemblance that is punched up by Protopopov's tendency to work with short, repetitive rhythmic units over long periods. Protopopov also utilized unbarred measures, birdcall like figures that anticipate the work of Messiaen and even marked one passage in the Third Sonata "dolce, indeterminato."

The rest of Protopopov's known output consists of Russian language songs, mostly on Pushkin texts. A single chorus of folk song arrangements credits Boleslav Yavorsky as co-composer. In 1930, Protopopov presented his ideas at a Soviet conference on the Theory of Modal Rhythm chaired by music commissar Anatoly Lunacharsky, and was favorably received. This allowed for the publication of Protopopov's life's work, a two-volume expansion upon Yavorsky's theories entitled Elements of the Structure of Musical Speech. This theoretical treatise also addresses Protopopov's interest in microtonal music, and Protopopov proposes a 72-pitch scale. However, in 1931 another Soviet music conference was held that declared "Modal speech-rhythm" contrary to the needs of the revolution. His theory discredited, Protopopov seems not to have written another note of music. Protopopov worked on the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory, departing in 1943. Afterward, little if anything is known of Protopopov's life until notice of his death is given at age 61 in 1954. ~  Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

Peter


I imagine many affiliates in this forum website are familiar with downloading performances from varous sources onto individual postings.  I tried forwqarding to my documents several performances, but the videro was no longer valid for some reason in my Documents folder.  Needless to say, I was amazed that I was able to access the Protopopov  Sonata plus other "unknowns, thanks to the forum.  There is one official recording of Alexander Krein's 1st Symphony, "After Scriabin."  I only wish his second were available. There are recordings of his vocal music.  I'm going to try, with help, to see if I can download, or "burn," if possible, the video on You Tube with Jonathan Powell's, I believe, performig Krien's "Poem for Piano."

Quote from: Drasko on January 29, 2009, 03:17:30 AM
You need winrar to unpack it, inside is plain old mp3, anything you have on your computer will play it, or burn it on CD.

http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm

Thanks, Drasko. Managed to get it work if not at home.

More on Protopopov (thanks to Jonathan Powell).

from http://www.musica-ukrainica.odessa.ua/a-rovner-protopopov.html


Anton Rovner
The Musical Legacy of Sergei Protopopoff (Sergej Protopopov), a Continuation of the Tradition of Scriabin and Boleslav Yavorsky (Javorsky), in the Context of His Epoch
   Sergei Protopopoff , whose musical legacy is still not very well known either to the music specialist or to the average audience member, has presented himself as a rare if not a unique phenomenon of a composer, who in his musical output has strictly followed a theoretical system, devised by a theoretician, namely his teacher, Boleslav Yavorsky. A rather orthodox adherence to Yavorsky's theory is organically combined with a personal, original style and a fully developed musical aesthetical position, very much attuned to certain trends in early 20th century art, including music, literature and the visual arts: the bold stylistic innovations of the Futurists, the Romanticism and search for new mythological semantics of the Symbolists and the metaphysical cosmogony of the Suprematists.
   Protopopoff's musical innovations could be compared to those of Alexander Scriabin and Igor Stravinsky as well as the lesser-known early 20th century Russian avant-garde composers, forming the "forgotten generation of Russian composers" of which Protopopoff is definitely a part. Among these composers, whose legacy has begun to be revived in the mid-80's, one could mention such names as Nicolai Roslavetz, Arthur Lourie and Alexander Mosolov.
   Protopopoff, similarly to many other composers of his generation, has undergone the influence of Scriabin, especially in his late, post-tonal style, his new harmonic language with its specific structural system, as well as the spiritual legacy of Scriabin's music and philosophy. Notwithstanding a very strict adherence to Yavorsky's theoretical system and the extreme schematic and structuralistic qualities inherent in it, Protopopoff's music contains a strong influence of Scriabin in its harmony, instrumental textures and general musical aesthetical qualities. Yavorsky himself was greatly influenced by Scriabin's musical legacy and in his theoretical system one can trace many similarities to the structure of Scriabin's late musical style. Nevertheless, Yavorsky's theoretical system could not be reduced to adhering to Scriabin's harmonic discoveries, since their primary structural elements and concepts were derived from totally different sources and points of reference. Nevertheless, it might be worthwhile to bring out a tri-lateral scheme of Scriabin's influence (most of all, the influence of his harmonic language), forming a triangle: Scriabin: Protopopoff, Yavorsky:Protopopoff and Scriabin:Yavorsky:Protopopoff.
   Scriabin's harmonic style (speaking exclusively of Scriabin's late style, starting from his "Prometheus") is very structural and schematic in its essence, however it was formed by Scriabin throughout the course of many years of search and musical evolution, which ultimately led to an "emancipation of dissonant intervals." Protopopoff's harmonic language, carrying in itself many correspondences and parallels to Scriabin's harmonic system, is from its source much more schematic in its origins, it follows more definite prescribed rules. Those musical "laws," which in Scriabin's music are created in a more spontaneous manner, which he himself freely adheres to, modifies and transgresses at will, in Protopopoff's music are determined much more exactly and all "transgressing" and "liberalizing" of these laws, are carried out likewise forming a much more lengthy and clearly perceivable process. Nevertheless, Protopopoff's music maintains an assortment of Romantic, highly expressive and spiritually exalted qualities, which are inherent in Scriabin's music, even going as far as in such cases Protopopoff's music being less strictly structured and schematic than Scriabin's. Russian theorist Evgeny Kosiakin (in his article "Scriabin and Russian Avant-garde Composers) writes about Scriabin's influence on the succeeding Russian avant-garde composers (to the category of which Protopopoff belongs): "Despite all the sharpness of the struggle of the avant-garde composers against Scriabin's ideology, the depth of spirituality, coming out of Scriabin's music, exerted a great amount of influence on their creative output). One could assume that it was this depth which guarded them from excessive rationalism and dryness, tendencies towards which could be determined in their theoretical constructions. " Protopopoff's music successfully carries out such organic symbiosis of Scriabin's musical and spiritual legacy with more cerebral, constructivistic aesthetical trends of the 1920's, the decade during which Protopopoff wrote most of his important compositions: his three Piano Sonatas as well as numerous songs for voice and piano to the texts of Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Sergei Lipsky, as well as longer and more elaborately developed songs on folk poems and folk tales ("The Crow and the Lobster," "The Hermit Fox" and "The Tale of the Wondrous Whistle").
   The structural qualities of Protopopoff's music, as has been stated earlier, is in many ways similar to Scriabin's constructive qualities of his late style. The main feature is forming the basis of musical compositions on a central chord or scale, as well as formed hierarchies of chords and scales. Nevertheless, whereas Scriabin's innovative harmonic system served in his case as a means to further elaboration on and refinement of his already existing means of expression of his late Romantic style, Protopopoff's structural language serves him to pursue aims which are extremely different from Scriabin's - it is utilized to create large-scale, coldly-abstract constructive musical forms, which is the case mostly in his Piano Sonatas and, to a slightly lesser degree in his vocal compositions. While Scriabin creates extremely contrasting changes of moods and pungently mystical and emotional conditions, Protopopoff for the most part maintains a steady, persistent statically-exalted mode of expression, by which he evokes certain similarities with the Eastern "non-linear" aesthetics, as manifested in Japanese "frozen landscapes" as well as Indian raga.
   The harsh, urbanistically-constructive attitude in Protopopoff's music, showing itself most notably in Protopopoff's pungent, dry and at the same time Romantically bravura piano technique, have certain similarities with the aesthetics of Cubism as demonstrated in the geometric forms in the art works of Russian Cubist and Suprematist painters, such as Kazimir Malevich, V. Tatlin, I. Matyushin and I. Chashnik (especially prominent in Malevich's famous painting "The Black Square"). It is also similar in part to the constructivistic musical language of Alexander Mosolov. Nevertheless one can discern a sharp difference between Mosolov's and Protopopoff's music. The technically elaborate and urbanistically virtuosic piano textures of Mosolov, though in many ways similar to those of Protopopoff, in the case of the former carry a more extravertively-expressive character of music, a more outwardly flashy and theatrical manner of presenting the musical material. Among the compositions, which especially demonstrate these qualities, one can mention his bravura modernistic arrangements of folk music of peoples of Central Asia (such as, for instance, "Turkmenian Nights" for piano), as well as his programmatically descriptive pieces, depicting machines (most notably the "Iron Factory" for orchestra). Unlike Protopopoff, Mosolov hardly gives any thought to strict pitch organization - it is present in a very sporadic and unorganized manner, mostly emphasizing thematic repetition or development. Mosolov's harmonic language is for the most part "freely atonal," very improvisatory in its manner and more focused on searching for new piano textures for their own sake independent of pitch structure consciousness, as well as more attention to the directness of audience perception. Protopopoff's similarly urbanistic textures and aesthetical qualities are more abstract, cold and introvertive. Similarly to the futurists, Protopopoff aims at distancing himself from the programatic-descriptive musical language of the 19th and the early 20th century, focusing himself on "absolute," an immersion into abstract sounds and sonorities for their own sake.
   In this light it is especially interesting to compare Protopopoff's music with the music of his contemporary Arthur Lourie, a composer, who has most fully aligned himself with the Futurist movement. Most notably in Lourie's atonal compositions of 1913-1917, such as his "Syntheses" and "Formes dans l'air" both for piano and the First String Quartet, one can see many points of similarity with the music of Protopopoff: the qualities of athematicism (in the case of Protopopoff a varied kind of athematicism in the form of a hermetically strict monothematicism), complete discarding of traditional structures in melody, harmony and form, as well as a centralized function of a leading harmonic structure. Both composers create new constructivist forms, at the core of which lie a continuous varied development as well as division into episodes, which are extremely contrasting from each other texturally. Nevertheless, in Lourie's compositions, the abstraction and the athematicism play a much greater role than in Protopopoff's music and the former composer pays a great deal less attention to the leading organizing role of scalar and harmonic constructions, in his case they change freely and sporadically.
   The difference between the legacy of Protopopoff and that of the leading composer of the Russian musical avant-garde, Nicolai Roslavetz, could be established very clearly. A strict adherence to classical sonata form, present in Roslavetz's work, adequately combined with the new harmonic language, which the composer labels as "the new system of organizing sounds," is for the most part absent in Protopopoff. An emotionally exuberant Romantic-Expressionistic manner, along with the spontaneous dramatic climaxes and recessions - all these features, which make Roslavetz's music so close to Scriabin's, are apparently as remote from Protopopoff's even-tempered and distinct juxtaposition of textural units and emotional moods into lengthy blocks of time. The main difference is in the harmonic systems of Roslavetz and Protopopoff, though here too there are many similarities. Roslavetz's system of the "synthetic chord", notwithstanding its innovative qualities, is based essentially on slight modifications of the traditional tertial harmony. Often the "synthetic chords" contain elements of diatonic scales and consist of combinations of several major or minor trichords piled one on top of the other. Frequently the combination of trichords in certain "synthetic chords" could even contain trichords, carrying the harmonic functions (in the context of traditional, tonal theory) of tonic, dominant and subdominant chords, though not necessarily utilized in that manner or with that intent in the new system. For instance in the song "You have not left" for soprano and piano by Roslavetz, set to the poem of Alexander Blok, the "synthetic chord" contains an Ab minor trichord (carrying the presumable "tonic" function), an Eb minor trichord (with the presumable "dominant" function) as well as the note Fb (bringing in the "subdominant" element). Roslavetz never denied the concept and function of "tonality" in his works, though he preferred to replace it with the concept of "new tonality", a term which gives the most adequate definition to not only Roslavetz's system but also those of late Scriabin and Protopopoff. This is yet another point of similarity between Roslavetz's harmonic system and those of late Scriabin and Protopopoff. Scriabin, along with Roslavetz and Protopopoff, utilizes his harmonic constructions in such a way as to bring in modified functions of "tonic," "dominant" and "subdominant," along with all the possible transpositions of them. The similarity is also present in the usage of non-harmonic "dissonant" tones, which either "resolve" to the "consonant" notes present in a respective harmonic construction, or serve as means to "modulate" into a new harmonic construction. Nevertheless there exists a sharp difference between the system of Roslavetz on one hand and those of Scriabin and Protopopoff on the other hand, which has been most successfully formulated by Kholopov: "...Roslavetz presents himself as a phenomenon coming later in time than Scriabin. The latter had indeed worked with chords as the leading element of his harmony. (...) Roslavetz, though naming the central element of his harmonic series as a "synthetic chord," realizes it musically in all effect more serially than harmonically" . Other major points of difference are that Roslavetz in general, unlike both Scriabin and Protopopoff, does not make an emphasis on presenting dominant-seventh sounding qualities in his "tonic" chordal constructions (presenting a greater amount of allusions to diatonic "minor" harmonies, unlike Scriabin's and Protopopoff's more insisting allusions to diatonic "major" harmonies), nor does he emphasize any inner symmetries within the horizontal, scalar manifestations of his "synthetic chords" nor give any special functional importance to the interval of the tritone.
   Having compared the musical legacy with that of a number of the most notable representatives of the Russian musical avant-garde of the 1910's and the 1920's, we can proceed to discerning some of the basic principles of his compositional techniques, which requires that we examine an analyze the musical theory of his teacher Boleslav Yavorsky, which, along with Scriabin's harmonic language, played a crucial role in the development of Protopopoff's musical thinking.
   The theoretical system of Yavorsky is well-known by the few books published during his life, dedicated to this theory. First of all, one can name the book of Yavorsky, called "The Construction of the Language of Music," which was published in 1908. The most detailed and concise summary of the theory of this theory is in Protopopoff's own book "Elements of Constructions of the Language of Music" in two volumes, written under Yavorsky's guidance and published in Moscow in 1930. Other summaries of the theory include smaller scale and less detailed descriptions in articles by Yavorsky and Protopopoff, most of them yet unpublished, as well as descriptions in books and articles by Dernova, Victor Zuckermann and Yuri Kholopov in Russia, Detlev Gojowy in Germany and Gordon Mcquere in the USA. As is well-known, the key element of music in Yavorsky's theoretical system is the interval of the tritone. Being a dissonant interval, the tritone naturally requires to be resolved: the diminished fifth (B-F) is resolved into the major third (C-E), the augmented fourth (B-E#) resolves into the minor sixth (A#-F#). In this manner, the intervallic distance between these two possible resolutions also turns out to equal to a tritone. (C-E and F#-A#) (Example 1).
   This resolution in Yavorsky's system is given the function of a "dominant" resolution. A "subdominant" resolution is formed by moving from the interval of a perfect fifth (D-A), through a dissonant passing interval of a doubly-diminished fifth (D#-Ab) into a consonant interval of a minor third (E-G). The equivalent tritone transposition results in the resolution of the interval G#-D# through Gx-D into the consonant A#-C# (Example 2). From the combination of the dominant and subdominant resolutions the various harmonic systems "scalar-modal units " ("lad" in Russian) are formed. The most important and stable among the "scalar-modal units" is the major "scalar-modal unit" (Example 3). In conmbination with the tritone transposition, a "double-scalar-modal unit" is formed (Example 4). A complete combination of the dominant and subdominant progressions in conjunction with their tritonal transpositions is labeled in Protopopoff's book as a "complete major double-scalar-modal unit" (Example 5). Different diverse juxtapositions of the dominant and subdominant progressions result in other "scalar-modal units:" the minor (Example 6), the augmented (Example 7), the diminished or the "chain" (Example  and many other scalar-modal units, including much more complex and irregular ones. According to Yavorsky (as well as to Protopopoff), this theory can be applied to any kind of music: folk music, tonal, atonal (or rather, "newly-tonal" in the context to the music examined in the book) and even microtonal. Protopopoff's book examines all of these different types of music, successfully applying Yavorsky's theory to each one of them.
   In the section of the book devoted to folk music, when applying Yavorsky's theory to unaccompanied melodies, Protopopoff still carries out the analysis, examining the melodic contour of the melodies by splitting the two-voice dominant and subdominant progressions into separate one-voice progressions using either the upper or the lower part of the two-voice progression to carry out the analysis, i.e. individually examining the resolution of either B to C or F to E in a melodic line, implying the dominant progression or the resolution of A (via an assumed Ab) to G or D (via an assumed D#) to E, implying the subdominant progression. The analysis of tonal music needs no further explanation as the theoretical system is more clearly fit to analyze music which is based on the relation between tonic, dominant and subdominant scale degrees. The musical examples used in this major section of the book include compositions by Bach, Chopin, Liszt and early Scriabin. When examining works by late 19th century composers, the book gives a good example of how well Yavorsky's theory could be applied to music with extended tonality, by analyzing it with less regular scalar-modal-units formed from more irregular combinations of the dominant and subdominant resolutions and, particularly by frequently utilizing the "chain" scalar-modal-unit. The final section of the book presents a section devoted to possible interpretation of microtonal music by means of this theory, which works generally the same way in an extended manner, utilizing such intervals as the quarter-tone, third tone and sixth tone. Though not containing any music examples, due to lack of available musical repertoire, this section speculates on possible music, which might be written in the future by means of extending this system to the microtonal realm and implies a suggestion or even an invitation to composers of the future to attempt to compose such microtonal music which, nevertheless, would fit this all-encompassing theory.
   When examining examples of post-tonal harmony (we can label it this way to avoid the totally inadequate term "atonal") when analyzing the compositions of late Scriabin as well as his own compositions, Protopopoff applies the theory of Yavorsky. The new functional basis of the analysis of the compositions become the "double-scalar-modal units:" the major (Example 5), the "chain" (Example 9) and the augmented (Example 10). When these "scalar-modal units" are presented in a purely horizontal linear-scalar form, a number of symmetrical scales or modes are formed (often similar or identical to Messiaen's "modes of limited transposition"), though frequently with the addition of "passing tones," (formed from the dissonant passing intervals in the dominant and subdominant harmonic progressions), which are not contained in these scales, but are used as "dissonant" tones, which are meant to resolve into the "consonances." The most frequently resulting scale formed from this horizontal presentation is the octotonic ("whole-step half-step) scale. The vertical, harmonic manifestation of the scalar-modal unit, based on the resolving ditones, contains its own independent functional sound hierarchy, in which the first in importance are the two "tonic" pitches, in this case the pitches C and F#, the second in importance are E and A# and third in importance are G and C#, all of which determine the tonal sources of this system. Next come the "unstable," "dissonant" scale steps, the most prominent among which are pitches present in the "dominant" progressions, i.e. B and F (or B and E# in the tritone transposition) and those present in the "subdominant" progressions, i.e. D and A (and, consequently, G# and D#) along with the "passing tones," leading to the resolution, i.e. D# and Ab (consequently, Gx and D). (Example 11).
   In Protopopoff's musical compositions one can discern two "harmonic styles," resulting from two different ways of applying Yavorsky's theory to his music. The "strict harmonic style" is formed in such compositions which for the most part (or sometimes entirely) adhere to one fixed horizontal scale or mode, most frequently the octatonic scale (though usage of other formed scales are possible in the "strict style" as well), presenting different transpositions of this scale in different sections of the given composition, with virtually no deviation from this horizontal scale and almost no incursions of "dissonant" tones, not pertaining to the scale. This harmonic style is achieved by utilizing only the major and the chain scalar-modal-units, which in their purely horizontal aspects emphasize the octatonic scale. The "free harmonic style" involves usage of a greater amount "dissonant" pitches, avoids strict adherence to any one harmonic scale, such as the octatonic scale (except in certain sections when they are needed for structural and dramatic emphasis) and either uses the regular scalar-modal units (such as the major and minor) in a freer manner, making greater usage of all the dissonant intervals or uses more irregular constructions of scalar-modal-units and at times even combinations of several scalar-modal-units simultaneously in one piece or section of composition, allowing a greater freedom of pitch and oscillations between modal centricity and freer purely chromatic harmonies, bordering on complete atonality.
   In all of Protopopoff's compositions these "double-scalar-modal units" or "double-scalar-modal-units" are notated above the beginning of the section involved on an auxiliary fragments of staves as a means of indication and clarification for the analysis of the harmony of a given composition. In the large-scale compositions, first of all in the three piano sonatas, the schemes of the double-scalar-modal-units are presented in the beginning of each section of the work, in which a new form of a scalar-modal unit or a new transposition of the preceding form. In the smaller compositions, most notably in the songs, only one scalar-modal unit is used, which is carried out throughout the entire composition. A very complex type of scalar-modal unit, quite irregular in its structure, is used in the song for soprano and piano "The Hermit Fox", set to folk texts of the Arkhangelsk region of Russia. Two double-scalar-modal units, symmetrically distant from each other by the interval of a tritone, form one more complex form of a scalar-modal unit forming a "double-double-scalar-modal-unit," which could even be called a "quadruple-scalar-modal-unit". The first half of each "double-scalar-modal-unit" consists of two dominant progressions, forming a "chain progression," while the second half of each "double-scalar-modal-unit" presents two subdominant progressions and resolutions, forming a conjunction of two double systems of the octatonic scale (Example 12).
   In itself each of the two individual "double-scalar-modal-units" presents itself as the basis of a minor seventh chord C-Eb-G-Bb and its tritone transposition F#-A#-C#-E (formed from the lowest notes in all the consonant ditones), which does not form a regular symmetrical type of scalar-modal-unit. Nevertheless the lowest pitches of the first halves of each respective "double-scalar-modal-units" form respectively the chords C-Eb-F#-A (Example 13) and F#-A-C-Eb (Example 14), which brings out the hidden symmetries of this unusual scalar-modal unit.
   Obviously as a result in "The Hermit Fox" a much greater amount of modal freedom is achieved in terms of a greater availability of pitches and pitch correlation, resulting from a greater amount of "dissonant" tones present in the structure of the scalar-modal unit. This does not presume, though, an absence of structural correlation nor that atonal "anarchy" is present, but that a greater chain of levels of "modality" is present and a greater amount of gradations from a strict adherence to the octotonic scale (formed from a horizontal spreading out of the major and/or chain scalar-modal-units) through a whole scale of deviations from it by means of "dissonant" passing tones, various types of "subsidiary" modal-scalar units and a more or less free type of "atonality" achieved by the means of the first two elements. The latter does not present itself in a dominating form and does not infringe on the sovereignty of the "quadruple-scalar-modal-unit" but shows itself in the role of its "polar antithesis".
   In addition to the songs, the most important and significant compositions, written by Protopopoff in the 1920's, are the three piano sonatas. The First Piano Sonata, completed in 1920 and published as opus 1, dedicated to his teacher, Boleslav Yavorsky, is a three movement work, where the new harmonic system, already present in full, is successfully combined with yet a more traditional Romantic Lisztian type of piano textures and more or less standard classical sonata forms. The Third Sonata, finished in 1928 and dedicated to the memory of Leonardo da Vinci, presents itself as the most large-scale and brilliant composition, both in terms of piano textures and in terms of applying his teacher's theoretical system; in this work Protopopoff achieves the highest level of excellency and mastery in the usage of a great variety of textural means for the piano as well as the demonstration of the expressive means of "constructivist" and "cubist" trends in music. The Sonata is written in a "free style" in terms of application of Yavorsky's scalar-modal-units, where, similarly to the song "The Hermit Fox," a greater amount of freedom is achieved in terms of deviating from a given strict horizontal scale by means of using a greater amount of scalar-modal-units with greater amount of dissonant notes, which, when applied in composition, make up for freer usage of the complete chromatic spectrum by means of greater amount of gradations between consonant and dissonant non-harmonic pitches and the resolution of the latter into the former. In certain sections one could find a stricter adherence to the octatonic scale (Example 15) while in other sections there is a greater drive toward free atonality, where, nevertheless, the connection with the dominating modality is kept (Example 16).
   In the Second Sonata, which we shall examine in greater detail, despite strong influences of Scriabin's music, the individual traits of Protopopoff's mature style are already present. The composition was completed in 1924 and, likewise to the First Sonata, dedicated to Yavorsky. From the perspective of harmonic language, the Second Sonata is written in a more "strict style" than the First and Third Sonatas. It incorporates the octotonic scale, derived from the "complete major" and the "chain scalar-modal-units" almost throughout the whole composition with a minimal amount of "deviations" into the domain of "auxiliary" pitches, which, nevertheless, are very important in the context of the structural development of the Sonata.
   The Sonata contains nine sections and, hence, nine transpositions of respectively the major and the chain scalar-modal units. A presentation of all nine indications of the scalar-modal-units, as presented at the beginning of each section by means of the auxiliary fragments of staves, could be demonstrated here, being at the same time the plan of the harmonic system of the entire Sonata (Example 17). Many of these sections are precede by supplementary sub-sections, serving either as introductions or as tail-pieces to the individual sections; they are rhythmically unmetered and feature rumbling passages of parallel chords or ditones (starting out with ditones of parallel fifths in the first few sections and then deviating to other intervals as well as fuller chords) (Example 18). These passages with the parallel fifths obviously present the most clear deviations from the "strict style" of the octatonic scale and the usage of "dissonant tones," though in this context, the rather simple usage of the "dissonant tones" as parallel tones to the "consonant" harmonic tones presents a rather elementary almost textbook demonstration of "dissonance" to perspective future scholars of Yavorsky's theory.
   The basic "melodic" line of the passage does not extend the boundaries of the octatonic scale, while the pitches in the doubling lines correspond not only to "passing dissonant" tones, which are present in Yavorsky's double-scalar-modal units, but also to the two parallel transpositions of the octatonic scale, derived from the horizontal presentation of the complete major scalar-modal unit.
   Throughout all of the Sonata's nine main sections, the concept of modal (in terms of the octatonic scale with almost no "passing dissonant" tones) and thematic unity is carried out in full. The primary motive of the Sonata, consisting of an ascending minor second and a descending major third, is developed according to the principle of monothematicism (Example 19).
   Despite the virtually complete absence of direct usage of sonata form in this work, the latter is present in a more modified form: the first three sections of the work could in general terms be likened to an exposition of a sonata. They are connected by their exclusive usage of complete major scalar-modal-units, whereas all the following sections, with the exception of the last, incorporate the chain scalar-modal units, which are much less stable "tonally." The recapitulatory function of the ninth and final section is emphasized by a return to the usage of the complete major scalar-modal-unit in the primary "tonality" (Bb-E).
   The allusions to sonata form in this composition could be continued to be brought out in terms of the descriptive qualities of the textural usage in each of the respective sections. In the first section of the Second Sonata, after the initial introductory passage the primary theme is presented in a heroic, bravura passage, common to many primary theme groups of standardly formed sonatas (the author's remark written in Italian - "apello, minacioso" i.e. "calling out, soaring") (Example 20). The passage is 15 measures long, not including the first long unmetered passage featuring the introduction.
   In the second section, after its respective introductory passage, the main theme is presented in a more lyrical and calm manner, which is frequently associated with subsidiary theme groups (the author's remark: "dolcissimo, soave, accarezzando" i.e. "very sweetly, suavely, caressing") (Example 21). This section utilizes the complete major scalar-modal-unit with the tonality of D-Ab.
   The third section resembles a conclusory theme group in its further elaboration of the calm textures and mood, presenting the main theme echoed by a discant canonic imitation a major sixth above the main melody. Here the "complete major scalar-modal-unit" is presented in a different transposition (F#-C), suggesting an autonomous musical clause. The third section ends with a louder dynamic mark with more dynamic chordal and arpeggiated piano textures, suggesting a completion of a large section of the composition.
   A change of the scalar-modal-unit type and the incursions of contrasting restless-dramatic passages in the fourth section clearly resemble a beginning of a development section of a sonata form. This effect is enhanced by the juxtaposition resembling a "confrontation" between more diminuted fragments, some of which resemble the introductory passages and others resemble the previous main sections with a full-textured statement of the leading motive, each of these contrasting fragments becoming slightly longer with each presentation. This section switches to the chain scalar-modal-unit with the tonality of Eb-A (or Eb-F#-A-C). The fifth section is texturally much more sparse and emotionally calmer and utilizes polyphonic means of development, presenting an extreme contrast to the preceding and the following sections. The chain scalar-modal-unit is presented in the tonality of Db-G (or Db-E-G-Bb). The sixth section, the most dramatic in the whole Sonata in its character, presents a gradual movement towards a climax, resembling a slow march with a steady march accompaniment in the left hand, emphasizing the adherence to the theory of the "double-scalar-modal-units" by its insistence on the two pitches of C and F#, two important pitches in this section returning to the tonality of Eb-A as presented by the chain scalar-modal-unit. The whole section has two regularly changing meters of 3/4 and 5/4, a steady crescendo from the dynamic mark of pp to that of fff, and presents images of a lofty, grandiose and at the same time fantastically-grotesque procession (the author's remark: "maestoso, elevato" i.e. "with majesty, in an elevated manner".) The unmetered introductory passage is here presented as a coda to the sixth section, dispelling the heightened drama of its music.
   The structural functions of the seventh and eighth sections are less explicitly clear. In terms of harmonic design (i.e. by their continued usage of the chain scalar-modal-units) and their texturally and emotionally episodic character, they resemble more of episodes within the structure of the development section, though in the context of the large-scale form of the composition as well as their thematic usage and development of the main motive of the piece they could likewise be associated with the "conclusory" and "subsidiary theme groups" in a reverse recapitulation of a sonata form. Both sections lack the unmetered introductory arpeggiated passages. The seventh section, incorporating the tonality of E-Bb (or E-G-Bb-Db) of the chain scalar-modal-unit, presents a scherzo type of texture with many grace-notes and light arpeggiated textures. The eighth section, returning to the Eb-A tonality of the chain scalar-modal unit, is slow, lyrical and features a chorale-type texture, each chord introduced with free-rhythm arpeggios. This section likewise has a regularly changing succession of 3/4 and 5/4 meters.
   The ninth section, presented in the "tonic" Bb-E tonality of the major scalar-modal unit, starts with an introductory unmetered, arpeggiated passage, after which the section proper presents a curiously eclectic mixture of textures, starting with the heroic, bravura presentation of the main theme as in the first section, (demonstrating this section's definite recapitulatory function), which after two measures turns into a grotesque scherzo dance with extended unmetered measures. The initial bravura theme returns a second tone only to be interrupted once more with the same humorous scherzo-like passage after which the main theme returns for the third and last time, followed by a recurrence of the introductory unmetered arpeggiated passage presented as a coda to the ninth section and the whole Sonata, finishing off the whole work in a loud dramatic textural flurry.
   In its form, resembling that of a sonata form with a reverse recapitulation as well as by it emotional moods the Sonata has some similarities with Scriabin's "Prometheus". Nevertheless Protopopoff's aesthetical position still distances itself from both direct application of sonata form and from direct dramatically-descriptive means of expression, inherent in the music of late Romanticism. Many of the musical problems of formal development and the juxtaposition of the various musical sections are solved by Protopopoff in a strictly structural and cerebral manner. Especially noticeable are the differences in the interpretation of the apotheosis in the final section of Scriabin's "Prometheus" with that of the final, ninth section in Protopopoff's Second Sonata, which carries out the same function - it seems to give, purposely and with a large amount of irony, a reinterpretation of the concept of the climax in "Prometheus," which in this case is carried out with the means of the more constructive musical language of the 1920's.
   In this manner, holding on to the connections with the spiritual and musical quests of his time (the latter in terms of a search for new modal and harmonic musical systems) and successfully combining in his music many elements of the various diverse artistic trends and movements of his time Sergei Protopopoff organically obtained a rightful position in the history of music. The position, which he obtained was by no means constricted by the dogmas of Yavorsky's theory but rather greatly inspired in a creative manner by the newly opening perspectives which they had to offer.

Quote from: Dax on January 31, 2009, 11:19:29 AM
Thanks, Drasko. Managed to get it work if not at home.

More on Protopopov (thanks to Jonathan Powell).

from http://www.musica-ukrainica.odessa.ua/a-rovner-protopopov.html


Anton Rovner
The Musical Legacy of Sergei Protopopoff (Sergej Protopopov), a Continuation of the Tradition of Scriabin and Boleslav Yavorsky (Javorsky), in the Context of His Epoch
   Sergei Protopopoff , whose musical legacy is still not very well known either to the music specialist or to the average audience member, has presented himself as a rare if not a unique phenomenon of a composer, who in his musical output has strictly followed a theoretical system, devised by a theoretician, namely his teacher, Boleslav Yavorsky. A rather orthodox adherence to Yavorsky's theory is organically combined with a personal, original style and a fully developed musical aesthetical position, very much attuned to certain trends in early 20th century art, including music, literature and the visual arts: the bold stylistic innovations of the Futurists, the Romanticism and search for new mythological semantics of the Symbolists and the metaphysical cosmogony of the Suprematists.
   Protopopoff's musical innovations could be compared to those of Alexander Scriabin and Igor Stravinsky as well as the lesser-known early 20th century Russian avant-garde composers, forming the "forgotten generation of Russian composers" of which Protopopoff is definitely a part. Among these composers, whose legacy has begun to be revived in the mid-80's, one could mention such names as Nicolai Roslavetz, Arthur Lourie and Alexander Mosolov.
   Protopopoff, similarly to many other composers of his generation, has undergone the influence of Scriabin, especially in his late, post-tonal style, his new harmonic language with its specific structural system, as well as the spiritual legacy of Scriabin's music and philosophy. Notwithstanding a very strict adherence to Yavorsky's theoretical system and the extreme schematic and structuralistic qualities inherent in it, Protopopoff's music contains a strong influence of Scriabin in its harmony, instrumental textures and general musical aesthetical qualities. Yavorsky himself was greatly influenced by Scriabin's musical legacy and in his theoretical system one can trace many similarities to the structure of Scriabin's late musical style. Nevertheless, Yavorsky's theoretical system could not be reduced to adhering to Scriabin's harmonic discoveries, since their primary structural elements and concepts were derived from totally different sources and points of reference. Nevertheless, it might be worthwhile to bring out a tri-lateral scheme of Scriabin's influence (most of all, the influence of his harmonic language), forming a triangle: Scriabin: Protopopoff, Yavorsky:Protopopoff and Scriabin:Yavorsky:Protopopoff.
   Scriabin's harmonic style (speaking exclusively of Scriabin's late style, starting from his "Prometheus") is very structural and schematic in its essence, however it was formed by Scriabin throughout the course of many years of search and musical evolution, which ultimately led to an "emancipation of dissonant intervals." Protopopoff's harmonic language, carrying in itself many correspondences and parallels to Scriabin's harmonic system, is from its source much more schematic in its origins, it follows more definite prescribed rules. Those musical "laws," which in Scriabin's music are created in a more spontaneous manner, which he himself freely adheres to, modifies and transgresses at will, in Protopopoff's music are determined much more exactly and all "transgressing" and "liberalizing" of these laws, are carried out likewise forming a much more lengthy and clearly perceivable process. Nevertheless, Protopopoff's music maintains an assortment of Romantic, highly expressive and spiritually exalted qualities, which are inherent in Scriabin's music, even going as far as in such cases Protopopoff's music being less strictly structured and schematic than Scriabin's. Russian theorist Evgeny Kosiakin (in his article "Scriabin and Russian Avant-garde Composers) writes about Scriabin's influence on the succeeding Russian avant-garde composers (to the category of which Protopopoff belongs): "Despite all the sharpness of the struggle of the avant-garde composers against Scriabin's ideology, the depth of spirituality, coming out of Scriabin's music, exerted a great amount of influence on their creative output). One could assume that it was this depth which guarded them from excessive rationalism and dryness, tendencies towards which could be determined in their theoretical constructions. " Protopopoff's music successfully carries out such organic symbiosis of Scriabin's musical and spiritual legacy with more cerebral, constructivistic aesthetical trends of the 1920's, the decade during which Protopopoff wrote most of his important compositions: his three Piano Sonatas as well as numerous songs for voice and piano to the texts of Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Sergei Lipsky, as well as longer and more elaborately developed songs on folk poems and folk tales ("The Crow and the Lobster," "The Hermit Fox" and "The Tale of the Wondrous Whistle").
   The structural qualities of Protopopoff's music, as has been stated earlier, is in many ways similar to Scriabin's constructive qualities of his late style. The main feature is forming the basis of musical compositions on a central chord or scale, as well as formed hierarchies of chords and scales. Nevertheless, whereas Scriabin's innovative harmonic system served in his case as a means to further elaboration on and refinement of his already existing means of expression of his late Romantic style, Protopopoff's structural language serves him to pursue aims which are extremely different from Scriabin's - it is utilized to create large-scale, coldly-abstract constructive musical forms, which is the case mostly in his Piano Sonatas and, to a slightly lesser degree in his vocal compositions. While Scriabin creates extremely contrasting changes of moods and pungently mystical and emotional conditions, Protopopoff for the most part maintains a steady, persistent statically-exalted mode of expression, by which he evokes certain similarities with the Eastern "non-linear" aesthetics, as manifested in Japanese "frozen landscapes" as well as Indian raga.
   The harsh, urbanistically-constructive attitude in Protopopoff's music, showing itself most notably in Protopopoff's pungent, dry and at the same time Romantically bravura piano technique, have certain similarities with the aesthetics of Cubism as demonstrated in the geometric forms in the art works of Russian Cubist and Suprematist painters, such as Kazimir Malevich, V. Tatlin, I. Matyushin and I. Chashnik (especially prominent in Malevich's famous painting "The Black Square"). It is also similar in part to the constructivistic musical language of Alexander Mosolov. Nevertheless one can discern a sharp difference between Mosolov's and Protopopoff's music. The technically elaborate and urbanistically virtuosic piano textures of Mosolov, though in many ways similar to those of Protopopoff, in the case of the former carry a more extravertively-expressive character of music, a more outwardly flashy and theatrical manner of presenting the musical material. Among the compositions, which especially demonstrate these qualities, one can mention his bravura modernistic arrangements of folk music of peoples of Central Asia (such as, for instance, "Turkmenian Nights" for piano), as well as his programmatically descriptive pieces, depicting machines (most notably the "Iron Factory" for orchestra). Unlike Protopopoff, Mosolov hardly gives any thought to strict pitch organization - it is present in a very sporadic and unorganized manner, mostly emphasizing thematic repetition or development. Mosolov's harmonic language is for the most part "freely atonal," very improvisatory in its manner and more focused on searching for new piano textures for their own sake independent of pitch structure consciousness, as well as more attention to the directness of audience perception. Protopopoff's similarly urbanistic textures and aesthetical qualities are more abstract, cold and introvertive. Similarly to the futurists, Protopopoff aims at distancing himself from the programatic-descriptive musical language of the 19th and the early 20th century, focusing himself on "absolute," an immersion into abstract sounds and sonorities for their own sake.
   In this light it is especially interesting to compare Protopopoff's music with the music of his contemporary Arthur Lourie, a composer, who has most fully aligned himself with the Futurist movement. Most notably in Lourie's atonal compositions of 1913-1917, such as his "Syntheses" and "Formes dans l'air" both for piano and the First String Quartet, one can see many points of similarity with the music of Protopopoff: the qualities of athematicism (in the case of Protopopoff a varied kind of athematicism in the form of a hermetically strict monothematicism), complete discarding of traditional structures in melody, harmony and form, as well as a centralized function of a leading harmonic structure. Both composers create new constructivist forms, at the core of which lie a continuous varied development as well as division into episodes, which are extremely contrasting from each other texturally. Nevertheless, in Lourie's compositions, the abstraction and the athematicism play a much greater role than in Protopopoff's music and the former composer pays a great deal less attention to the leading organizing role of scalar and harmonic constructions, in his case they change freely and sporadically.
   The difference between the legacy of Protopopoff and that of the leading composer of the Russian musical avant-garde, Nicolai Roslavetz, could be established very clearly. A strict adherence to classical sonata form, present in Roslavetz's work, adequately combined with the new harmonic language, which the composer labels as "the new system of organizing sounds," is for the most part absent in Protopopoff. An emotionally exuberant Romantic-Expressionistic manner, along with the spontaneous dramatic climaxes and recessions - all these features, which make Roslavetz's music so close to Scriabin's, are apparently as remote from Protopopoff's even-tempered and distinct juxtaposition of textural units and emotional moods into lengthy blocks of time. The main difference is in the harmonic systems of Roslavetz and Protopopoff, though here too there are many similarities. Roslavetz's system of the "synthetic chord", notwithstanding its innovative qualities, is based essentially on slight modifications of the traditional tertial harmony. Often the "synthetic chords" contain elements of diatonic scales and consist of combinations of several major or minor trichords piled one on top of the other. Frequently the combination of trichords in certain "synthetic chords" could even contain trichords, carrying the harmonic functions (in the context of traditional, tonal theory) of tonic, dominant and subdominant chords, though not necessarily utilized in that manner or with that intent in the new system. For instance in the song "You have not left" for soprano and piano by Roslavetz, set to the poem of Alexander Blok, the "synthetic chord" contains an Ab minor trichord (carrying the presumable "tonic" function), an Eb minor trichord (with the presumable "dominant" function) as well as the note Fb (bringing in the "subdominant" element). Roslavetz never denied the concept and function of "tonality" in his works, though he preferred to replace it with the concept of "new tonality", a term which gives the most adequate definition to not only Roslavetz's system but also those of late Scriabin and Protopopoff. This is yet another point of similarity between Roslavetz's harmonic system and those of late Scriabin and Protopopoff. Scriabin, along with Roslavetz and Protopopoff, utilizes his harmonic constructions in such a way as to bring in modified functions of "tonic," "dominant" and "subdominant," along with all the possible transpositions of them. The similarity is also present in the usage of non-harmonic "dissonant" tones, which either "resolve" to the "consonant" notes present in a respective harmonic construction, or serve as means to "modulate" into a new harmonic construction. Nevertheless there exists a sharp difference between the system of Roslavetz on one hand and those of Scriabin and Protopopoff on the other hand, which has been most successfully formulated by Kholopov: "...Roslavetz presents himself as a phenomenon coming later in time than Scriabin. The latter had indeed worked with chords as the leading element of his harmony. (...) Roslavetz, though naming the central element of his harmonic series as a "synthetic chord," realizes it musically in all effect more serially than harmonically" . Other major points of difference are that Roslavetz in general, unlike both Scriabin and Protopopoff, does not make an emphasis on presenting dominant-seventh sounding qualities in his "tonic" chordal constructions (presenting a greater amount of allusions to diatonic "minor" harmonies, unlike Scriabin's and Protopopoff's more insisting allusions to diatonic "major" harmonies), nor does he emphasize any inner symmetries within the horizontal, scalar manifestations of his "synthetic chords" nor give any special functional importance to the interval of the tritone.
   Having compared the musical legacy with that of a number of the most notable representatives of the Russian musical avant-garde of the 1910's and the 1920's, we can proceed to discerning some of the basic principles of his compositional techniques, which requires that we examine an analyze the musical theory of his teacher Boleslav Yavorsky, which, along with Scriabin's harmonic language, played a crucial role in the development of Protopopoff's musical thinking.
   The theoretical system of Yavorsky is well-known by the few books published during his life, dedicated to this theory. First of all, one can name the book of Yavorsky, called "The Construction of the Language of Music," which was published in 1908. The most detailed and concise summary of the theory of this theory is in Protopopoff's own book "Elements of Constructions of the Language of Music" in two volumes, written under Yavorsky's guidance and published in Moscow in 1930. Other summaries of the theory include smaller scale and less detailed descriptions in articles by Yavorsky and Protopopoff, most of them yet unpublished, as well as descriptions in books and articles by Dernova, Victor Zuckermann and Yuri Kholopov in Russia, Detlev Gojowy in Germany and Gordon Mcquere in the USA. As is well-known, the key element of music in Yavorsky's theoretical system is the interval of the tritone. Being a dissonant interval, the tritone naturally requires to be resolved: the diminished fifth (B-F) is resolved into the major third (C-E), the augmented fourth (B-E#) resolves into the minor sixth (A#-F#). In this manner, the intervallic distance between these two possible resolutions also turns out to equal to a tritone. (C-E and F#-A#) (Example 1).
   This resolution in Yavorsky's system is given the function of a "dominant" resolution. A "subdominant" resolution is formed by moving from the interval of a perfect fifth (D-A), through a dissonant passing interval of a doubly-diminished fifth (D#-Ab) into a consonant interval of a minor third (E-G). The equivalent tritone transposition results in the resolution of the interval G#-D# through Gx-D into the consonant A#-C# (Example 2). From the combination of the dominant and subdominant resolutions the various harmonic systems "scalar-modal units " ("lad" in Russian) are formed. The most important and stable among the "scalar-modal units" is the major "scalar-modal unit" (Example 3). In conmbination with the tritone transposition, a "double-scalar-modal unit" is formed (Example 4). A complete combination of the dominant and subdominant progressions in conjunction with their tritonal transpositions is labeled in Protopopoff's book as a "complete major double-scalar-modal unit" (Example 5). Different diverse juxtapositions of the dominant and subdominant progressions result in other "scalar-modal units:" the minor (Example 6), the augmented (Example 7), the diminished or the "chain" (Example  and many other scalar-modal units, including much more complex and irregular ones. According to Yavorsky (as well as to Protopopoff), this theory can be applied to any kind of music: folk music, tonal, atonal (or rather, "newly-tonal" in the context to the music examined in the book) and even microtonal. Protopopoff's book examines all of these different types of music, successfully applying Yavorsky's theory to each one of them.
   In the section of the book devoted to folk music, when applying Yavorsky's theory to unaccompanied melodies, Protopopoff still carries out the analysis, examining the melodic contour of the melodies by splitting the two-voice dominant and subdominant progressions into separate one-voice progressions using either the upper or the lower part of the two-voice progression to carry out the analysis, i.e. individually examining the resolution of either B to C or F to E in a melodic line, implying the dominant progression or the resolution of A (via an assumed Ab) to G or D (via an assumed D#) to E, implying the subdominant progression. The analysis of tonal music needs no further explanation as the theoretical system is more clearly fit to analyze music which is based on the relation between tonic, dominant and subdominant scale degrees. The musical examples used in this major section of the book include compositions by Bach, Chopin, Liszt and early Scriabin. When examining works by late 19th century composers, the book gives a good example of how well Yavorsky's theory could be applied to music with extended tonality, by analyzing it with less regular scalar-modal-units formed from more irregular combinations of the dominant and subdominant resolutions and, particularly by frequently utilizing the "chain" scalar-modal-unit. The final section of the book presents a section devoted to possible interpretation of microtonal music by means of this theory, which works generally the same way in an extended manner, utilizing such intervals as the quarter-tone, third tone and sixth tone. Though not containing any music examples, due to lack of available musical repertoire, this section speculates on possible music, which might be written in the future by means of extending this system to the microtonal realm and implies a suggestion or even an invitation to composers of the future to attempt to compose such microtonal music which, nevertheless, would fit this all-encompassing theory.
   When examining examples of post-tonal harmony (we can label it this way to avoid the totally inadequate term "atonal") when analyzing the compositions of late Scriabin as well as his own compositions, Protopopoff applies the theory of Yavorsky. The new functional basis of the analysis of the compositions become the "double-scalar-modal units:" the major (Example 5), the "chain" (Example 9) and the augmented (Example 10). When these "scalar-modal units" are presented in a purely horizontal linear-scalar form, a number of symmetrical scales or modes are formed (often similar or identical to Messiaen's "modes of limited transposition"), though frequently with the addition of "passing tones," (formed from the dissonant passing intervals in the dominant and subdominant harmonic progressions), which are not contained in these scales, but are used as "dissonant" tones, which are meant to resolve into the "consonances." The most frequently resulting scale formed from this horizontal presentation is the octotonic ("whole-step half-step) scale. The vertical, harmonic manifestation of the scalar-modal unit, based on the resolving ditones, contains its own independent functional sound hierarchy, in which the first in importance are the two "tonic" pitches, in this case the pitches C and F#, the second in importance are E and A# and third in importance are G and C#, all of which determine the tonal sources of this system. Next come the "unstable," "dissonant" scale steps, the most prominent among which are pitches present in the "dominant" progressions, i.e. B and F (or B and E# in the tritone transposition) and those present in the "subdominant" progressions, i.e. D and A (and, consequently, G# and D#) along with the "passing tones," leading to the resolution, i.e. D# and Ab (consequently, Gx and D). (Example 11).
   In Protopopoff's musical compositions one can discern two "harmonic styles," resulting from two different ways of applying Yavorsky's theory to his music. The "strict harmonic style" is formed in such compositions which for the most part (or sometimes entirely) adhere to one fixed horizontal scale or mode, most frequently the octatonic scale (though usage of other formed scales are possible in the "strict style" as well), presenting different transpositions of this scale in different sections of the given composition, with virtually no deviation from this horizontal scale and almost no incursions of "dissonant" tones, not pertaining to the scale. This harmonic style is achieved by utilizing only the major and the chain scalar-modal-units, which in their purely horizontal aspects emphasize the octatonic scale. The "free harmonic style" involves usage of a greater amount "dissonant" pitches, avoids strict adherence to any one harmonic scale, such as the octatonic scale (except in certain sections when they are needed for structural and dramatic emphasis) and either uses the regular scalar-modal units (such as the major and minor) in a freer manner, making greater usage of all the dissonant intervals or uses more irregular constructions of scalar-modal-units and at times even combinations of several scalar-modal-units simultaneously in one piece or section of composition, allowing a greater freedom of pitch and oscillations between modal centricity and freer purely chromatic harmonies, bordering on complete atonality.
   In all of Protopopoff's compositions these "double-scalar-modal units" or "double-scalar-modal-units" are notated above the beginning of the section involved on an auxiliary fragments of staves as a means of indication and clarification for the analysis of the harmony of a given composition. In the large-scale compositions, first of all in the three piano sonatas, the schemes of the double-scalar-modal-units are presented in the beginning of each section of the work, in which a new form of a scalar-modal unit or a new transposition of the preceding form. In the smaller compositions, most notably in the songs, only one scalar-modal unit is used, which is carried out throughout the entire composition. A very complex type of scalar-modal unit, quite irregular in its structure, is used in the song for soprano and piano "The Hermit Fox", set to folk texts of the Arkhangelsk region of Russia. Two double-scalar-modal units, symmetrically distant from each other by the interval of a tritone, form one more complex form of a scalar-modal unit forming a "double-double-scalar-modal-unit," which could even be called a "quadruple-scalar-modal-unit". The first half of each "double-scalar-modal-unit" consists of two dominant progressions, forming a "chain progression," while the second half of each "double-scalar-modal-unit" presents two subdominant progressions and resolutions, forming a conjunction of two double systems of the octatonic scale (Example 12).
   In itself each of the two individual "double-scalar-modal-units" presents itself as the basis of a minor seventh chord C-Eb-G-Bb and its tritone transposition F#-A#-C#-E (formed from the lowest notes in all the consonant ditones), which does not form a regular symmetrical type of scalar-modal-unit. Nevertheless the lowest pitches of the first halves of each respective "double-scalar-modal-units" form respectively the chords C-Eb-F#-A (Example 13) and F#-A-C-Eb (Example 14), which brings out the hidden symmetries of this unusual scalar-modal unit.
   Obviously as a result in "The Hermit Fox" a much greater amount of modal freedom is achieved in terms of a greater availability of pitches and pitch correlation, resulting from a greater amount of "dissonant" tones present in the structure of the scalar-modal unit. This does not presume, though, an absence of structural correlation nor that atonal "anarchy" is present, but that a greater chain of levels of "modality" is present and a greater amount of gradations from a strict adherence to the octotonic scale (formed from a horizontal spreading out of the major and/or chain scalar-modal-units) through a whole scale of deviations from it by means of "dissonant" passing tones, various types of "subsidiary" modal-scalar units and a more or less free type of "atonality" achieved by the means of the first two elements. The latter does not present itself in a dominating form and does not infringe on the sovereignty of the "quadruple-scalar-modal-unit" but shows itself in the role of its "polar antithesis".
   In addition to the songs, the most important and significant compositions, written by Protopopoff in the 1920's, are the three piano sonatas. The First Piano Sonata, completed in 1920 and published as opus 1, dedicated to his teacher, Boleslav Yavorsky, is a three movement work, where the new harmonic system, already present in full, is successfully combined with yet a more traditional Romantic Lisztian type of piano textures and more or less standard classical sonata forms. The Third Sonata, finished in 1928 and dedicated to the memory of Leonardo da Vinci, presents itself as the most large-scale and brilliant composition, both in terms of piano textures and in terms of applying his teacher's theoretical system; in this work Protopopoff achieves the highest level of excellency and mastery in the usage of a great variety of textural means for the piano as well as the demonstration of the expressive means of "constructivist" and "cubist" trends in music. The Sonata is written in a "free style" in terms of application of Yavorsky's scalar-modal-units, where, similarly to the song "The Hermit Fox," a greater amount of freedom is achieved in terms of deviating from a given strict horizontal scale by means of using a greater amount of scalar-modal-units with greater amount of dissonant notes, which, when applied in composition, make up for freer usage of the complete chromatic spectrum by means of greater amount of gradations between consonant and dissonant non-harmonic pitches and the resolution of the latter into the former. In certain sections one could find a stricter adherence to the octatonic scale (Example 15) while in other sections there is a greater drive toward free atonality, where, nevertheless, the connection with the dominating modality is kept (Example 16).
   In the Second Sonata, which we shall examine in greater detail, despite strong influences of Scriabin's music, the individual traits of Protopopoff's mature style are already present. The composition was completed in 1924 and, likewise to the First Sonata, dedicated to Yavorsky. From the perspective of harmonic language, the Second Sonata is written in a more "strict style" than the First and Third Sonatas. It incorporates the octotonic scale, derived from the "complete major" and the "chain scalar-modal-units" almost throughout the whole composition with a minimal amount of "deviations" into the domain of "auxiliary" pitches, which, nevertheless, are very important in the context of the structural development of the Sonata.
   The Sonata contains nine sections and, hence, nine transpositions of respectively the major and the chain scalar-modal units. A presentation of all nine indications of the scalar-modal-units, as presented at the beginning of each section by means of the auxiliary fragments of staves, could be demonstrated here, being at the same time the plan of the harmonic system of the entire Sonata (Example 17). Many of these sections are precede by supplementary sub-sections, serving either as introductions or as tail-pieces to the individual sections; they are rhythmically unmetered and feature rumbling passages of parallel chords or ditones (starting out with ditones of parallel fifths in the first few sections and then deviating to other intervals as well as fuller chords) (Example 18). These passages with the parallel fifths obviously present the most clear deviations from the "strict style" of the octatonic scale and the usage of "dissonant tones," though in this context, the rather simple usage of the "dissonant tones" as parallel tones to the "consonant" harmonic tones presents a rather elementary almost textbook demonstration of "dissonance" to perspective future scholars of Yavorsky's theory.
   The basic "melodic" line of the passage does not extend the boundaries of the octatonic scale, while the pitches in the doubling lines correspond not only to "passing dissonant" tones, which are present in Yavorsky's double-scalar-modal units, but also to the two parallel transpositions of the octatonic scale, derived from the horizontal presentation of the complete major scalar-modal unit.
   Throughout all of the Sonata's nine main sections, the concept of modal (in terms of the octatonic scale with almost no "passing dissonant" tones) and thematic unity is carried out in full. The primary motive of the Sonata, consisting of an ascending minor second and a descending major third, is developed according to the principle of monothematicism (Example 19).
   Despite the virtually complete absence of direct usage of sonata form in this work, the latter is present in a more modified form: the first three sections of the work could in general terms be likened to an exposition of a sonata. They are connected by their exclusive usage of complete major scalar-modal-units, whereas all the following sections, with the exception of the last, incorporate the chain scalar-modal units, which are much less stable "tonally." The recapitulatory function of the ninth and final section is emphasized by a return to the usage of the complete major scalar-modal-unit in the primary "tonality" (Bb-E).
   The allusions to sonata form in this composition could be continued to be brought out in terms of the descriptive qualities of the textural usage in each of the respective sections. In the first section of the Second Sonata, after the initial introductory passage the primary theme is presented in a heroic, bravura passage, common to many primary theme groups of standardly formed sonatas (the author's remark written in Italian - "apello, minacioso" i.e. "calling out, soaring") (Example 20). The passage is 15 measures long, not including the first long unmetered passage featuring the introduction.
   In the second section, after its respective introductory passage, the main theme is presented in a more lyrical and calm manner, which is frequently associated with subsidiary theme groups (the author's remark: "dolcissimo, soave, accarezzando" i.e. "very sweetly, suavely, caressing") (Example 21). This section utilizes the complete major scalar-modal-unit with the tonality of D-Ab.
   The third section resembles a conclusory theme group in its further elaboration of the calm textures and mood, presenting the main theme echoed by a discant canonic imitation a major sixth above the main melody. Here the "complete major scalar-modal-unit" is presented in a different transposition (F#-C), suggesting an autonomous musical clause. The third section ends with a louder dynamic mark with more dynamic chordal and arpeggiated piano textures, suggesting a completion of a large section of the composition.
   A change of the scalar-modal-unit type and the incursions of contrasting restless-dramatic passages in the fourth section clearly resemble a beginning of a development section of a sonata form. This effect is enhanced by the juxtaposition resembling a "confrontation" between more diminuted fragments, some of which resemble the introductory passages and others resemble the previous main sections with a full-textured statement of the leading motive, each of these contrasting fragments becoming slightly longer with each presentation. This section switches to the chain scalar-modal-unit with the tonality of Eb-A (or Eb-F#-A-C). The fifth section is texturally much more sparse and emotionally calmer and utilizes polyphonic means of development, presenting an extreme contrast to the preceding and the following sections. The chain scalar-modal-unit is presented in the tonality of Db-G (or Db-E-G-Bb). The sixth section, the most dramatic in the whole Sonata in its character, presents a gradual movement towards a climax, resembling a slow march with a steady march accompaniment in the left hand, emphasizing the adherence to the theory of the "double-scalar-modal-units" by its insistence on the two pitches of C and F#, two important pitches in this section returning to the tonality of Eb-A as presented by the chain scalar-modal-unit. The whole section has two regularly changing meters of 3/4 and 5/4, a steady crescendo from the dynamic mark of pp to that of fff, and presents images of a lofty, grandiose and at the same time fantastically-grotesque procession (the author's remark: "maestoso, elevato" i.e. "with majesty, in an elevated manner".) The unmetered introductory passage is here presented as a coda to the sixth section, dispelling the heightened drama of its music.
   The structural functions of the seventh and eighth sections are less explicitly clear. In terms of harmonic design (i.e. by their continued usage of the chain scalar-modal-units) and their texturally and emotionally episodic character, they resemble more of episodes within the structure of the development section, though in the context of the large-scale form of the composition as well as their thematic usage and development of the main motive of the piece they could likewise be associated with the "conclusory" and "subsidiary theme groups" in a reverse recapitulation of a sonata form. Both sections lack the unmetered introductory arpeggiated passages. The seventh section, incorporating the tonality of E-Bb (or E-G-Bb-Db) of the chain scalar-modal-unit, presents a scherzo type of texture with many grace-notes and light arpeggiated textures. The eighth section, returning to the Eb-A tonality of the chain scalar-modal unit, is slow, lyrical and features a chorale-type texture, each chord introduced with free-rhythm arpeggios. This section likewise has a regularly changing succession of 3/4 and 5/4 meters.
   The ninth section, presented in the "tonic" Bb-E tonality of the major scalar-modal unit, starts with an introductory unmetered, arpeggiated passage, after which the section proper presents a curiously eclectic mixture of textures, starting with the heroic, bravura presentation of the main theme as in the first section, (demonstrating this section's definite recapitulatory function), which after two measures turns into a grotesque scherzo dance with extended unmetered measures. The initial bravura theme returns a second tone only to be interrupted once more with the same humorous scherzo-like passage after which the main theme returns for the third and last time, followed by a recurrence of the introductory unmetered arpeggiated passage presented as a coda to the ninth section and the whole Sonata, finishing off the whole work in a loud dramatic textural flurry.
   In its form, resembling that of a sonata form with a reverse recapitulation as well as by it emotional moods the Sonata has some similarities with Scriabin's "Prometheus". Nevertheless Protopopoff's aesthetical position still distances itself from both direct application of sonata form and from direct dramatically-descriptive means of expression, inherent in the music of late Romanticism. Many of the musical problems of formal development and the juxtaposition of the various musical sections are solved by Protopopoff in a strictly structural and cerebral manner. Especially noticeable are the differences in the interpretation of the apotheosis in the final section of Scriabin's "Prometheus" with that of the final, ninth section in Protopopoff's Second Sonata, which carries out the same function - it seems to give, purposely and with a large amount of irony, a reinterpretation of the concept of the climax in "Prometheus," which in this case is carried out with the means of the more constructive musical language of the 1920's.
   In this manner, holding on to the connections with the spiritual and musical quests of his time (the latter in terms of a search for new modal and harmonic musical systems) and successfully combining in his music many elements of the various diverse artistic trends and movements of his time Sergei Protopopoff organically obtained a rightful position in the history of music. The position, which he obtained was by no means constricted by the dogmas of Yavorsky's theory but rather greatly inspired in a creative manner by the newly opening perspectives which they had to offer.

Well presented article on such an unknown composer.  You give a great overview.  At least I have a chance to listen to Jonathan Powell's download on YouTube. For the past several years Scriabin and his compositional descendents, or influences, have taken much of my personal listening time.

 Vladimir Ussachevsky is he still lesser known? Should he be considered an American composer rather than Russian? Anyway, he has somehow become overshadowed by Stockhausen in writing musical history, although he clearly was able to synthesize Schaeffer and Eimert's distinct approaches at an earlier stage than Stockhausen, creating "tape music" in the works.

Also, I've been wanting to explore Meytuss and Mossolov further than the obvious machine music for orchestra. Any suggestions?

There's Mosolov on this website, for example -

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9T8IccvQQYA&feature=PlayList&p=11507595C5D27F39&index=0&playnext=1

Quote from: schweitzeralan on January 31, 2009, 07:25:16 AM
I imagine many affiliates in this forum website are familiar with downloading performances from varous sources onto individual postings.  I tried forwqarding to my documents several performances, but the videro was no longer valid for some reason in my Documents folder.  Needless to say, I was amazed that I was able to access the Protopopov  Sonata plus other "unknowns, thanks to the forum.  There is one official recording of Alexander Krein's 1st Symphony, "After Scriabin."  I only wish his second were available. There are recordings of his vocal music.  I'm going to try, with help, to see if I can download, or "burn," if possible, the video on You Tube with Jonathan Powell's, I believe, performig Krien's "Poem for Piano."

I'm not sure if I follow you exactly, but if I got it right you're asking if youtube videos can be saved onto hard disc of your computer and than converted into audio file and burned onto CD? Yes it can be done, but the one thing you should know is that audio part of youtube clips isn't very high quality: 64-96 kbps mp3 at the most.
If you really want some clip from youtube I could do the conversion for you, if you think you'd need help.

Quote from: Ugh! on January 31, 2009, 11:12:43 PM
Also, I've been wanting to explore Meytuss and Mossolov further than the obvious machine music for orchestra. Any suggestions?

I've never heard of anything by Meytuss except that one piece, although according to russian wikipedia he wrote around 20 operas.

For Mosolov best overview would be Melodiya/BMG Musica non Grata release devoted to Mosolov, containing two short song cycles, two piano sonatas, piano concerto and Iron Foundry but the problem is that it is pretty much out of print, maybe you could track down used copy.
Other than that same song cycles are on another Melodiya disc which is out of print as well.
What you can find is String Quartet No.1 on Arte Nova (with Knipper and Roslavets) and quite decent choice of piano music: Schleiermacher on Hat Hut, Henck on ECM, Lombardi on Arte Nova, Yuri Lisichenko on Etcetera. Two discs on Arte Nova (SQ and piano music) would be the cheapest enty point.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41V0D8XAZNL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51pKpAE1dPL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZTpiIIFGL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mossolov-Orchestral-Piano-Vocal-Works/dp/B00002545W
http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Mosolov-Piano-Works/dp/B000N6UCR2
http://www.amazon.com/Russian-Futurism-Vol-5/dp/B0014118E6

Also, there is some guy going by the nick Hexameron, who is writing these long and quite informative amazon reviews on music of that period and also uploads lot of that stuff on youtube, so you can check lot of things that way.

I can upload Mosolov Piano Concerto is anyone is interested, Xantus originaly posted it here few years ago but he is no longer around I think (it's the recording from that first mentioned oop disc).

Quote from: Drasko on February 01, 2009, 03:41:38 AM
I'm not sure if I follow you exactly, but if I got it right you're asking if youtube videos can be saved onto hard disc of your computer and than converted into audio file and burned onto CD? Yes it can be done, but the one thing you should know is that audio part of youtube clips isn't very high quality: 64-96 kbps mp3 at the most.
If you really want some clip from youtube I could do the conversion for you, if you think you'd need help.

I've never heard of anything by Meytuss except that one piece, although according to russian wikipedia he wrote around 20 operas.

For Mosolov best overview would be Melodiya/BMG Musica non Grata release devoted to Mosolov, containing two short song cycles, two piano sonatas, piano concerto and Iron Foundry but the problem is that it is pretty much out of print, maybe you could track down used copy.
Other than that same song cycles are on another Melodiya disc which is out of print as well.
What you can find is String Quartet No.1 on Arte Nova (with Knipper and Roslavets) and quite decent choice of piano music: Schleiermacher on Hat Hut, Henck on ECM, Lombardi on Arte Nova, Yuri Lisichenko on Etcetera. Two discs on Arte Nova (SQ and piano music) would be the cheapest enty point.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41V0D8XAZNL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51pKpAE1dPL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZTpiIIFGL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mossolov-Orchestral-Piano-Vocal-Works/dp/B00002545W
http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Mosolov-Piano-Works/dp/B000N6UCR2
http://www.amazon.com/Russian-Futurism-Vol-5/dp/B0014118E6

Also, there is some guy going by the nick Hexameron, who is writing these long and quite informative amazon reviews on music of that period and also uploads lot of that stuff on youtube, so you can check lot of things that way.

I can upload Mosolov Piano Concerto is anyone is interested, Xantus originaly posted it here few years ago but he is no longer around I think (it's the recording from that first mentioned oop disc).

Thanks for your advice.  I have discovered several performances of works, most notably pianistic, available on You Tube. There may be others lurking on other sources.  My son is an IT specialist; I can eventually learn how to work with downloads or with  other available sources for accessing music unavailable (yet) on CD. I'm still of the CD generation.  In the very old days I recall having only 78's, then LP's (1949); 45's in the 50's; and, gratefully, CD's in the early 90's. Times are changing quickly.

Quote from: pjme on January 30, 2009, 08:50:33 AM
:o Oooh ! That is mean! Drasko! But then nobody is perfect and an hour long French oratorio I can usualy understand - a bit!
I don't mind a good dose of "pathétique religieux" ( Jeanne d'Arc and the Holy Virgin, en tête!) ....vibrato, Vox Humana, Prière and Danse Laudative incl.! But Wyschnegradsky's "Confession de la vie, devant la vie" was, even for this old sentimental carcass, too much.

"From Existence' darkness of night, emerges Dawn.
It is the divine torch of consciousness.
The Spirit awakes from eternal sleep
So that he can follow his predestined path.
And in an eternally creating growth,
He will create Worlds , dazzling Life,....."

I am Life - I am Spirit!!! etc etc

Tarasov - the reciter- had good, healthy lungs and could have gone on for another hour, I guess.

Anyway, I took the trouble of going from Antwerp to Amsterdam for that concert. I had a really great week end!

Peter

You don't by any chance possess a copy of the text of the Wyschnegradsky do you?

Yes I do - but only in Dutch.....( programbooklet)

Peter

Quote from: pjme on July 14, 2008, 02:40:10 PM
Thanks for all the information.

There must still be a wealth of quasi unexplored music in those Russian archives...

I recently acquired a CD with Andrey Petrov's (°1930) "The time of Christ" - a symphony ( ca 2002) in 6 movements with a choral finale. Dark & brooding ...but after only one listen I cannot say much more.
I occasionally listen to Vyacheslav Artiomov's ( °1940) works. I have a symphony ( Way to Olympus), the Gurian hymn, Invocations for soprano and percussion, Totem and Sonata of meditations for percussion and a huge Requiem (recorded in 1989) that I like . Both Petrov's and Artiomov's music is basically tonal and "acessible" - but both composers use "the whole arsenal of current compositional techniques" ...It can make for uneven, strange stylistic changes.

Fortunatly I'm familiar with, obviously not all the 'unknowns" discussed in this thread.  I own some scores representative of early Russian (Soviet) piano works.  A few are quite appealing to me.  Do you know of any ;recordings of works, pianistic or orchestral of the following: Anatoli Drosdov; Vladimir Schtscherbatschow'

Leon Mouraviev (1905-1987) I know only by  "Nativité" a wonderful and haunting little work ( ca 13mins.) for stringtrio and stringorchestra ( on a Christophorus CD / Sudwestdeutsches Kammerorchester / Paul Angerer).  He's one of several Russian composers who studied and worked in France.

The strangest of them all may be Nicolai Obouchov ( 1892-1954) See Maciek's link to Modern Russian composers. 

And then there is Sergei Protopopov ...
Sergey Protopopov was the chief proponent of a compositional strategy devised by Kiev-based theorist Boleslav L. Yavorsky. Published in book form as Structure of Musical Speech in 1908, the technique used modal rhythm as its basis, in combination with the uncertain harmonic pull of the tritone. Modal speech-rhythm, as Protopopov called it, is a close kin to the general style and techniques employed by Russian composer Alexander Scriabin in his late works. Protopopov's approach, especially when applied in low passages, is also clearly informed by the work of Mussorgsky, in particular such pieces as "The Witches' Hut on Fowl's Legs" from Pictures at an Exhibition.

After completing a term in the faculty medical school at Moscow, Protopopov studied under Yavorsky, and took his degree from the Kiev Conservatory in 1921. Protopopov was mainly known as a conductor who worked with various orchestras throughout the U.S.S.R. His diminutive catalogue consists of only 11 works dating from 1917 to 1931. Protopopov's key pieces are the Three Piano Sonatas Opp. 1 (1920 - 1922), and 5-6 (1924 - 1928). The level of pianism required in these works is extreme, to the extent that the scores ask for notes beyond the standard range of the keyboard. Much of Protopopov's piano music is written on three staves, rather than two. Protopopov loved sequences and frequently applied them to single harmonic complexes. As all of these complexes are based on the tritone; this leads to extended passages of suspended harmonic movement. The effect of it is similar to that of advanced heavy metal rock music, a coincidental resemblance that is punched up by Protopopov's tendency to work with short, repetitive rhythmic units over long periods. Protopopov also utilized unbarred measures, birdcall like figures that anticipate the work of Messiaen and even marked one passage in the Third Sonata "dolce, indeterminato."

The rest of Protopopov's known output consists of Russian language songs, mostly on Pushkin texts. A single chorus of folk song arrangements credits Boleslav Yavorsky as co-composer. In 1930, Protopopov presented his ideas at a Soviet conference on the Theory of Modal Rhythm chaired by music commissar Anatoly Lunacharsky, and was favorably received. This allowed for the publication of Protopopov's life's work, a two-volume expansion upon Yavorsky's theories entitled Elements of the Structure of Musical Speech. This theoretical treatise also addresses Protopopov's interest in microtonal music, and Protopopov proposes a 72-pitch scale. However, in 1931 another Soviet music conference was held that declared "Modal speech-rhythm" contrary to the needs of the revolution. His theory discredited, Protopopov seems not to have written another note of music. Protopopov worked on the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory, departing in 1943. Afterward, little if anything is known of Protopopov's life until notice of his death is given at age 61 in 1954. ~  Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

Peter

Fortunately I'm familiar with many but obviously, not all the "unknowns" discussed in this thread.  I'm also famliar with a few scores of the following composers.  I'm wonderg if any are recorded, pianistic or orchestral: Vladimir Schtscherbatschow; Vladimir Deschewow; Alexander Schenschin; Wsewolod Saderazki; Leonid Polowinkin (quite Scriabinesque); Nikolai Tschemberdshi? Some interesting late romantic, pre-modernist styles.  A few avant-garde examples in this anthology of Early  Soviet Music.

Deshevov
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/albumList.jsp;jsessionid=F53740A8A1FEA6BF77956EF0799176A5?name_id1=2992&name_role1=1&bcorder=1

and on youtube a snatch from Deshevov's Ice and steel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25LzcsA6vPo

and Rails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSry1hjr8qo

Wyschnegradsky's La journee de l'existence stands up well to repeated listenings so repeated thanks to Drasko for posting it.

There are a couple of early preludes (1916) on youtube - nothing mind-bending, but there are aspects of the first (those downward chromaticisms) which reappear in later works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=MX&hl=es-MX&v=ZGZd_nMLmWc&feature=channel_page

Quote from: Dax on February 07, 2009, 02:11:13 AM
Wyschnegradsky's La journee de l'existence stands up well to repeated listenings so repeated thanks to Drasko for posting it.

There are a couple of early preludes (1916) on youtube - nothing mind-bending, but there are aspects of the first (those downward chromaticisms) which reappear in later works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=MX&hl=es-MX&v=ZGZd_nMLmWc&feature=channel_page

Thanks for the download Dax; also discovered on the margins some pianisric Lyatoshinsky to boot.

Quote from: Lilas Pastia on January 28, 2009, 05:28:30 PM
Who could resist? Totally obscure composer, a most interesting period in a dark but illustrious musical era, available for free !
I ???????-ed it. Now, is it good ?? :D

Actually he's not that obscure, especially to those who've investigated pre-WW2 microtonal music (apart from the 3 pieces for 2 pianos tuned 1/4 tone apart by Ives, the three most notable composers by general consensus would be Haba, Carrillo and Wyschnegradsky). And yes, it is good!
One thing's become clear: most writings about Wyschnegradsky stress how much he was influenced by Scriabin - and yet this is not particularly obvious in his later music, and certainly not as obvious as with many other Russian composers of the time. There are of course echoes of Scriabin in La Journee de l'existence but 1) it's clear that he was not familiar with late Scriabin, at least nothing later than Prometheus from which there's a clear quote near the end (2 trumpets playing a minor 2nd apart!) and 2) there's an additional, more individual type of harmonic thinking which doesn't appear to derive from Scriabin; with hindsight it's an area which seems to predominate in later microtonal works. For those interested in his theories concerning microtonal writing, there are some interesting "external links" at the bottom of the wiki article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Wyschnegradsky

Quote from: Dax on February 07, 2009, 08:08:43 AM
Actually he's not that obscure, especially to those who've investigated pre-WW2 microtonal music (apart from the 3 pieces for 2 pianos tuned 1/4 tone apart by Ives, the three most notable composers by general consensus would be Haba, Carrillo and Wyschnegradsky). And yes, it is good!
One thing's become clear: most writings about Wyschnegradsky stress how much he was influenced by Scriabin - and yet this is not particularly obvious in his later music, and certainly not as obvious as with many other Russian composers of the time. There are of course echoes of Scriabin in La Journee de l'existence but 1) it's clear that he was not familiar with late Scriabin, at least nothing later than Prometheus from which there's a clear quote near the end (2 trumpets playing a minor 2nd apart!) and 2) there's an additional, more individual type of harmonic thinking which doesn't appear to derive from Scriabin; with hindsight it's an area which seems to predominate in later microtonal works. For those interested in his theories concerning microtonal writing, there are some interesting "external links" at the bottom of the wiki article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Wyschnegradsky

Gracias! Again.  I'm familiar with only two piano works included in the anthology I in which he is included which suggests a pronounced Scriabin influence.  What you write about his (Wyschegradsky) seems to hold true for other erstwhile Scriabinists: e.g., Roslavetz, Lourie, Saminsky, Obouhov. As did Lyatoshinsky go somwhat modernist after his earlier Gliere influence. I'll access your suggested links.

Quote from: Dax on February 07, 2009, 08:08:43 AM
Actually he's not that obscure, especially to those who've investigated pre-WW2 microtonal music (apart from the 3 pieces for 2 pianos tuned 1/4 tone apart by Ives, the three most notable composers by general consensus would be Haba, Carrillo and Wyschnegradsky). And yes, it is good!

Yes, I agree it is good. I've been recently quite enjoying Wyschnegradsky's quarter-tone preludes as played by Christoff & Schleiermacher on Hat-Hut. Actually more than coupled, better known Ives pieces. Here, I've uploaded two of them (1st & 4th), if anyone would like to sample.
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/7/24/2018019/wyschnegradsky/Wyschnegradsky%20-%2024%20Preludes%20in%20Quarter-Tone%20System%20-%20I.mp3[/mp3]
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/7/24/2018019/wyschnegradsky/Wyschnegradsky%20-%2024%20Preludes%20in%20Quarter-Tone%20System%20-%20IV.mp3[/mp3]
(click on play if you want to listen to it online or on that little icone on the right if you want to download)

http://www.mediafire.com/?nnm44jtzyml

Troisieme et dernier Testament
by
Nicolas Obouhow (Nikolay Obukhov)

thanks to Jonathan Powell on r3ok

Quote from: Dax on February 07, 2009, 01:09:15 AM
Deshevov
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/albumList.jsp;jsessionid=F53740A8A1FEA6BF77956EF0799176A5?name_id1=2992&name_role1=1&bcorder=1

and on youtube a snatch from Deshevov's Ice and steel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25LzcsA6vPo

and Rails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSry1hjr8qo

I just wanted to state that I hadn't heard any performed or recorded works by the aformentioned composers.  I have their piano scores in a book entitled "Early Soviet Piano Music."  This is a collection of 20 composers some of whose works have been recorded: viz, Feinberg, Roslavetz, Alexandrov.  I would love to listen to professional playing of represented titles by Leonid Polowinkin.

Here's a curious resource of piano music which includes a number of works by Lyatoshinsky (plus hisSlavonic concert op 54 amongst the Ukrainian piano concertos). Also the odd piece by Lourie, Deshevov and several Russian composers I've not heard of.

http://nlib.org.ua/parts/piano1.html

It's a Ukrainian site with general interest stuff as well

http://nlib.org.ua/news1.html

Quote from: Dax on March 25, 2009, 03:13:59 AM
Here's a curious resource of piano music which includes a number of works by Lyatoshinsky (plus hisSlavonic concert op 54 amongst the Ukrainian piano concertos). Also the odd piece by Lourie, Deshevov and several Russian composers I've not heard of.

http://nlib.org.ua/parts/piano1.html

It's a Ukrainian site with general interest stuff as well

http://nlib.org.ua/news1.html

Interesting.  I accessed the site, but it was all in Russian. That is, The first site displayed.  I clicked on several sites within the general one  but received no response. I'll try again. Indeed there are many relatively unknown (save for the cognoscenti) Russian composers.  Many piano pieces.

Quote from: Dax on March 24, 2009, 10:14:52 AM
http://www.mediafire.com/?nnm44jtzyml

Troisieme et dernier Testament
by
Nicolas Obouhow (Nikolay Obukhov)

thanks to Jonathan Powell on r3ok

thanks for that download! I attended that concert,but wasn't able to record it.
Here are the details :
Amsterdam Concertgebouw  june 17th 2006
Dutch Radio Philharmonic - Reinbert de Leeuw
Le troisième et dernier testament - 1946 for 5 voices, two pianos, Croix Sonore ( Theremin),organ and orchestra
"Victoire par l'amour: l'avant propos du Livre de Vie"
Part 1 : l'Heure est proche
Part 2 : C'est l'Heure

Monique Krüs : soprano ( Dieu - la - fiançée and Dieu - la -mariée)
Martina Rüping : soprano
Annelies Lamm :mezzo
Marcel Beekman : tenor
Dimitry Ivashenko : bas
4 voices : Seigneur-le - fiançé and Seigneur - le - marié)

Croix sonore/Theremin : Lydia Kavina ( for this performance Lydia Kavina had recontructed the Croix Sonore- a Theremin -with -light).However, the instrument would not perform...a "classic" Theremin was used.)

An e x t r a o r d i n a r y work,lasting ca 45 minutes. It's mostly slow and hieratic, but always "charged" - the orchestra an ever moving tapestry of sound. There are a few colossal climaxes and 1 or 2 quasi lyrical - extatic moments for Theremin and orchestra/voice and Theremin. Soprano Monique Krüs had the stamina to get through all the notes - she's amazing! I listened again today to this impossible, wonderful maelstrom....Reinbert de Leeuw has to be praised & thanked  for such an effort!

If you are willing to be immersed in a cosmic bath of Russian "sobornost" ' (a collective spiritual/artistic experience), go!

Peter

(http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/74/m_b0a05ef502834b3d50490cad02553f15.jpg)

The reconstructed Croix Sonore. see http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=210842476

Many thanks for that info!

Quote from: Dax on March 24, 2009, 10:14:52 AM
http://www.mediafire.com/?nnm44jtzyml

Troisieme et dernier Testament
by
Nicolas Obouhow (Nikolay Obukhov)

thanks to Jonathan Powell on r3ok

Just downloaded this, which sounds fascinating.  Many thanks!

--Bruce

Discovered two very good Russian/Soviet composers through being sent copies from a kind person on another forum (Musicweb). Balanchivadze and Alexandrov. The former's First Symphony is a terrific score and I have enjoyed discovering Alexandrov whose First Symphony was written at age 77,to be followed by a second at aged 89! Sadly there seems nothing on CD and I can't find anything much about either composer.

Alexandrov piano music played by Hamish Milne. Recommended! A bit of Scriabin and Medtner in there. Not an avant-gardist, but no matter; there's good music there.

For those living in London I would recommend this:

Tate Modern Gallery
London
9 May, 7pm
In exhibition Constructivists ? Rodchenko and Popova

Roslavets      Prelude, Three Compositions   
Wyschnegradsky   Quatre fragments     
Protopopov      Sonata no.3           
Mosolov      Turkmenian Nights nos.2 and 3
Deshevov      Rails           
Polovinkin      Ukrainian Folksong     
Zaderatsky      Parade           
Shostakovich      Sonata no.1         

Jonathan Powell, piano

http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/eventseducation/musicperform/18449.htm

and then a trio from Greece playing another group of pieces at 8pm.

Quote from: snyprrr on May 30, 2009, 04:46:57 PM
I have a nice Ivashkin cd of the cello works (on some obscure Russian-like label) as a companion to another Ivashkin disc of Russian cello rarities on the same label. I believe the label has 4 letters in the name. Then, OF COURSE, on any other Russian cello disc I have, whoomp, there it is! I just find it overrated...what's the big deal? And cello sonata No.2 is just too typical of his late style. Was Schnittke the first to... to do WHAT? Did he INVENT the "miserable" sound?

The Chandos disc with the Shostakovich re-scoring of the Schumann Cello Concerto (with Ivashkin as the soloist) also has a Shostakovich re-scoring of a Cello Concerto by Tishchenko.

Should be out by late July, from Fuga Libera:

(http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/t_200/fugaliberafug555.jpg)

QuotePolovinkin - Piano Works
World Premiere Recordings
   
Suite: Dzuba
Events, Op. 5
Danse Lyrique, Op. 20
Two Pieces, Op. 30
Humoresques 1 & 2
Suite: Les Attraits Seventh Event
Sonata No. 4

Anait Karpova (piano)

Leonid Polovinkin (1894-1949) was a tireless animator of the Russian avant-garde in the 1920s. He then became the official musician and the companion in life of the great Natalia Sats, who founded the renowned musical Theatre for Youth in Moscow - which commissioned Peter and the Wolf. He composed numerous operas for children, ballets, film music, but after Stalin's reign, the war and his premature death, he was forgotten. It is thus a real discovery that Anait Karpova, soloist at the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and direct descendant of Natalia Sats, proposes this cd.The extraordinary range of Polovinkin, from innocent joy to dark anxiety, will charm all piano and Russian music lovers.

(http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/June09/Piano_Russian_cybelesacd160404.jpg)

Nikolaj OBUCHOV (1892-1954)
Invocation (1916) [5:33]
Deux Pièces (1915) [6:42]
Conversion (1916) [5:00]
Icône (1915) [3:35]
Création de l'Or (1916) [4:50]

Ivan WYSCHNEGRADSKY (1893-1979)
Deux Préludes pour Piano (1916) [3:40]

Sergey PROTOPOPOV (1893-1954)
II Sonate op.5 (1924) [13:01]
Ivan WYSCHNEGRADSKY
Etude sur le Carré Magique Sonore op.40 (1957) [8:22]

Nikolaj OBUCHOV
Aimons-nous les uns les autres (1942) [1:51]
La paix pour les réconciliés - vers la source avec le calice (1948) [2:49]
Le Temple est mesuré, l'Esprit est incarné (1952) [2:59]
Adorons Christ - Fragment du troisième et dernier Testament (1945) [8:09]

Thomas Günther (piano), rec. 1-4 November 2008, Deutschlandfunk Kammermusiksaal, Köln.

CYBELE SACD 160.404

Quote from: Drasko on June 30, 2009, 05:07:15 AM
Should be out by late July, from Fuga Libera:

(http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/t_200/fugaliberafug555.jpg)

Indeed!  That one is a must for me.  Is it, or will it be accessible via ArchiveMusic? I'm sure it will be soon.  Thanks for this one.

Quote from: erato on June 30, 2009, 05:36:43 AM
(http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/June09/Piano_Russian_cybelesacd160404.jpg)

Excellent! I missed that one, and it seems it's only the first in the series. July looks like a fine month for fans of obscure piano repertoire. But why on earth Gunther chose Protopopov's 2nd Sonata, that's about only Protopopov that has been already recorded, by Schleiermacher on HatHut. Hopefully he'll venture beyond 2nd in next volumes.

Quote from: schweitzeralan on June 30, 2009, 06:09:14 AM
Indeed!  That one is a must for me.  Is it, or will it be accessible via ArchiveMusic? I'm sure it will be soon.  Thanks for this one.

If you mean ArkivMusic, yes they have it scheduled as future release for August.

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=226313&album_group=1

Quote from: Drasko on June 30, 2009, 07:25:09 AM
Excellent! I missed that one, and it seems it's only the first in the series. July looks like a fine month for fans of obscure piano repertoire. But why on earth Gunther chose Protopopov's 2nd Sonata, that's about only Protopopov that has been already recorded, by Schleiermacher on HatHut. Hopefully he'll venture beyond 2nd in next volumes.

If you mean ArkivMusic, yes they have it scheduled as future release for August.

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=226313&album_group=1

I did order it from Amazon.  I may order from Archivmusic if Amazon's order is delayed.  Nice to knowthat  the piano works of this composer are now recorded.

Quote from: Dundonnell on July 13, 2008, 04:57:53 PM
You are, of course, quite correct in what you say about Miaskovsky, Jeffrey, so I shall take that as read.

I agree too about Popov. It is unfortunate that Olympia did not get around to issuing recordings of Popov's 3rd and 4th symphonies before its demise. The other four are all interesting works. There is a Telarc version of No.1(London symphony Orchestra/Leon Botstein) which i have not heard.

Olympia did manage to issue a complete set of the Shebalin and his symphonies too are attractive and rewarding.

Can I mention one or two others then-

Boris Tchaikovsky(no relative) is an extremely impressive composer of obvious real integrity. I have managed to build up a collection of most of his major orchestral works-the four symphonies, the piano, violin, cello and clarinet concerti, and a considerable number of other pieces. Naxos has done him a service by recording Symphony No.1 coupled with two good pieces-the Suites "The Mourning Forest" and "After the Ball" and the piano and clarinet concerti. Chandos has issued Symphony No.3 "Sebastopol" and there is a really good Hyperion disc with the Chamber Symphony, Sinfonietta, Six Etudes for Strings and Organ and the Prelude "The Bells". Perhaps the best Symphony is No.2(coupled with No.4-Symphony with Harp on Relief or with some Khachaturian on Russian Disc).
Boris certainly stands in the wake of Shostakovich but is no mere imitator and his music is being promoted by a Boris Tchaikovsky Society.

Tishchenko I find to be uneven. I like Symphony No.5 and the Violin Concerto No.2(both following Shostakovich's model) but haven't been able to come to terms with Symphony No.1 or the huge Symphony No.6. Naxos has issued the Seventh Symphony-an odd work which mixes some impressive passages with others which are bizzarely grotesque. I have just acquired Tishchenko's first two Dante Symphonies but have not yet listened to them.

Neeme Jarvi recorded Maximilian Steinberg's early Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2. Steinberg(1883-1946) was Rimsky-Korsakov's son-in-law and Shostakovich's teacher. The first two symphonies did not strike me as particularly inspired but they were written while Steinberg was still in his twenties. He wrote three more(1928, 1933 and 1942-the last two using themes from the Russian Asiatic Republics) which might be interesting.

I did recently manage to buy an ancient recording of Kabalevsky's 4th Symphony-a work which turned out to be better than I had anticipated!

I haven't heard a note of the Soviet era composer Yuri Shaporin(1887-1966), who was once highly regarded but I do have a recording of Lev Knipper's Symphony No.4 "Poem of the Komsomol Fighter". Knipper(1898-1974) was, strictly speaking, Georgian rather than Russian but he did work under the Soviet regime. He produced twenty symphonies, many on patriotic subjects, which I doubt will now see the light of day!

Ok..there are a few more names for you :)

I'm somewhat familiar with some of the piano works by Leonid Polovinsky.  I learned that a new recording is available, and I ordered it from Amazon.  I probably won't acquire it until late in August.  Are you or, is anyone familiar with any works by this somwhat unknown composer?  From the few pieces I know from several works available on sheet music, I am quite impressed by his style.

Borus Tishchenko passed away 12/9/10 at age of 71

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/dec/16/boris-tishchenko-obituary?INTCMP=SRCH

Digging deep into the Melodiya back catalog for some examples of his important works (3 LPs, and a first CD issue at bottom):

(http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af80/hiptone/Unused%20Covers/MTISHCHERKOBALLETIN3ACTSFT.jpg)

(http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af80/hiptone/Unused%20Covers/TISHCHENKOFLUTEPIANOFT.jpg)

(http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af80/hiptone/Unused%20Covers/TISHCHENKOviolinorchFT-1.jpg)

(http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af80/hiptone/Unused%20Covers/boristishcheno2.jpg)

Boris Tishchenko (1939 - 2010): 2.Violin Cto (1981) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVqk2Xxox3A

Looking for Shostakovich´ s "late 3rd Violin Concerto" ? This could probably have a close resemblance of such a work, it´s a large piece lasting almost 50 mins.

Am exploring the oeuvre of this composer these days, and I must say that his perpetual, almost literal copying of traits from the late Shostakovich style as well as the martial, repetitive mood can be a bit irritating. The very harsh sounds of the Russian brass make the music even more stressful.
The first part consists of some mostly martial variations lasting 30 mins. My impression is that this mood is probably kept for too long.
The slower end section´s introduction has some fanfares that again calls one´s attention to Shostakovich, the slow movement of his 1st Violin Concerto, but the ongoings and the orchestration being much more complicated, at times of a Bartokian density, and there is no solo cadenza as with Dmitri. An impressive finish to the work, though.

The concerto blends monologue-like or sparse episodes with circus-like music, marches, percussive effects etc. The winds have a lot to say also in this piece. The grotesque elements seem to imply a certain critique of contemporary life (1981 in USSR ?), but it will be too harsh and aggressive for some listeners, or, on some days, most others :-). I recognize it´s an ambitious work, but ... I still have to find identify his, say, 3 most interesting or appealing works; whether this belongs to them, I´m not totally sure yet.

Tishchenko´s "Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra" (2006) is at times milder and quite catchy, almost to the level of film music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L90Ud7fcC1g

If you like Kabalevsky,at all,the Cpo set of his symphonies is very well performed and recorded. In fact,their No 2,is the only one I have liked,other than Measham's performance on the,late lamented,Unicorn-Kanchana label. Kabalevsky's Fourth is not bad at all,unless you're going to worry about comparisons with Shostakovich and Prokofiev,and then it probably is! In Cpo's recording it comes over as quite impressive,in it's own way, & seems to prove that Kabalevsky did have some depth after all (and I'm referring to the music,not the depths he sunk to,politically!).
I also,confess to being quite partial to Tikhon Khrennikov's three (symphonies),but having said that,I am aware that saying anything positive about Khrennikov's music generates a mixed response,ie,some people like his music,while allot of people think it's,erm,how shall I put it,crap! As to the man,himself,well,I think I'm going to keep out of that! :o
Love to hear some more of Lev Knipper's colossal output,especially his symphonies,even if No 4 IS one of the worst symphonies ever written. But then again,Shostakovich and Prokofiev had to write propaganda pieces and we don't judge THEM on that part of their output,do we? Northern Flowers have issued some Knipper,but the poor quality of the performance and recording hardly helps his case.
I hasten,to add,I am NOT expecting any masterpieces (or even near masterpieces)in Knipper's ouput. I simply find some of these politically incorrect lesser spotted Soviet composers an intriguing phenomenon,that's all! :D

NB: Loved Johns mispelling of Lev Knipper as Les Kipper! Cool! 8)

Quote from: Dundonnell on January 12, 2009, 07:55:52 AM
I have been listening to the Lyatoshynsky(Lyatoshinsky) symphonies again in the Marco Polo versions by the Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra under Theodore Kuchar.

They are very fine symphonies indeed :) I would almost go so far as 'magnificent' but would be, probably justly, accused of hyperbole ;D

I know that Christo(Johan) objects to discussion of the Ukrainian Lyatoshynsky here but he was a Soviet era composer :)

Mark Morris described the music as "too bland to be of any real interest"(in the Pimlico Dictionary of Twentieth Century Composers) and David Fanning called the 3rd Symphony 'tepid'(in 'A Companion to the Symphony'). These are astonishing misjudgments in my opinion.
These are substantial if almost consistently grim works which are a considerable cut above most other orchestral music written in Soviet Russia.
Cooking supper,so apologies for the roughness of this reply!

Well worth hearing! And to answer the question...yes, I agree that the 2nd and 3rd are probably the best but Nos. 4 and 5 are fine works too.

(Lyatoshynsky was the teacher of that fine composer Valentin Silvestrov.)

Ooh,nice to see another admirer of this 'fine' composer. These are the sort of overlooked,obscurities (at least over here in the West) that I would love to hear in really first rate performances and recordings (more hyperbole,please!). I seem to remember Fanning (?) regarded the First as the finest of the set,so it's nice to see that Dundonnell rates his subsequent 'efforts' on a higher level. I agree with this,as I find them more personal. No 1 is a bit too like a very noisy version of Scriabin,impressive as it,probably is!
  Conversely,his description of (the.admittedly,not quite on the same level) Tikhon Khrennikov as a hack,just makes me want to have another listen......especially to No 3. Those filmic 'himalayan' bits (as someone on Musicweb described them) are the very defintion of the word kitsch,but I just love 'em! More Tikhon please,topped with some nice clotted cream & washed down with a glass of Vodka,of course! ;D. (I may need the rest of the bottle for Knipper's 20!*).

*Just wait till those get uploaded!

Khrennikov's Second Symphony is rather good - the slow movement has a great ending and there is a very catchy last movement. As for Lyatoshinsky - a fine composer as far as I'm concerned, his Symphony No 1 is my least favourite of the cycle. No 3 is the best and 2, 4 and 5 are very good too.

I've been very impressed by Kabalevsky's cello concertos as recorded by Marina Tarasova.  These have been reissued by Alto.

[asin]B003YCM0S6[/asin]

Those who don't have issues with downloads may want to Google "54ajax" for a large collection of recordings of Soviet composers.

Oh,good,and a nice price,too. It would also,be rather nice if some record label would reissue the recordings of Kabalevsky's opera's. I have read some good things about them,but at present they are only available at ridiculous prices from,in my opinion,rather greedy sellers. But of course,like everyone else,they want to make a bit of dosh,so I suppose you can't blame 'em,really? Not expecting any masterpieces,of course!
  I agree with Vandermolen about Khrennikov's Second being the best of the three,but I DO quite enjoy all three,especially the kitschie third! Just don't mention them to Dundonnell! :o
  Bunin is rumoured to be quite good. I wonder if anyone here has heard his work? I remember my old Russian Record Company and Collet's Catalogue had Bunin symphonies in their lists,along with such exotica as the Mongolian Gonchiksumla,opera's by Shebalin,Boris Asafiev's 'The Fountains of Bakchisarai' in a 2 LP set (I have heard excerpts of this & they were rather nice) and Shaporin's 'The Decembrist's',(the Preiser set gets quite a good review on Musicweb). If I have got any of the spelling wrong,please feel free to correct me!
And,then of course there's Vano Muradeli! The list is vast & seemingly endless. Hopefully,another Olympia style reissue label will re-emerge,for these old Soviet recordings,eventually!

Muradeli's First and Second Symphonies are available for download over on UC ;D

As are the Daniel Jones symphonies. Surprised you haven't commented on that yet :o

I bet nobody heard of Zara Levina and Nina Makarova. I certainly had not when I stumbled upon an OOP CD of their works (Symphony by Makarova, Piano Concerto #2 by Levina) released on Russian Disc in some second-hand CD shop. Contemporaries of Shostakovich, they sound closer to later-day Prokofiev. Strong melodies, good sense of form and drama. Quality music.

Levina's Piano Concerto #1 is available in its entirety on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPiLC9BgbRs

(http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/4d/4f/ce53a2c008a0413be1e78010.L.jpg%5Basin%5DB000001LPH%5B/asin%5D)

 

Aram Khatchaturian's missus! ;D
I had read somewhere that she composed. Any similarities?
Is she better.....deeper? Khatchaturian's music is often accused (these days) of being bombastic.

Quote from: cilgwyn on March 27, 2012, 12:52:25 PM
Aram Khatchaturian's missus! ;D
I had read somewhere that she composed. Any similarities?
Is she better.....deeper? Khatchaturian's music is often accused (these days) of being bombastic.

Better, IMHO.
Honestly, I was expecting something on the level of Soviet film soundtrack symphonic music - simple and highly predictable. I was surprised how good the music was.   

Khrennikov: I have downloads of his symphonies 1 and 2, but not 3 :P. This is quite good music, surprisingly daring and communicative - at least from what I expected after reading about it.

Nosyrev: I have his 4 symphonies, violin, piano and cello concertos (different works, not a 'triple' thing), as well as various concertante works and his big ballet 'The Song of Triumphant Love' (what a silly title, and what fantastic music!). I recently listed the 4 symphonies as belonging to my 'best' 20th centuries symphonies. Well, I hadn't listened to any of them in at least 3 years, so I figured: "make sure you're not bragging about something you can't sustain".

Well, I've listened to the symphonies - and currently listening to another disc of various orchestral/concertante works and here's what I think today: these 4 symphonies are as difficult, enigmatic and surprising as the ballet is tuneful, tonal, springy and easy to listen to in its entirety (not just 3-4 excerpts as is usually the case). IOW the symphonies are endlessly challenging and probing, Nosyrev's intellectual response to the thorny political and artistic challenges he was faced with (big trouble with the soviet authorities - only Shostakovich's fervent intervention saving him from a dire fate). The concertante works are very different. This is not easy music à la Kabalevsky or Khachaturian. But it makes my ears prick and listen hard.

In short: if you care about soviet era composers, do give Nosyrev an honest try !

All 5 discs I have are from the Olympia catalog. I know of no other recordings of his works.

Quote from: bumtz on March 27, 2012, 12:14:56 PM
I bet nobody heard of Zara Levina and Nina Makarova. I certainly had not when I stumbled upon an OOP CD of their works (Symphony by Makarova, Piano Concerto #2 by Levina) released on Russian Disc in some second-hand CD shop. Contemporaries of Shostakovich, they sound closer to later-day Prokofiev. Strong melodies, good sense of form and drama. Quality music.

Levina's Piano Concerto #1 is available in its entirety on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPiLC9BgbRs

(http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/4d/4f/ce53a2c008a0413be1e78010.L.jpg%5Basin%5DB000001LPH%5B/asin%5D)

Thank you for posting the link - the PC No 1 sounds very impressive indeed - a bit like a synthesis of Prokofiev and Rachmaninov. Must fish out my Nosyrev symphs to listen again.  :D

Thanks for bringing up Nosyrev, never heard of him before. There is a youtube channel with many of his works posted, excellent stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MikhailNosyrev?feature=watch

Quote from: bumtz on July 15, 2012, 09:05:28 AM
Thanks for bringing up Nosyrev, never heard of him before. There is a youtube channel with many of his works posted, excellent stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MikhailNosyrev?feature=watch

Seems promising, thanks for that!

Quote from: André on July 14, 2012, 07:26:48 PMNosyrev: ... these 4 symphonies are as difficult, enigmatic and surprising as the ballet is tuneful, tonal, springy and easy to listen to in its entirety (not just 3-4 excerpts as is usually the case). IOW the symphonies are endlessly challenging and probing, Nosyrev's intellectual response to the thorny political and artistic challenges he was faced with (big trouble with the soviet authorities - only Shostakovich's fervent intervention saving him from a dire fate).

Nosyrev has been on my wishlist for ages - but buying from Amazon marketplace from Australia is such a hassle :( 
Those first two symphonies especially sound like a lot of fun - I wouldn't call them "difficult" at all.

Quote from: bumtz on March 27, 2012, 12:14:56 PM
I bet nobody heard of Zara Levina and Nina Makarova. I certainly had not when I stumbled upon an OOP CD of their works (Symphony by Makarova, Piano Concerto #2 by Levina) released on Russian Disc in some second-hand CD shop. Contemporaries of Shostakovich, they sound closer to later-day Prokofiev. Strong melodies, good sense of form and drama. Quality music.

Levina's Piano Concerto #1 is available in its entirety on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPiLC9BgbRs

(http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/4d/4f/ce53a2c008a0413be1e78010.L.jpg%5Basin%5DB000001LPH%5B/asin%5D)

This is a fine CD! All three works are impressive but the Symphony in D Minor by Nina Makarova, especially so.  The spirit of her teacher Miaskovsky hovers benevolently over this symphony but it is also a work of considerable originality and seems deeply felt, memorable, catchy and often moving. I have returned to it again and again.  I think that it would appeal to admirers of Prokofiev, Miaskovsky, Shostakovich and Weinberg  - as well as those who like the music of Makarova's husband; Khachaturian.  Thank you for alerting me to this CD which I'd never have discovered without the forum (my bank manager or wife might not thank you however  ;D) The first movement culminates in a very powerful and memorable climax, the slow movement is deeply felt and there is a rousing finale - great stuff.

No doubt I have mentioned him in previous pages, but since I just received the Russian Disc (Ruscico) DVD's of Sergei Bondarchuk's film of War and Peace from the middle 1960's, I must mention Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov whose score for the film is echt Romanov and all-around excellent.

See:

http://vyacheslavovchinnikov.ru/en/content/?id=64 (http://vyacheslavovchinnikov.ru/en/content/?id=64)

and

http://www.youtube.com/v/b9wdXxcVLDs

and

http://www.youtube.com/v/ECUamNhrEeg

Quote from: Cato on July 22, 2012, 09:34:23 AM
No doubt I have mentioned him in previous pages, but since I just received the Russian Disc (Ruscico) DVD's of Sergei Bondarchuk's film of War and Peace from the middle 1960's, I must mention Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov whose score for the film is echt Romanov and all-around excellent.

See:

http://vyacheslavovchinnikov.ru/en/content/?id=64 (http://vyacheslavovchinnikov.ru/en/content/?id=64)

and

http://www.youtube.com/v/b9wdXxcVLDs

and

http://www.youtube.com/v/ECUamNhrEeg

I remember my mother taking me to see the film when it first came out - you had to go back to the cinema a week later for Part 2.  I subsequently saw it at least twice with friends at all day showings at the South Bank in London - a great experience. The Ovchinnikov score was available on a 'That's Entertainment' LP decades ago. It never made it to CD but a kind music contact made a copy for me. I have somewhere an LP of Ovchinnikov's Symphony No 2 (for strings if my memory is correct) - a deply impressive work.  He has been rather ignored in the CD era. The theme accompanying Pierre's love for Natascha and the appearance of the Great Comet of 1812 in 'War and Peace' was a magical moment in the film score.

Quote from: vandermolen on July 22, 2012, 10:25:35 AM
I remember my mother taking me to see the film when it first came out - you had to go back to the cinema a week later for Part 2.  I subsequently saw it at least twice with friends at all day showings at the South Bank in London - a great experience. The Ovchinnikov score was available on a 'That's Entertainment' LP decades ago. It never made it to CD but a kind music contact made a copy for me. I have somewhere an LP of Ovchinnikov's Symphony No 2 (for strings if my memory is correct) - a deeply impressive work.  He has been rather ignored in the CD era. The theme accompanying Pierre's love for Natascha and the appearance of the Great Comet of 1812 in 'War and Peace' was a magical moment in the film score.

The whole situation is a scandal: apparently the best print of the film is in the Ukraine and a dispute about its ownership prevents it from being transferred to DVD.

ABC, a major American network, showed the entire movie over a week in the summer in the early 1970's.  The dubbing was excellent: I had seen a severely cut version in the 1960's, but was impressed by everything, especially the Ovchinnikovscore.  Only LP's of the score are available on Amazon: I had a copy which is now in the possession of my younger brother, who promised over 10 years ago to transfer everything.   ;)

Absolutely incredible that Bondarchuk, who seems to have been the equal (or better) of e.g. Orson Welles in talent, is now nearly forgotten.

Ovchinnikov's concert music I have never heard, so you are quite fortunate to have found the Symphony #2.

He is 76 now.

Quote from: Cato on July 22, 2012, 02:23:12 PM
The whole situation is a scandal: apparently the best print of the film is in the Ukraine and a dispute about its ownership prevents it from being transferred to DVD.

ABC, a major American network, showed the entire movie over a week in the summer in the early 1970's.  The dubbing was excellent: I had seen a severely cut version in the 1960's, but was impressed by everything, especially the Ovchinnikovscore.  Only LP's of the score are available on Amazon: I had a copy which is now in the possession of my younger brother, who promised over 10 years ago to transfer everything.   ;)

Absolutely incredible that Bondarchuk, who seems to have been the equal (or better) of e.g. Orson Welles in talent, is now nearly forgotten.

Ovchinnikov's concert music I have never heard, so you are quite fortunate to have found the Symphony #2.

He is 76 now.

I have the three DVD version of 'War and Peace' but wish I had the five DVD version with interviews. It is one of my favourite films. A pity they could not feature the crucial railway station meeting betwee Pierre and the freemason in the filmbut that would never have been allowed in the USSR. Bondarchuk died quite young I think - yes, he deserves greater recognition. Ironically, in real life, he was married to the actress who played Helene in the film. I enjoyed the clips of Ovchinnikov talking and the wonderful musical extract from 'Andrei Rublev' which you posted.  Thank you. Ovchinnikov's music, to me, often seems to have a ghostly waltz - like quality to it, which is captivating.

I've not seen the whole enchilada yet, but what I did see of it (back when I was in Petersburg) was wonderful.

Just in case it hasn't been noted, Ovchinnikov's Symphonies No.1&2 can be downloaded here:

http://files.mail.ru/8WM4DO

Is this safe? Not to sound  too anal but I've had bad experiences with russian web sites $:)

Quote from: André on July 24, 2012, 06:50:57 PM
Is this safe? Not to sound  too anal but I've had bad experiences with russian web sites $:)

I twice tried the download recommended by "J," but it would not work.  Frustrating!

Arutiunian, anybody? This armenian soviet composer lived from 1920 to March 2012.

I downloaded some works of his and so far am very impressed. His Trumpet Concerto is easy to find on Youtube, but that's about it. A recent Chandos issue has appeared recently that pair 2 concertos (concertino for piano from 1951 and violin concerto from 1988) with a Sinfonietta for strings. The web site I looked at offered downloads of the two concertos, but not the Sinfonietta. I'll probably buy the record as these two works are so captivating.

Another download I found on the net (probably legal) has his Symphony from 1958. Santa Pizza! Talk about a coruscating, sweepingly cinematic score! Lots of noise and playing to the gallery - I can picture shoulder to shoulder Workers communing  and Party officials beaming as the work proudly displays the Nation, the Struggle, the simple Joys of children games under communist life, and the Road to Victory under Stalin's aegis. It's a big, emotionally communicative work replete with every orchestration overload trick in the book, and chockfull with good tunes. The whole affair is lots of good fun. I sincerely enjoyed it. It has enough musical qualities to help one put things in their proper perspective. It's actually substantially better than Shostakovich's contemporary 12th symphony and light-years ahead of Khatchaturian's vulgar symphonic hodge-podge aka as his 3rd symphony.

Some Large Symphony Orchestra from the Assembled Soviet Radios (these outfits tend to change names every Quinquennial Plan)  play it with total commitment under the enthusiastic leadership of Valery Gergiev. The sound is good enough. Live recording. The link is still active for those interested.

I recommend both concertos as well as the symphony.

Khachaturian rules, Arutiunian drools.

Do you care to write at greater length?

N

At least one of you guys are illuminating and worthy of thanks.

Quote from: The new erato on August 16, 2012, 02:52:54 AMAt least one of you guys are illuminating and worthy of thanks.

Well, I thought a gratuitous drive-by attack on Khachaturian deserved a gratuitous drive-by response ;)

Thanks for your reply. I assume you know both Khatchaturian's 3rd symphony (which version have you heard BTW, maybe your experience of it was more favourable than mine?) and the 4 Arutiunian works I have listened to, repeatedly ( in the case of his symphony I assume you have heard Gergiev's broadcast, as I did).

I have considered AK a great composer for a few decades already. His place is quite secure in my mind and I find no reason to change my favourable opinion. Even after listening to his 3rd symphony.

Quote from: André on August 16, 2012, 06:33:19 PMThanks for your reply. I assume you know both Khatchaturian's 3rd symphony (which version have you heard BTW, maybe your experience of it was more favourable than mine?) and the 4 Arutiunian works I have listened to, repeatedly ( in the case of his symphony I assume you have heard Gergiev's broadcast, as I did).

I have considered AK a great composer for a few decades already. His place is quite secure in my mind and I find no reason to change my favourable opinion. Even after listening to his 3rd symphony.

I don't know the Arutiunian works, and wouldn't venture a serious opinion on them. From my own experience, I would agree that there are some Soviet composers, whose works are virtually unrecorded, who have written top-ranking pieces. (I assume you know the trumpet concerto from the Nanut recording?) I'm not sure why you felt the need to put other composers' works down in order to raise Arutiunian up. It may end up having the opposite effect from that intended, and turn people off.

Regarding the Khachaturian 3 (originally a "symphonic poem"), I find its forthright strangeness endearing, I enjoy many moments in it, and I feel it may actually be a masterpiece that has not yet been understood. Or perhaps it is the only allure of an enigma.  I have recordings by Kondrashin and Tjeknavorian - the Kondrashin is superior. I have ordered the Glushchenko recording, and hopefully it hasn't gone astray on the way from Europe (it's been a few weeks now). From what I've heard of Glushchenko, I don't expect Kondrashin to be knocked off his post - which is a shame in a way, because as good as he is, I think his habitual stalwart fierceness enables only part of the music to emerge at its best.

See, I can be articulate - when I'm fully awake :)

End of quarrel. You simply read more in my comment than I wrote. I specifically wrote about a single AK work I happen to have listened to in 2 versions this month - and as I've mentioned, a composer I appreciate in many genres and works. I don't call that a 'gratuitous drive-by response' to a composer's oeuvre. And certainly not an attempt to elevate one by putting one down in order to elevate the other. Ma basta !

I'm sure you'll have the time and occasion to listen to the Arutiunian works (esp. as the downloads are there for you to use) and draw your own conclusions. I sincerely believe that, in the best tradition of 'soviet' composers of the time, Ariutunian will eventually come to be widely listened to .

Quote from: André on August 16, 2012, 07:27:48 PMI specifically wrote about a single AK work I happen to have listened to in 2 versions this month

Just out of curiosity, which versions did you hear?

Stokowski and the Chicago orchestra, and Kondrashin with the Moscow Philharmonic. I also have another version under Tjeknavorian, which I haven't listened to in a few years. 

unfortunately i've never been able to find much in the majority of Soviet orchestral music—not only is it largely overblown, bombastic, long-winded late-romantic genericness, but the conditions under which it was written leave a rather sour taste in my mouth. (Most of the composers didn't necessarily enjoy writing it, either...) there are some new names to me in this thread, though, whom i'll look for (Nosyrev, Lyatoshynsky, Popov—whose rather appealing Chamber Symphony i have heard before actually)

in line with my typical interests, i've looked into the work of some younger (post-Soviet) Russians & Ukrainians who write in a basically Lachenmann-/musique-concrète-influenced style, notably Dmitry Timofeev, Alexander Chernyshkov and Alexander Khubeev. they're all based in Western Europe as far as i know now, and samples of their works can be heard on soundcloud for those who are interested. in line with my atypical interests i recently found two string quartets by Anton Stepanovich Arensky which i quite enjoyed; they reflect both Chaikovsky and the classicised romanticism of Schumann and Dvorak, which i see nothing wrong with. (i'm also reminded of Grieg in places.)

In the glory days of Unsung Composers the 'Soviet Composers" thread came up with some gems of downloads (hope they're still there in the archives). Here's a quick list from my iPod

Adzhemian
Akhinian
Astvatsatryan
Bardanashvilli
Khagagortian
Machavariani
Mansurian
Nasidze
Nurymow
Tsintsadze
Zhubadnova

All of these write symphonies, concertoes or chamber music in a late-Romantic manner keeping in mind the folk-music of their respective republics (Armenia, Georgia, Khazakstan &c). Many of these pieces are just beautiful, turn your heart over type music, and I sooner listen to it than almost anything else the C20 has produced.

I guess the composer who is most like these who is best known in the West is the Latvian Vasks, much though he would hate to be labelled "Soviet".

And don't forget Balanchivadze, whose 1st Symphony (complete with organ episode) I like very much.

Quote from: calyptorhynchus on February 12, 2013, 10:28:12 PM
In the glory days of Unsung Composers the 'Soviet Composers" thread came up with some gems of downloads (hope they're still there in the archives). Here's a quick list from my iPod

Adzhemian
Akhinian
Astvatsatryan
Bardanashvilli
Khagagortian
Machavariani
Mansurian
Nasidze
Nurymow
Tsintsadze
Zhubadnova

All of these write symphonies, concertoes or chamber music in a late-Romantic manner keeping in mind the folk-music of their respective republics (Armenia, Georgia, Khazakstan &c). Many of these pieces are just beautiful, turn your heart over type music, and I sooner listen to it than almost anything else the C20 has produced.

I guess the composer who is most like these who is best known in the West is the Latvian Vasks, much though he would hate to be labelled "Soviet".

Aren't they available at the even more glorious Art Music Forum?!! ;D
I wonder if they have the Balachivadze First? (sounds interesting) I'll go & have a look later.

Thanks a lot Cilgwyn, now I have to spend all day going through the Art Music Forum downloading stuff!

Life is hard   :)

I hope that Melodiya,or maybe another label,will start reissuing some of their recordings of the less well known 'soviet' composers. That was the one good thing about the Soviet Union of course (unless you were a party official ;D);excitedly,rifling through the pages of the Collets & Russian Record Company catalogues! All those exotic sounding names & the sheer frisson of knowing that they were being imported over 'enemy' lines! ;D It's all a bit boring now ;D! And I don't know of any good (or bad) North Korean composers,anyway! ;D
Downloads seem to be the only way now,for most of these less well known composers! :(

Quote from: cilgwyn on February 13, 2013, 12:55:07 PM
I hope that Melodiya,or maybe another label

Check these guys out:

http://www.nflowers.ru/?lang=en

Any opinions on the Kalinnikov tone poems?

e.g. Epic Poem, Tsar Boris, The Cedar and The Palm, etc

I have been thinking of buying a replacement CD for my long-gone records of the symphonies, and came across this:

http://www.amazon.com/Symphonic-Works-Kalinnikov/dp/B008CWQYU8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_5 (http://www.amazon.com/Symphonic-Works-Kalinnikov/dp/B008CWQYU8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_5)

The one review of a Marco Polo CD with only tone poems is fairly negative. 

Quote from: Cato on May 09, 2013, 07:22:26 AM
Any opinions on the Kalinnikov tone poems?

e.g. Epic Poem, Tsar Boris, The Cedar and The Palm, etc

I have been thinking of buying a replacement CD for my long-gone records of the symphonies, and came across this:

http://www.amazon.com/Symphonic-Works-Kalinnikov/dp/B008CWQYU8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_5 (http://www.amazon.com/Symphonic-Works-Kalinnikov/dp/B008CWQYU8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_5)

The one review of a Marco Polo CD with only tone poems is fairly negative.

Still hoping somebody has an opinion on these works.

IIRC no one has mentioned Lokshin, particularly his 9th "symphony" which more accurately a vocal work with orchestra. This is probably a contrarian recommendation and I only make it as you can sample it for free on his site   http://www.lokshin.org/en.htm. The lyrics are almost obligatory available here    http://www.eclassical.com/composers/lokshin-alexander/lokshin-symphonies-nos5-9-and-11.html.  The work is as grim as Shosty 14 but more defiant than despairing.       
I really admire this composer but he only has a few works of this quality.  BTW the comments by Lokshin's wife and Barshai under Composers Life are interesting.

Quote from: Cato on May 09, 2013, 01:11:16 PM
Still hoping somebody has an opinion on these works.

I'm listening to them now, they are very pleasant in a Borodiny sort of way but not earth shattering in a Mussorgsky way. I've heard them several times over the last year and nothing stands out like his symphony No1 does. But, that said, I'd get them if I didn't have them.

Quote from: Hattoff on May 09, 2013, 09:55:17 PM
I'm listening to them now, they are very pleasant in a Borodiny sort of way but not earth shattering in a Mussorgsky way. I've heard them several times over the last year and nothing stands out like his symphony No1 does. But, that said, I'd get them if I didn't have them.

Thank you for responding!  Being compared to Borodin is not a bad accomplishment!  ;)

Quote from: Cato on May 09, 2013, 01:11:16 PM
Still hoping somebody has an opinion on these works.

Sarge will come through!

I am dipping into the sound samples, and enjoying them. So I, too, shall await Sarge's ruling, with interest.

The Epic Poem is not grabbing me (my response so far is like Hattoff's). Only a first listen though, and I've not heard the complete disc yet.

Sarge

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on May 20, 2013, 04:58:07 AM
The Epic Poem is not grabbing me (my response so far is like Hattoff's). Only a first listen though, and I've not heard the complete disc yet.

Sarge

Okay!  We await the full review!  Could Epic Poem's problem be the music itself or a less than epic performance?

Works by Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov are available on a Melodiya LP from someone on Amazon:

See:

http://www.amazon.com/Vyacheslav-Ovchinnikov-Childrens-Vocalise-Melodiya/dp/B00CNHMTCK/ref=sr_1_15?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1372176329&sr=1-15&keywords=Ovchinnikov (http://www.amazon.com/Vyacheslav-Ovchinnikov-Childrens-Vocalise-Melodiya/dp/B00CNHMTCK/ref=sr_1_15?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1372176329&sr=1-15&keywords=Ovchinnikov)

I gave away my turntable to my little brother years ago!

For those who might not know, Ovchinnikov is known for his film scores (War and Peace, Andrei Rublev, Ivan's Childhood as well as concert music.  Thanks to a GMG member I have the first two symphonies: most excellent works!

Today I happened upon this happy discovery: Children's Suite for Orchestra #6

http://classical-music-online.net/en/production/30724 (http://classical-music-online.net/en/production/30724)

And, for new people:

http://www.youtube.com/v/nfemhSHDlrY

Here is a charming CD for all you Ippolitov-Ivanov fans out there  8).

I don't think that either of these fine versions have been on CD before (LPO/Fistoulari, recorded in London in 1955-57). I have always enjoyed the 'Caucasian Sketches' (there is a second set on ASV too). Although Ippolitov-Ivanov lived until 1935, his romantic/fairy tale type sound world belongs to the late 19th century - rather in the spirit of Rimsky-Korsakov (his teacher). It is very atmospheric music and not without depth. Fistoulari is a name long known to me as years before I had any real interest in classical music I can recall my mother having a Decca LP of him conducting (a very fine version of) Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto, played by Ashkenazy. The recordings are very good despite their age and as I like Gliere's not quite so conservative sounding music too, this is a fine coupling of two very enjoyable works.
[asin]B004BGJVTK[/asin]

Quote from: calyptorhynchus on February 13, 2013, 11:48:04 AM
Thanks a lot Cilgwyn, now I have to spend all day going through the Art Music Forum downloading stuff!

Life is hard   :)

The Art Music Forum? Linky anyone??

http://artmusic.smfforfree.com/index.php (http://artmusic.smfforfree.com/index.php)

Thank you. Amazing resource. I am now listening to composers that even Wikipedia doesn't care about  :laugh:

Time to revive this thread. I just listened to the Violin Concerto no. 1 of Soviet composer Mikael Tariverdiev (1931-96) on YouTube (it can be located on the wonderful channel of "fyrexianoff", which focuses on obscure Soviet music). Tariverdiev was a prominent composer of film music and this delightful work, to varying degrees, reflects this fact. The first movement is playful and melodic, the second is a deeply felt Bachian aria, and the third is an infectious Prokofievian romp with a crazed ending. Do check it out! Here's his Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariverdiev and the links to the VC:

I: http://youtu.be/ozq1ou32aWM
II:  http://youtu.be/SwwxkargGAo
III: http://youtu.be/MjjfLo-3gq0

A friend of mine who shares very similar musical tastes recommended to me Edison Denisov's Symphony, which he called a "masterpiece". Anyone familiar with it, or any of Denisov's music for that matter? It's available on this CD:

[asin]B000005E7J[/asin]

I've also had my eye on this one:

[asin]B007X98RDS[/asin]

Here's a brief bio of Denisov from Boosey & Hawkes:

Edison Denisov was a strikingly innovative Russian composer of Siberian extraction * A leading figure of the post-Shostakovich generation and a hugely influential teacher * Gravitated towards European models like Boulez and Ligeti as well as to the French aesthetic of Debussy and Messiaen * His modernist leanings provoked severe official disapproval, but he stayed loyal to his Russian roots including sweet romantic melodies of Glinka and confessional psycho-dramas of Shostakovich * Style is refined, ornately detailed and elaborate, at the same time romantic and melancholy, creating rich play with elaborate chromatic textures and micro-polyphony * A master of colourful instrumentation in such works as Peinture, and skills used to complete pieces by Schubert, Musorgsky, Debussy and Mosolov.

Quote from: kyjo on October 13, 2013, 05:33:35 PM
A friend of mine who shares very similar musical tastes recommended to me Edison Denisov's Symphony, which he called a "masterpiece". Anyone familiar with it, or any of Denisov's music for that matter? It's available on this CD:

[asin]B000005E7J[/asin]

I've also had my eye on this one:

[asin]B007X98RDS[/asin]

Here's a brief bio of Denisov from Boosey & Hawkes:

Edison Denisov was a strikingly innovative Russian composer of Siberian extraction * A leading figure of the post-Shostakovich generation and a hugely influential teacher * Gravitated towards European models like Boulez and Ligeti as well as to the French aesthetic of Debussy and Messiaen * His modernist leanings provoked severe official disapproval, but he stayed loyal to his Russian roots including sweet romantic melodies of Glinka and confessional psycho-dramas of Shostakovich * Style is refined, ornately detailed and elaborate, at the same time romantic and melancholy, creating rich play with elaborate chromatic textures and micro-polyphony * A master of colourful instrumentation in such works as Peinture, and skills used to complete pieces by Schubert, Musorgsky, Debussy and Mosolov.

I can't say I'm very familiar with Denisov's work, Kyle, but apparently he belongs to the same group of post-Shostakovich Soviet composers like Schnittke and Gubaidulina who were blacklisted by the Soviet government. I would like to hear some of his orchestral works but something tells me that he's not going to be one of the those composers I endorse. Gubaidulina was an interesting exploration but her music was just too 'one-dimensional' for my tastes. There appears to be some Denisov on BIS. I might investigate those recordings. Not sure about his Symphony or that other recording on Harmonia Mundi.

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 13, 2013, 07:00:42 PM
I can't say I'm very familiar with Denisov's work, Kyle, but apparently he belongs to the same group of post-Shostakovich Soviet composers like Schnittke and Gubaidulina who were blacklisted by the Soviet government. I would like to hear some of his orchestral works but something tells me that he's not going to be one of the those composers I endorse. Gubaidulina was an interesting exploration but her music was just too 'one-dimensional' for my tastes. There appears to be some Denisov on BIS. I might investigate those recordings. Not sure about his Symphony or that other recording on Harmonia Mundi.

Thanks anyway for your reply, John. Yeah, I'm not too impressed with Gubaidulina's music either. Her VC was OK, I guess, but nothing else in her output has grabbed me. The emotional intensity of Schnittke is nowhere to be found in her music. Now back to Denisov.....

Quote from: kyjo on October 14, 2013, 02:57:25 AM
Thanks anyway for your reply, John. Yeah, I'm not too impressed with Gubaidulina's music either. Her VC was OK, I guess, but nothing else in her output has grabbed me. The emotional intensity of Schnittke is nowhere to be found in her music. Now back to Denisov.....

There is one work by Gubaidulina that I like and it's called Pro et contra. It's scored for a large orchestra and it has a slow movement that's truly gorgeous. Check it out sometime if you haven't already.

Here's the slow movement from Pro et contra:

http://www.youtube.com/v/qnCvuZwEGUM

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 14, 2013, 05:43:07 AM
There is one work by Gubaidulina that I like and it's called Pro et contra. It's scored for a large orchestra and it has a slow movement that's truly gorgeous. Check it out sometime if you haven't already.

Here's the slow movement from Pro et contra:

http://www.youtube.com/v/qnCvuZwEGUM

Thanks John-will investigate.

Let me know what you think, Kyle.

Reposted from the "Top 10 Favorite Violin/Cello Sonatas" thread:

Here's the YT links to a recording (with score) of by far the most obscure piece on my list, the Violin Sonata of Tatar composer Almaz Monasypov (1925-2008), which is a exotically-tinged, lyrical work with soaring melodies. A great find for sore:

I: http://youtu.be/w2KgyI6iS60
II: http://youtu.be/Jsh6vbvTPa4
III: http://youtu.be/kfMJl4CuKW0

Still haven't listened to that Gubaidulina link, Kyle? ???

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 16, 2013, 05:40:09 PM
Still haven't listened to that Gubaidulina link, Kyle? ???

Somehow I knew you would bring this up when I posted on this thread! If I listen to it, though, you must listen to more Atterberg like you promised! ;D

OK, I'm listening to it now. Will report back with thoughts.

Quote from: kyjo on October 16, 2013, 05:47:11 PM
Somehow I knew you would bring this up when I posted on this thread! If I listen to it, though, you must listen to more Atterberg like you promised! ;D

I already listened to Atterberg's 3rd and 5th but I didn't see any post where you were holding up your end of the bargain. :) I know you listened to that Scelsi work, but I've already heard two of Atterberg's symphonies (I've actually heard them all truth be told) so that makes me 2 and you 1. Now get to listening! :D

Quote from: kyjo on October 16, 2013, 05:50:15 PM
OK, I'm listening to it now. Will report back with thoughts.

That a boy! :)

Just finished listening to the slow movement of Pro et Contra. I didn't like it a lot, but it has some cool orchestral textures. Of particular note is the haunting hymn-like passage in the strings that keeps popping up at certain points, as well as the drawn-out double bass and contrabassoon solos near the end.

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 16, 2013, 05:52:30 PM
I already listened to Atterberg's 3rd and 5th but I didn't see any post where you were holding up your end of the bargain. :) I know you listened to that Scelsi work, but I've already heard two of Atterberg's symphonies (I've actually heard them all truth be told) so that makes me 2 and you 1. Now get to listening! :D

Remember when you asked me for some recommendations on where to go next with Atterberg? ;)

Quote from: kyjo on October 16, 2013, 06:12:58 PM
Just finished listening to the slow movement of Pro et Contra. I didn't like it a lot, but it has some cool orchestral textures. Of particular note is the haunting hymn-like passage in the strings that keeps popping up at certain points, as well as the drawn-out double bass and contrabassoon solos near the end.

Well, this is the only work by Gubaidulina I like. Give me Schnittke any day of the week. She's just too gimmicky for my tastes, but I'm glad that I became better acquainted with her music. She's just not for me.

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 16, 2013, 06:15:47 PM
Well, this is the only work by Gubaidulina I like. Give me Schnittke any day of the week. She's just too gimmicky for my tastes, but I'm glad that I became better acquainted with her music. She's just not for me.

Yeah, I don't care much for "gimmicky" composers either. I can definitely see why you prefer Schnittke-he's eclectic but not at all "gimmicky".

Quote from: kyjo on October 16, 2013, 06:21:23 PM
Yeah, I don't care much for "gimmicky" composers either. I can definitely see why you prefer Schnittke-he's eclectic but not at all "gimmicky".

Yes, I believe Schnittke's heart was in everything he composed and if it wasn't than he would probably throw the music paper in the garbage. Gubaidulina, on the other hand, I have a hard time of taking seriously and still remain unmoved by her music.

While traversing Amazon to check on new releases, I came across this:

A CHANDOS CD of Narcissus and Echo, a ballet by Nikolai Tcherepnin, father of better known son Alexander, which is being sold by a Japanese vendor for "$1,464.99"  ??? ??? ???

http://www.amazon.com/Tcherepnin-Narcisse-Rozhdestvensky-Residentie-Orchestra/dp/B00000G4NW (http://www.amazon.com/Tcherepnin-Narcisse-Rozhdestvensky-Residentie-Orchestra/dp/B00000G4NW)

Possibly the vendor has not properly translated yen to dollars!  ;)

Quote from: Cato on November 04, 2013, 02:11:42 PM
While traversing Amazon to check on new releases, I came across this:

A CHANDOS CD of Narcissus and Echo, a ballet by Nikolai Tcherepnin, father of better known son Alexander, which is being sold by a Japanese vendor for "$1,464.99"  ??? ??? ???

http://www.amazon.com/Tcherepnin-Narcisse-Rozhdestvensky-Residentie-Orchestra/dp/B00000G4NW (http://www.amazon.com/Tcherepnin-Narcisse-Rozhdestvensky-Residentie-Orchestra/dp/B00000G4NW)

Possibly the vendor has not properly translated yen to dollars!  ;)

That's outrageous! ??? That's a beautiful ballet BTW. It should definitely appeal to fans of The Firebird and Daphnis et Chloe in its lush, oriental impressionism.

Quote from: kyjo on November 04, 2013, 02:18:22 PM
That's outrageous! ??? That's a beautiful ballet BTW. It should definitely appeal to fans of The Firebird and Daphnis et Chloe in its lush, oriental impressionism.

There are a few copies for much less!  Not cheap, but much more reasonable!

Quote from: kyjo on November 04, 2013, 02:18:22 PM
That's a beautiful ballet BTW. It should definitely appeal to fans of The Firebird and Daphnis et Chloe in its lush, oriental impressionism.

Yes: it is hard to fathom the neglect of Nikolai Tcherepnin.  He was a teacher for the young Prokofiev, who apparently did not think much of him.  Prokofiev's mother once asked him how much he composed every day, and he responded that sometimes "only a single bar".  Prokofiev commented that he was probably "trying to impress us with his meticulousness."

Mother Prokofiev then commented rather triumphantly that her son (in his early teens or even younger) had already composed several operas!   :o  ;)

Quote from: Cato on November 04, 2013, 02:25:00 PM
Yes: it is hard to fathom the neglect of Nikolai Tcherepnin.  He was a teacher for the young Prokofiev, who apparently did not think much of him.  Prokofiev's mother once asked him how much he composed every day, and he responded that sometimes "only a single bar".  Prokofiev commented that he was probably "trying to impress us with his meticulousness."

Mother Prokofiev then commented rather triumphantly that her son (in his early teens or even younger) had already composed several operas!   :o  ;)

Interesting little story there. Yes, Tcherepnin's meticulousness is evidenced by the rather small body of work he produced, and, from what I've heard of his music, lived by the "quality over quantity" rule. I enjoy this CD a lot:

[asin]B000001GPM[/asin]

Included are two magically evocative tone poems by Tcherepnin in the Rimsky/Liadov mode: La Princesse lontaine and Le Royaume enchantee, as well as three tone poems by Liadov and Rimsky's Coq d'Or Suite.

I'm looking for information on Leon Mouravieff / Mouraviev. Born in Kiev 1905, died in Paris 1987.

His (very lovely) Nativité for string trio and string orchestra was recorded on a Vox and Christophorus CD .

Afaik there's very little info on the internet...


Peter

From the Classical Download Topic:

Quote from: Cato on April 09, 2015, 10:07:38 AM
I just came across a performance of the incredible Protopopov Sonata #1 by a Russian pianist named Daniel Ekimovsky who seems not to have known that Afros on white guys died with Bob Ross!   0:)

Despite that: it is some performance!  The one available on YouTube has static throughout for some reason, so this is an improvement, although the quality is again not the best. 

http://classical-music-online.net/en/listen/131965 (http://classical-music-online.net/en/listen/131965)

Is Protopopov an ancestor of Gavriil Popov? 0:)

Quote from: North Star on April 09, 2015, 12:31:35 PM
Is Protopopov an ancestor of Gavriil Popov? 0:)

Not sure: Poppy Popover, the Snap, Crackle, and Pop Girl, could be involved!  :o

Natasha Popovlova?

Quote from: karlhenning on April 10, 2015, 04:09:09 AM
Natasha Popovlova?

Who doesn't lova  Natasha Popovlova!   0:)

I should  mention that all three sonatas of Protopopov are available at the link above.

A tragedy: censored by the Communists, Protopopov seems to have quit composing after producing just a handful of works.  I keep hoping to hear that in an attic somewhere a stash of compositions by him has been found.

I very much enjoyed this Symphony with its echoes of Shostakovich, Shebalin, Miaskovsky and Eshpai. The Amazon UK reviewer did not like it at all. Jurovski is the grandfather of the conductor.
[asin]B00UCOK09K[/asin]

Quote from: vandermolen on June 30, 2015, 10:37:11 AM
I very much enjoyed this Symphony with its echoes of Shostakovich, Shebalin, Miaskovsky and Eshpai. The Amazon UK reviewer did not like it at all. Jurovski is the grandfather of the conductor.
[asin]B00UCOK09K[/asin]

I still need to explore Eshpai. Any suggestions on where to go first, Jeffrey? I've been looking at those Albany recordings and drooling. :)

Quote from: Mirror Image on June 30, 2015, 12:58:41 PM
I still need to explore Eshpai. Any suggestions on where to go first, Jeffrey? I've been looking at those Albany recordings and drooling. :)

Definitely John. Symphony 4 and 5 on Russian Disc. 5 is his masterpiece I think. Am sure you would like it. It is cheaper on Amazon US compared with Amazon UK - which is good news for you.   :)

Quote from: vandermolen on July 01, 2015, 12:41:39 AM
Definitely John. Symphony 4 and 5 on Russian Disc. 5 is his masterpiece I think. Am sure you would like it. It is cheaper on Amazon US compared with Amazon UK - which is good news for you.   :)

Very nice. Thanks for the recommendation.

Greatly enjoying this score (Symphony 2). He was the son-in-law of Rimsky-Korsakov and the teacher of Shostakovich. His symphony is powerfully brooding and reminiscent of Miaskovsky and Mahler in places:
[asin]B00005LASB[/asin]

Quote from: Cato on April 10, 2015, 05:33:53 AM

I should  mention that all three sonatas of Protopopov are available at the link above.

A tragedy: censored by the Communists, Protopopov seems to have quit composing after producing just a handful of works.  I keep hoping to hear that in an attic somewhere a stash of compositions by him has been found.

Sergei Protopopov: my comments above still stand!

I was admiring this work during some free time today: the Piano Sonata #2.

https://www.youtube.com/v/Ta9kJdi1rI4

https://www.youtube.com/v/cE37vifSAr4

An early Ustvolskaya "Poem" for orchestra.

From :http://ustvolskaya.org/eng/catalog.php


"The Light of the Steppe" retitled "Poem No. 1" (and The Hero's Exploit retitled "Poem No. 2", together with The Dream of Stepan Razin and Sport Suite retitled "Suite") after several years' deliberation were included into the author's Catalogue. Galina Ustvolskaya's attitude towards these works is an indication of the great demands she made of herself. Their style shows too that she had it within her to write another, more accessible, style of music with greater potential to bring her mass popularity. She chose the other way, consciously and uncompromisingly.

Steinberg's 'Passion Week' is a most beautiful, ethereal work which was banned almost as soon as completed (1923) as a consequence on the soviet ban on religious music. Would definitely appeal to admirers of Rachmaninov's 'Vespers':
[asin]B01H5JT0M2[/asin]

This is an excellent CD which I may have mentioned before. In particular the Symphony in D Minor by Nina Makarova from 1938. It is rather in the spirit of her teacher Miaskovsky but a moving, memorable and powerful score in its own right. I have played it four times over the past two days. It's on YouTube if you want to hear it. The CD is a very interesting and enjoyable one featuring music by two female soviet composers, Nina Makarova and Zara Levina. It did not surprise me to hear that Miaskovsky was the teacher of Makarova but she has been rather undeservedly overshadowed by her husband Khachaturian. Much as I like all of Khachaturian's symphonies there is an argument that Makarova's symphony is superior to any of them - I thoroughly enjoyed it and the scores by Levina as well.

I did notice that a recording of Symphony No. 1 and the Violin Concerto by Azerbaijani/Soviet composer Kara Karayev is coming out in mid-March on Naxos. Dmitry Yablonsky conducting.

I should go back and try to find the posts I made during that time I was exploring Russian contemporary music. It barely ever gets talked about and there are quite a few interesting things going on there.........

EDIT:

I found a couple of old posts. I should revisit this music sometime in the near future; I really enjoyed these composers and this recording when I heard it. I think all the composers I mentioned in the first post have works which can easily be found on youtube as well. I will do some more exploring, for those curious about the more obscure Russian composers.

Quote from: jessop on November 13, 2017, 08:49:24 PM
Some more Russian composers whose music I have been listening to recently

Elena Mykova
Alexey Glazkov
Anton Svetlichny
Stanislav Makovsky
Natasia Krustchiova

Quote from: jessop on November 10, 2017, 10:59:49 PM
Music Anthology of Young Russian Composers

Currently on Left-on-Board by Anton Svetlichny for violin and piano. A pretty cool collection of works, very pleasant all the way through

(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1578044628_10.jpg)

Not sure if this is the right thread to post my question but I have been on a mid/late 20th century Russian kick lately and am very much enjoying this recording of Schnittke Symphony No. 3 right now:
(https://direct.rhapsody.com/imageserver/images/Alb.172857689/500x500.jpg)

My question, between Schnittke and Boris Tishchenko, which post-Shostakovich Russian composer do you prefer and why?  Is it an unfair comparison or do you see them as equals? 

Quote from: relm1 on March 29, 2018, 04:11:04 PM
Not sure if this is the right thread to post my question but I have been on a mid/late 20th century Russian kick lately and am very much enjoying this recording of Schnittke Symphony No. 3 right now:
(https://direct.rhapsody.com/imageserver/images/Alb.172857689/500x500.jpg)

My question, between Schnittke and Boris Tishchenko, which post-Shostakovich Russian composer do you prefer and why?  Is it an unfair comparison or do you see them as equals?

I don't think that I've heard enough of their music to compare them really. Schnittke's Piano Quintet is the work that I most enjoy from either composer and suspect that he is the more memorable composer. What is the style of Symphony 3?

Quote from: vandermolen on March 31, 2018, 12:12:32 PM
I don't think that I've heard enough of their music to compare them really. Schnittke's Piano Quintet is the work that I most enjoy from either composer and suspect that he is the more memorable composer. What is the style of Symphony 3?

Do check out this Rozhdestvensky recording of Schnittke's Symphony No. 3.  It is panstylistic so has elements of Mahler, rich Russian tonality, jazz, and modernism.  There is much drama and it is very big in scale lasting about 50 minutes and utilizing winds in 4, 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, large percussion, electric guitar, bass guitar, 2 harps, harpsichord, organ, celesta, piano, and strings.  I personally like how traditional brass chorals are over aleatoric elements.  It works. The Rozhdestvensky recording is of a very fine concert performance. 

Meanwhile, with Boris Tishchenko's Symphony No. 4 we have the same conductor (might be the same orchestra but soviet orchestras changed names every few years so not sure) is from a few years earlier (1978) and a similar Mahlerian scaled soviet symphony lasting 95 minutes.  In a way, this is a symphony of symphonies since each movement is titled as a symphony (a habit Tishchenko used frequently with his Dante Symphonies and other works titled symphonies that are more like symphonic poems).  The work is bleak and doesn't have much poetry or range to justify its duration but that is my opinion and I want to hear if I might be missing something.  To me, it sounds like a lot of loud chord progressions.  Meanwhile, I very much enjoy some of his other works like the more lyrical Symphony No. 6, the classical No. 7 and 8, and the Shostakovich No. 9 movement.    The second violin concerto is gorgeous.  When a composer comes across as so inconsistent to me, it makes me think I am missing something hence asking for others thoughts.

Quote from: relm1 on March 31, 2018, 04:38:48 PM
Do check out this Rozhdestvensky recording of Schnittke's Symphony No. 3.  It is panstylistic so has elements of Mahler, rich Russian tonality, jazz, and modernism.  There is much drama and it is very big in scale lasting about 50 minutes and utilizing winds in 4, 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, large percussion, electric guitar, bass guitar, 2 harps, harpsichord, organ, celesta, piano, and strings.  I personally like how traditional brass chorals are over aleatoric elements.  It works. The Rozhdestvensky recording is of a very fine concert performance. 

Meanwhile, with Boris Tishchenko's Symphony No. 4 we have the same conductor (might be the same orchestra but soviet orchestras changed names every few years so not sure) is from a few years earlier (1978) and a similar Mahlerian scaled soviet symphony lasting 95 minutes.  In a way, this is a symphony of symphonies since each movement is titled as a symphony (a habit Tishchenko used frequently with his Dante Symphonies and other works titled symphonies that are more like symphonic poems).  The work is bleak and doesn't have much poetry or range to justify its duration but that is my opinion and I want to hear if I might be missing something.  To me, it sounds like a lot of loud chord progressions.  Meanwhile, I very much enjoy some of his other works like the more lyrical Symphony No. 6, the classical No. 7 and 8, and the Shostakovich No. 9 movement.    The second violin concerto is gorgeous.  When a composer comes across as so inconsistent to me, it makes me think I am missing something hence asking for others thoughts.

I have some of the Dante symphonies but I can't say that, so far, they have made much impression on me but I should listen again. The Schnittke Third Symphony sounds more interesting from what you say.

This piece by Fred Momotenko is very cool. Does anyone know of any recordings of his works? I would love some recommendations on where to look from here.

https://www.youtube.com/v/np7QOF-REWw

Also I am still looking for recordings of music by the following composers, and if there are more composers like them I should be aware of:

Elena Rykova
Alexey Glazkov
Anton Svetlichny
Stanislav Makovsky
Natasia Khrustchiova

There is one recording I posted earlier which features some of them, but I know that there are obviously more pieces that they have written which I am certainly interested in hearing. Does anyone have any clues as to where there might be some more information regarding this matter?

I realised that the reason I couldn't find anything about 'Elena Mykova' is that it was a typo........her name is Elena Rykova and I have indeed found some of the stuff I listened to a while ago again which I will post here for anyone else interested in her music.

Here is a particularly captivating work: 'The Mirror of Galadriel' performed by the composer and Denis Khorov

https://www.youtube.com/v/hgZOkv1yQ0E

Whilst the sound is perfectly musically satisfying to listen to on its own, the visual element of the performance with the projection in the background brings a new dimension to the work rather than detracts from it. I like that a lot, as unfortunately there have been quite a few cases where visuals haven't really added anything particularly new or interesting to a musical work or even blend well with it. This, however, is fantastic!

After a LOT of looking around (searching in Cyrillic as well as Roman scripts, various possible transliterations), I have finally managed to locate some information on Настасья Алексеевна Хрущёва on a Russian-language wikipedia page, which I converted to English using Google translate.

https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%25D0%25A5%25D1%2580%25D1%2583%25D1%2589%25D1%2591%25D0%25B2%25D0%25B0,_%25D0%259D%25D0%25B0%25D1%2581%25D1%2582%25D0%25B0%25D1%2581%25D1%258C%25D1%258F_%25D0%2590%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BA%25D1%2581%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B2%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B0&prev=search


It really bothers me that there is a real lack of information about music by Russian composers. Either the majority of performances of their music aren't even happening in Russia where they have lived and worked and studied, or any information about them and recordings of their music are just nowhere near as readily available internationally like composers from other countries.

Here is a great work I finally managed to find on youtube after a looking around for days

https://www.youtube.com/v/zF_VAR9TT8M

I am not surprised so much by the popularity of her music in Russia, as it sounds like it directly comes from the kinds of post-modern polystylism seen in works by Schnittke and Gubaidulina, two very well known and highly revered Russian composers worldwide.

Quote from: jessop on April 01, 2018, 11:51:49 PM
After a LOT of looking around (searching in Cyrillic as well as Roman scripts, various possible transliterations), I have finally managed to locate some information on Настасья Алексеевна Хрущёва on a Russian-language wikipedia page, which I converted to English using Google translate.

https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%25D0%25A5%25D1%2580%25D1%2583%25D1%2589%25D1%2591%25D0%25B2%25D0%25B0,_%25D0%259D%25D0%25B0%25D1%2581%25D1%2582%25D0%25B0%25D1%2581%25D1%258C%25D1%258F_%25D0%2590%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BA%25D1%2581%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B2%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B0&prev=search


It really bothers me that there is a real lack of information about music by Russian composers. Either the majority of performances of their music aren't even happening in Russia where they have lived and worked and studied, or any information about them and recordings of their music are just nowhere near as readily available internationally like composers from other countries.

Here is a great work I finally managed to find on youtube after a looking around for days

https://www.youtube.com/v/zF_VAR9TT8M

I am not surprised so much by the popularity of her music in Russia, as it sounds like it directly comes from the kinds of post-modern polystylism seen in works by Schnittke and Gubaidulina, two very well known and highly revered Russian composers worldwide.

Nastasya Khrushcheva has various things available on YouTube: here is a TV show about younger Russian composers.  Khrushcheva appears at 7:55.

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

I also found this item concerning Nastasya Khrushcheva:

https://divertissementorchestra.com/en/2016/08/25/almost-seasons-on-google-play/ (https://divertissementorchestra.com/en/2016/08/25/almost-seasons-on-google-play/)

Many thanks! She has written a few very interesting pieces indeed, some in a more conservative style than others. That's an interesting philosophy in the programme note she wrote. Seems somewhat meditative.....I like it!

Here we go, another very theatrical work from Elena Rykova. This time it's something uploaded with the score. It's fascinating to see how such a theatrical performance of a musical work can be notated, don't you think?

https://www.youtube.com/v/IoN7djGdDo0

Does anyone have any information about Anna Pospelova?

Here is a nice playful little piece

https://www.youtube.com/v/kbudX1yUENs

Quote from: Cato on November 04, 2013, 02:25:00 PM
There are a few copies for much less!  Not cheap, but much more reasonable!

Yes: it is hard to fathom the neglect of Nikolai Tcherepnin.  He was a teacher for the young Prokofiev, who apparently did not think much of him.  Prokofiev's mother once asked him how much he composed every day, and he responded that sometimes "only a single bar".  Prokofiev commented that he was probably "trying to impress us with his meticulousness."

Mother Prokofiev then commented rather triumphantly that her son (in his early teens or even younger) had already composed several operas!   :o  ;)

I found this by chance today, in an article about an award-winning high-school orchestra:

Quote...Alumni McKenna Sullivan's instrument of choice is the French horn, though she'll always have interest in the clarinet. Her favorite compser is Nikolai Tcherepnin, who studied under another of Sullivan's favorites, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, both Russian. Sullivan appreciates that Tcherepnin produced "quality over quantity." Sullivan performed Tcherepnin's Horn Quartet in her senior year at Ventura High with the horn section, which she recommends listening to — it's "absolutely beautiful."...

See:

https://www.vcreporter.com/2017/10/sound-of-music-local-high-school-orchestra-takes-performance-to-highest-level/ (https://www.vcreporter.com/2017/10/sound-of-music-local-high-school-orchestra-takes-performance-to-highest-level/)

And so...

https://www.youtube.com/v/F_Pi6nbSY5c

Amazingly Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov's wonderful score for the Soviet-era film of 'War and Peace' is available on CD! I have a copy in front of me now after a specialist soundtrack shop tracked it down for me. Although I had the LP (released by the same company) I've been looking for a CD of it for decades. It is released by 'That's Entertainment' - the same company who released the LP and is a good quality transfer and not a bootleg. I've been looking for decades.

You heard it here first!

:)

Quote from: vandermolen on October 11, 2018, 07:46:25 AM
Amazingly Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov's wonderful score for the Soviet-era film of 'War and Peace' is available on CD! I have a copy in front of me now after a specialist soundtrack shop tracked it down for me. Although I had the LP (released by the same company) I've been looking for a CD of it for decades. It is released by 'That's Entertainment' - the same company who released the LP and is a good quality transfer and not a bootleg. I've been looking for decades.

You heard it here first!

:)

And I had just checked Amazon about two weeks ago with the same desperate decades-long hope!   ;)

Many thanks for the information!!!

Quote from: Cato on October 13, 2018, 04:38:15 AM

And I had just checked Amazon about two weeks ago with the same desperate decades-long hope!   ;)

Many thanks for the information!!!

I thought that you'd be pleased Leo!
:)

PS I obtained it from Backtrack Records in Rye UK - they are a specialist soundtrack record shop of the old school - probably one of the last few remaining. They charge £15 for 'War and Peace' which is very reasonably considering the rarity of the CD.

Quote from: ComposerOfAvantGarde on March 31, 2018, 11:02:38 PM
Also I am still looking for recordings of music by the following composers, and if there are more composers like them I should be aware of:

Elena Rykova
Alexey Glazkov
Anton Svetlichny
Stanislav Makovsky
Natasia Khrustchiova

There is one recording I posted earlier which features some of them, but I know that there are obviously more pieces that they have written which I am certainly interested in hearing. Does anyone have any clues as to where there might be some more information regarding this matter?

Vandermolen, you seem to be one of the experts on Russian composers around here; do you have any information regarding these composers? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Quote from: vandermolen on October 11, 2018, 07:46:25 AM
Amazingly Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov's wonderful score for the Soviet-era film of 'War and Peace' is available on CD! I have a copy in front of me now after a specialist soundtrack shop tracked it down for me. Although I had the LP (released by the same company) I've been looking for a CD of it for decades. It is released by 'That's Entertainment' - the same company who released the LP and is a good quality transfer and not a bootleg. I've been looking for decades.

You heard it here first!

:)

I have a copy that a fellow GMGer made me,  presumably from an Lp of the film's soundtrack.

Coincidentally, this morning I placed an order for this,

(https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51c-VVRa44L._SL500_.jpg)

where Ovchinnikov is heard in his capacity as conductor in The Tempest and The Voyevode, 2 lesser known Tchaikovsky orchestral works. I consider his versions of Francesca da Rimini and Romeo and Juliet unbeatable.

Quote from: shirime on October 13, 2018, 04:12:01 PM
Vandermolen, you seem to be one of the experts on Russian composers around here; do you have any information regarding these composers? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I like the music of a lot of Russian/Soviet composers but am sadly no expert (although I was once part of the ironically titled 'Braga Santos Experts' of legendary/notorious memory in this forum). I'm sorry to say that I haven't come across the music of any of the composers, I looked up the first one, who is obviously quite young and am very impressed that she has her own web site which features the word 'rocks' in the www address.

Here it is:

https://www.elenarykova.rocks

I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful.

Quote from: André on October 13, 2018, 05:09:56 PM
I have a copy that a fellow GMGer made me,  presumably from an Lp of the film's soundtrack.

Coincidentally, this morning I placed an order for this,

(https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51c-VVRa44L._SL500_.jpg)

where Ovchinnikov is heard in his capacity as conductor in The Tempest and The Voyevode, 2 lesser known Tchaikovsky orchestral works. I consider his versions of Francesca da Rimini and Romeo and Juliet unbeatable.

Very interesting. I was also made a CD-R copy of the War and Peace soundtrack, from the LP, by a kind fellow music forum member. I wish Ovchinnikov's symphonies were available on CD. I remember greatly enjoying an old Melodiya LP of Symphony 2 for strings bought from a specialist soviet music outlet in central London (when I went to the Melodiya shop on Nevsky Prospect in Leningrad (as it was then called) in 1985/6 and asked for any music by Miaskovsky, they looked at me as if I was mad. Eventually I found a couple of his string quartets on LP. My friend was surprised to see a lot of music by Bax in the shop before realising this was the Russian for Bach).

I think we have the same source for Ovchinnikov works (W&P, the symphonies)  :D.

Also not to be forgotten is the short but powerfully evocative symphony by Nektarios Chargeishvili. Fortunately that one is readily available on Youtube.

Quote from: vandermolen on October 14, 2018, 12:31:18 AM


I like the music of a lot of Russian/Soviet composers but am sadly no expert (although I was once part of the ironically titled 'Braga Santos Experts' of legendary/notorious memory in this forum). I'm sorry to say that I haven't come across the music of any of the composers, I looked up the first one, who is obviously quite young and am very impressed that she has her own web site which features the word 'rocks' in the www address.

Here it is:

https://www.elenarykova.rocks

I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful.

From what I have been able to discover of her works over the past few months, she excels in interdisciplinary works.

I think the Russians are particularly good in this area of composition at the moment. I'd love to see some more.

Does anyone have recommendations of Russian composers known for interdisciplinary compositions?

Quote from: shirime on October 14, 2018, 07:49:37 PM
From what I have been able to discover of her works over the past few months, she excels in interdisciplinary works.

I think the Russians are particularly good in this area of composition at the moment. I'd love to see some more.

Does anyone have recommendations of Russian composers known for interdisciplinary compositions?

You might enjoy the music of Dobrinka Tabakova (Bulgarian/British rather than Russian) - a recommendation from John (Mirror Image) from this forum. Not sure it is what you mean but might be worth sampling on You Tube for example.

Quote from: vandermolen on October 15, 2018, 12:47:57 AM
You might enjoy the music of Dobrinka Tabakova (Bulgarian/British rather than Russian) - a recommendation from John (Mirror Image) from this forum. Not sure it is what you mean but might be worth sampling on You Tube for example.

I remember him mentioning her name a fair bit back when he was a little more active. I don't think I ever did take much time to listen to her stuff, unfortunately!

Quote from: shirime on October 15, 2018, 04:09:32 AM
I remember him mentioning her name a fair bit back when he was a little more active. I don't think I ever did take much time to listen to her stuff, unfortunately!

The Cello Concerto is very soulful:
[asin]B00AWXZA0K[/asin]

Didn't find a thread about him and didn't go through all 16 pages of this thread, so here's my bottle at sea:

Opinions on Vyacheslav Artyomov' music ?

His works seem to be enjoying a vogue of sorts, with recordings by Kitayenko, Currentzis, Ashkenazy, Rozhdestvensky, Sondeckis (impressive line up of advocates).  I'm curious but a bit reticent to explore works titled A Garland of Recitations, A Sonata of Meditations, A Symphony of Elegies, On the Threshold of a Bright World, etc...

A russian John Tavener ? Thanks for your comments !

Quote from: André on January 09, 2019, 07:11:01 AM
Didn't find a thread about him and didn't go through all 16 pages of this thread, so here's my bottle at sea:

Opinions on Vyacheslav Artyomov' music ?

His works seem to be enjoying a vogue of sorts, with recordings by Kitayenko, Currentzis, Ashkenazy, Rozhdestvensky, Sondeckis (impressive line up of advocates).  I'm curious but a bit reticent to explore works titled A Garland of Recitations, A Sonata of Meditations, A Symphony of Elegies, On the Threshold of a Bright World, etc...

A russian John Tavener ? Thanks for your comments !

Never heard of him. 'The Way to Olympus' looks interesting. One more for me to explore!

One of my spies found my bottle and I should be able to hear the Requiem  ;D. Might take a little while, but I'll report.

Quote from: André on January 09, 2019, 09:21:18 AM
One of my spies found my bottle and I should be able to hear the Requiem  ;D. Might take a little while, but I'll report.

Excellent!  8)

Quote from: vandermolen on January 09, 2019, 08:25:32 AM
Never heard of him. 'The Way to Olympus' looks interesting. One more for me to explore!

Survived an Artyomov Festival in Amsterdam, about twenty years ago, the composer (dominantly) present and Mrs. Artyomov reciting Russian verse with a connection to the music. He was 'famous' during the Yeltsin years, but we heard less of him since then.

Quote from: Christo on January 15, 2019, 11:56:32 PM
Survived an Artyomov Festival in Amsterdam, about twenty years ago, the composer (dominantly) present and Mrs. Artyomov reciting Russian verse with a connection to the music. He was 'famous' during the Yeltsin years, but we heard less of him since then.

Thanks
'Survived' sounds like you didn't think much of the music.

Great (IMO) epic war-time score (1940-1950):
Vladimir Scherbachov (1889-1952)
Symphony 5
Review:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/June10/Scherbachov_5_NFPMA9970.htm

Quote from: vandermolen on January 16, 2019, 12:35:08 AM
Thanks
'Survived' sounds like you didn't think much of the music.

I can sympathize. The disc I listened to was horrible  :(.

Quote from: vandermolen on May 14, 2019, 09:56:03 AM
Great (IMO) epic war-time score (1940-1950):
Vladimir Scherbachov (1889-1952)
Symphony 5
Review:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/June10/Scherbachov_5_NFPMA9970.htm

Wikipedia (Anglophone version at least) has a number of Scherbakovs, including a pianist/composer grand nephew of Kabalevsky (Vasily), the pianist Konstantin, several soccer players, military experts, a couple of oligarchic types (one of whom may have been murdered)...but no composer named Vladimir. Any online resource about him?

Quote from: JBS on May 14, 2019, 03:29:11 PM
Wikipedia (Anglophone version at least) has a number of Scherbakovs, including a pianist/composer grand nephew of Kabalevsky (Vasily), the pianist Konstantin, several soccer players, military experts, a couple of oligarchic types (one of whom may have been murdered)...but no composer named Vladimir. Any online resource about him?

Sadly in spanish:
https://www.historiadelasinfonia.es/naciones/la-sinfonia-en-rusia/los-compositores-mas-notables-1/scherbachov/

Quote from: JBS on May 14, 2019, 03:29:11 PM
Wikipedia (Anglophone version at least) has a number of Scherbakovs, including a pianist/composer grand nephew of Kabalevsky (Vasily), the pianist Konstantin, several soccer players, military experts, a couple of oligarchic types (one of whom may have been murdered)...but no composer named Vladimir. Any online resource about him?

All I could find:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Shcherbachov
The Northern Flowers CD booklet has the most info.
However, the Symphony 5 and Nonet are on You Tube.
The comments under the You Tube Symphony 5 are very positive.
I collected a number of those Northern Flowers releases but this one was by far the greatest discovery for me.

Quote from: André on January 09, 2019, 07:11:01 AM
Didn't find a thread about him and didn't go through all 16 pages of this thread, so here's my bottle at sea:

Opinions on Vyacheslav Artyomov's music ?

  I'm curious but a bit reticent to explore works titled A Garland of Recitations, A Sonata of Meditations, A Symphony of Elegies, On the Threshold of a Bright World, etc...

A Russian John Tavener ? Thanks for your comments !

Quote from: Christo on January 15, 2019, 11:56:32 PM

Survived an Artyomov Festival in Amsterdam, about twenty years ago, the composer (dominantly) present and Mrs. Artyomov reciting Russian verse with a connection to the music. He was 'famous' during the Yeltsin years, but we heard less of him since then.

Quote from: vandermolen on January 16, 2019, 12:35:08 AM

'Survived' sounds like you didn't think much of the music.

Quote from: André on May 14, 2019, 03:04:19 PM

I can sympathize. The disc I listened to was horrible  :(.

This morning I listened to about half of the Requiem by Artyomov which I had downloaded some weeks ago.

At first I was enthused, but a "sameness" in the work began to be overbearing, along with a feeling of "That's c.1950's - 1960's Penderecki and/or Ligeti."

So I can understand the negative reaction: I want to finish the work tomorrow, and a hear a few other things to get a better taste of his output.

Quote from: Roy Bland on May 14, 2019, 06:49:41 PM
Sadly in spanish:
https://www.historiadelasinfonia.es/naciones/la-sinfonia-en-rusia/los-compositores-mas-notables-1/scherbachov/

Quote from: vandermolen on May 14, 2019, 09:07:04 PM
All I could find:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Shcherbachov
The Northern Flowers CD booklet has the most info.
However, the Symphony 5 and Nonet are on You Tube.
The comments under the You Tube Symphony 5 are very positive.
I collected a number of those Northern Flowers releases but this one was by far the greatest discovery for me.

Thank you both. My Spanish must be better than I realized: I was able to figure out almost all that page.

Cross-posted from the WAYLT thread

Quote
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81gXgSoPuvL._SX522_.jpg)

String Quartet (1974)
Sonata for Violin and Cello (1975)
Flute Concerto (1977)
Symphony no 7 (1980)

The name would lead one to think Parsadanian (1925-1997) is an armenian composer, but it's far more complex than that. He was born in Russia near Armenia, studied in Moscow and settled in Estonia where he stayed for the last 44 years of his life, first as an orchestral musician, a student of Eino Heller and as a composer. He is buried in the Talinn cemetary. The recordings in this disc hail from Estonian Radio. There is nothing specifically armenian in the idiom - if one is to go by composers such as Khatchaturian or Hovhanness - by which I mean his musical language is not folk or ethnic oriented.

Each work here is strongly profiled and quite original, with some truly outstanding moments, like the slow movements of the quartet and the concerto. The stern, moving symphony is an homage to the recently deceased Khatchaturian (as a violinist, Parsadanian was an ardent advocate of his elder's violin concerto). This music is pretty much what one can expect from 'soviet' music from the era, closer to Denisov and Schnittke than Khatchaturian or Khrennikov, more modern than traditional. Quite a nice assemblage of works and performances.

Quote from: André on September 30, 2019, 04:15:15 PM
Cross-posted from the WAYLT thread

I have this CD which I enjoyed, especially the Symphony in Memory of the 26 Commissars of Baku. I was interested to read that Parsadanian studied with Heino Eller, a composer I much admire, in Estonia:
(//)

(//)
This has been one of the most rewarding CDs in the Northern Flowers series.
I liked all three works very much. At first I thought that it might be a case of 'Shostakovich without the tunes' but I was quite wrong and found much of the material memorable. Yevlakhov's Symphony 3 was influenced by his terrible experiences in the besieged city of Leningrad in World War Two and is a darkly moving and searching work. The other two symphonies are just as enjoyable in different ways. The Slonimsky symphony reminded me at times of Charles Ives!

There is also this now:
(https://d27t0qkxhe4r68.cloudfront.net/images/records/northernflowersnfpma99135.jpg?1571648302)

Quote from: Roy Bland on October 28, 2019, 05:57:17 AM
There is also this now:
(https://d27t0qkxhe4r68.cloudfront.net/images/records/northernflowersnfpma99135.jpg?1571648302)

Interesting. Thanks.

Quote from: Roy Bland on October 28, 2019, 05:57:17 AM
There is also this now:
(https://d27t0qkxhe4r68.cloudfront.net/images/records/northernflowersnfpma99135.jpg?1571648302)

The Tishcenko was released on LP under license by EMI with a not particularly apt coupling.

(https://img.discogs.com/c64o0hasTDvu7Ujx_-keAjJmfmQ=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-11016088-1510995031-5678.jpeg.jpg)

And this, too:

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81hAYXZOYQL._SX522_.jpg)


By and large, I might consider the symphonies disc, not the concertos.

Lyatoshinsky: String Quartet No.2 Op.4.

(https://i.imgur.com/nsmmhZn.jpg)

I think Lyatoshinky has come up recently in possibly a Chandos release. The 2nd Quartet is lyrical and tuneful and can stand with the two Borodin quartets which is high praise. The recording (1977) by the Lysenko quartet is excellent. Unlike the Czech ensembles there is not a tradition of Soviet Quartets, I have not heard of the Lysenko but am impressed. The coupling is a Lyatoshinky piano trio which I have not heard yet.

Quote from: Irons on October 30, 2019, 07:56:29 AM
Lyatoshinsky: String Quartet No.2 Op.4.

(https://i.imgur.com/nsmmhZn.jpg)

I think Lyatoshinky has come up recently in possibly a Chandos release. The 2nd Quartet is lyrical and tuneful and can stand with the two Borodin quartets which is high praise. The recording (1977) by the Lysenko quartet is excellent. Unlike the Czech ensembles there is not a tradition of Soviet Quartets, I have not heard of the Lysenko but am impressed. The coupling is a Lyatoshinky piano trio which I have not heard yet.

Interesting Lol. I don't know the string quartets. This was a fine recent release featuring two of Lyatoshinsky's finest works:
(//)

Yuri Butsko Organ Music:
https://my-shop.ru/shop/product/3496860.html

Quote from: vandermolen on November 02, 2019, 02:54:53 AM
Interesting Lol. I don't know the string quartets. This was a fine recent release featuring two of Lyatoshinsky's finest works:
(//)

Yes Jeffrey, that is the issue I was thinking of.

Quote from: Irons on November 03, 2019, 12:59:58 AM
Yes Jeffrey, that is the issue I was thinking of.

A few years ago, whilst on holiday in the UK, I was being dragged round a shop somewhere (probably a garden centre - most of my life is spent in garden centres) which had the radio on. I was very impressed by the music I heard and made sure that I stayed in the shop until it ended to hear what it was. It turned out to be 'Grazhyna' by Lyatoshinsky.

Copied over from the WAYLT thread. I enjoyed the searching and eloquent Symphony No.3 very much indeed (immediately having to play it again). However, I found the Double Concerto a bit too 'plink-plonk-crash-bang-wallop'.
Added later. I was quite wrong about the Double Concerto - it is much better than I thought with a very moving last movement, a bit like Shostakovich's Piano Quintet.

Grigori Frid (great name) Symphony No.3 for String Orchestra and Timpani.
I'm enjoying this work very much (from 1964). It should appeal to admirers of Shostakovich and also those who respond to Martinu's Double Concerto for Strings, Piano and Timpani and to those who like Honegger's Second Symphony. The opening movement is rather Neo-Classical and reminiscent of Shostakovich. This is followed by a reflective and darkly moving slow movement and an upbeat finale which nevertheless winds down to a quiet conclusion. This movement at times reminded me of Weinberg, especially the eloquent closing section. He wrote an opera 'The Diary of Anne Frank' and one on 'The Letters of Van Gogh'. He lived from 1915-2012. An interesting discovery:
(//)

Lyatoshinsky's Third played by Sladkovsky and TSO
(https://sun9-57.userapi.com/c857228/v857228357/3553f/DSoj5ohj0U4.jpg)

On sale for 44€ at JPC, the 10 cd set of wartime music:

(https://media1.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/5055354480218.jpg)

Comtents here: https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/wartime-music-vol-1-10-1941-1945/hnum/9278385 (https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/wartime-music-vol-1-10-1941-1945/hnum/9278385)

A good resource on this subject:
https://mus.academy/en

Quote from: André on November 06, 2019, 05:47:02 AM
On sale for 44€ at JPC, the 10 cd set of wartime music:

(https://media1.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/5055354480218.jpg)

Comtents here: https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/wartime-music-vol-1-10-1941-1945/hnum/9278385 (https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/wartime-music-vol-1-10-1941-1945/hnum/9278385)

That sounds like very good value.

Quote from: vandermolen on November 27, 2019, 09:15:33 PM
That sounds like very good value.

Talking of good value, Rob Cowen in this month's Gramophone gives a thumbs up on a box set release of the self-recommendable Myaskovsky string quartets from The Taneyev String Quartet.

Quote from: Irons on November 27, 2019, 11:51:09 PM
Talking of good value, Rob Cowen in this month's Gramophone gives a thumbs up on a box set release of the self-recommendable Myaskovsky string quartets from The Taneyev String Quartet.

Good to know. Thanks Lol.

Cross posted from "Pieces that have blown you away recently":

https://www.youtube.com/v/pyfnU5Bd5HI

There's more Butsko on YT - albeit often in older recordings.
Symphony nr.3 : https://youtu.be/E_l2kLmVJYo
Symphony nr 4 : https://youtu.be/DM8Q33snlxE
Symphony nr 5 : https://youtu.be/SfoCapHkf9w
Symphony -suite "Old Russian paintings" : https://youtu.be/5ccxYccZLw0
Symphony- suite nr . 2: https://youtu.be/wIqhrQHXAW8
Canon to the Guardian Angel : https://youtu.be/1444GDE8spo

A Russian maverick!? Very intriguing, big, craggy, Romantic...

Yuri Butsko has devoted his life and art to adapting the old Russian chant (called "znamenny rospev") to modern times, while at the same time preserving its context and religious meaning. The znamenny chant is interpreted by Butsko as "the ideal of spiritual perfection, a goal to be constantly pursued." The composer has constructed an original system determining the "method of working with znamenny chant." The underlying principle of the system is a melodic scale extracted from znamenny chant (the ancient Russian tone-row). Although the scale is limited by the compass of a human voice, Butsko extends it in by adding tri-tones [or trichords] above and below until the initial starting pitch is restored. The system is open and contains twelve tones. Boutsko describes it as a kind of Russian dodecaphony, applying a twelve-tone row extracted from Russian material. Butsko's religious approach determines specific qualities of his music: extended durations, a continuous elaboration of each image or motive, and an absence of sharp contrasts. The ever intense 'tone' and the need to shape an exhaustive statement generate the quality of "extended time," sometimes to the extent of meditation.

Source: https://uiowa.edu/cnm/festival-composers

Quote from: pjme on November 28, 2019, 12:36:50 AM
Cross posted from "Pieces that have blown you away recently":

https://www.youtube.com/v/pyfnU5Bd5HI

There's more Butsko on YT - albeit often in older recordings.
Symphony nr.3 : https://youtu.be/E_l2kLmVJYo
Symphony nr 4 : https://youtu.be/DM8Q33snlxE
Symphony nr 5 : https://youtu.be/SfoCapHkf9w
Symphony -suite "Old Russian paintings" : https://youtu.be/5ccxYccZLw0
Symphony- suite nr . 2: https://youtu.be/wIqhrQHXAW8
Canon to the Guardian Angel : https://youtu.be/1444GDE8spo

A Russian maverick!? Very intriguing, big, craggy, Romantic...

Yuri Butsko has devoted his life and art to adapting the old Russian chant (called "znamenny rospev") to modern times, while at the same time preserving its context and religious meaning. The znamenny chant is interpreted by Butsko as "the ideal of spiritual perfection, a goal to be constantly pursued." The composer has constructed an original system determining the "method of working with znamenny chant." The underlying principle of the system is a melodic scale extracted from znamenny chant (the ancient Russian tone-row). Although the scale is limited by the compass of a human voice, Butsko extends it in by adding tri-tones [or trichords] above and below until the initial starting pitch is restored. The system is open and contains twelve tones. Boutsko describes it as a kind of Russian dodecaphony, applying a twelve-tone row extracted from Russian material. Butsko's religious approach determines specific qualities of his music: extended durations, a continuous elaboration of each image or motive, and an absence of sharp contrasts. The ever intense 'tone' and the need to shape an exhaustive statement generate the quality of "extended time," sometimes to the extent of meditation.

Source: https://uiowa.edu/cnm/festival-composers

He had its own page
http://www.yuributsko.com/ru/news    English version in building

Thanks Roy, let's hope a translation will follow.
How do you feel about Butsko's music?

I'm drawn towards that feeling of "extended time", but I may lack a Russian (orthodox) soul to fully grasp his intentions.
The "Novgorod the Great" suite benefits ,imho, from a very committed performance (even if the sound isn't perfect on YT). I have middle European roots myself (Hungarian, Polish, Moravian) and think I understand the weeping, sobbing & crying. The prayers and litany-like  invocations ....with lots of incense...

From New Releases topic: in case you missed it!   0:)

Nikolai Tcherepnin will have a new recording of two wonderful works: thank you CPO !


Nikolai Tcherepnin's ballet Narcissus and Echo and the tone-poem The Faraway Princess are being released after Christmas (?) in January.


(https://d27t0qkxhe4r68.cloudfront.net/t_900/cpo5552502.jpg?1575469910)

It would be nice if other things by Nikolai Tcherepnin, which have never been recorded, follow soon!


With some difficulty I found a page with more information:

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/nicolai-tscherepnin-narcisse-et-echo-op-40/hnum/8977574 (https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/nicolai-tscherepnin-narcisse-et-echo-op-40/hnum/8977574)

A German reviewer (apparently given a copy to write a review, since the release date is January 3, 2020) from the above website has given it a 5-star review:

Quote



Große Klasse!
Diese Komposition ist nur - wenn überhaupt - mit Ravels "Daphnis et Chloe" vergleichbar: die oft ähnlich impressionistisch flirrende Klangsprache, der Rausch an Klangfarben und Effeklten, verstärkt durch einen - wie bei Ravel - vokalisierenden Chor.
Bislang gab es nur eine Aufnahme im Katalog: eine sehr eindrucksvolle Chandos-Aufnahme mit Rozhdestvensky aus dem Jahr 1998. Nun hat cpo nicht für Ersatz, sondern für Konkurrenz gesorgt. Und was für welche! Setzte der russische Dirigent bei Chandos noch ganz auf kompakten Klangrausch, so fächert der Pole Borowicz mit seinem Bamberger Orchester den Klang auf, interpretiert deutlich durchsichtiger und luftiger, ohne der Musik seinen besonderen Reiz zu nehmen. Zudem ist die Musik bei cpo deutlich mehr "durchgetrackt", was die Anspielmöglichkeit einzelner Teile deutlich erweitert. Außerdem gibt es mit dem Sinfonischen Vorspiel op.4 noch eine achtminütige Zugabe. Im Ganzen eine tolle CD mit toller Musik, tollen Interpreten und einer rundum gelungenen Präsentation. Sehr zu empfehlen!

The CHANDOS CD of this work mentioned above is indeed excellent, but is unfortunately difficult to find.

Good news: A revival of this composer by CPO.

(Relatively) Bad news: Those works already have been recorded before.

I know La Princesse Lointaine and Le Royaume Enchanté in a DG recording. Lustrous stuff.

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on December 14, 2019, 03:32:06 PM
Good news: A revival of this composer by CPO.

(Relatively) Bad news: Those works already have been recorded before.

I know La Princesse Lointaine and Le Royaume Enchanté in a DG recording. Lustrous stuff.

(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.classical.net%2Fmusic%2Frecs%2Fimages%2Fd%2Fdgg47084.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)

Yes indeed!  The ballet though, recorded on CHANDOS with Rozhdestvensky conducting, is no longer readily available, and the above CD on Amazon costs a rather steep $30.00 new (or is available as an Mp3 download), so this CPO CD is welcome.

Quote from: Cato on December 14, 2019, 06:20:29 PM
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.classical.net%2Fmusic%2Frecs%2Fimages%2Fd%2Fdgg47084.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)

Yes indeed!  The ballet though, recorded on CHANDOS with Rozhdestvensky conducting, is no longer readily available, and the above CD on Amazon costs a rather steep $30.00 new (or is available as an Mp3 download), so this CPO CD is welcome.

That is the CD, even the cover art is attractive.

If the Chandos CD is no longer available, the CPO disc will be more than welcome. I've never heard that work before, so my expectations are high.

Quote from: Cato on December 14, 2019, 06:20:29 PM
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.classical.net%2Fmusic%2Frecs%2Fimages%2Fd%2Fdgg47084.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)

Yes indeed!  The ballet though, recorded on CHANDOS with Rozhdestvensky conducting, is no longer readily available, and the above CD on Amazon costs a rather steep $30.00 new (or is available as an Mp3 download), so this CPO CD is welcome.

That's a very nice disc.

Quote from: Cato on December 14, 2019, 01:17:13 PM
From New Releases topic: in case you missed it!   0:)

Nikolai Tcherepnin will have a new recording of two wonderful works: thank you CPO !


Nikolai Tcherepnin's ballet Narcissus and Echo and the tone-poem The Faraway Princess are being released after Christmas (?) in January.


(https://d27t0qkxhe4r68.cloudfront.net/t_900/cpo5552502.jpg?1575469910)

It would be nice if other things by Nikolai Tcherepnin, which have never been recorded, follow soon!


With some difficulty I found a page with more information:

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/nicolai-tscherepnin-narcisse-et-echo-op-40/hnum/8977574 (https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/nicolai-tscherepnin-narcisse-et-echo-op-40/hnum/8977574)

A German reviewer (apparently given a copy to write a review, since the release date is January 3, 2020) from the above website has given it a 5-star review:



The CHANDOS CD of this work mentioned above is indeed excellent, but is unfortunately difficult to find.

Yes, you introduced to me to this fine work Leo:
(//)

Quote from: Cato on December 14, 2019, 01:17:13 PM
From New Releases topic: in case you missed it!   0:)

Nikolai Tcherepnin will have a new recording of two wonderful works: thank you CPO !

Nikolai Tcherepnin's ballet Narcissus and Echo and the tone-poem The Faraway Princess are being released after Christmas (?) in January.

(https://d27t0qkxhe4r68.cloudfront.net/t_900/cpo5552502.jpg?1575469910)

It would be nice if other things by Nikolai Tcherepnin, which have never been recorded, follow soon! With some difficulty I found a page with more information:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/nicolai-tscherepnin-narcisse-et-echo-op-40/hnum/8977574 (https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/nicolai-tscherepnin-narcisse-et-echo-op-40/hnum/8977574)
A German reviewer (apparently given a copy to write a review, since the release date is January 3, 2020) from the above website has given it a 5-star review:

The CHANDOS CD of this work mentioned above is indeed excellent, but is unfortunately difficult to find.

Heard a performance of (a Suite from) this 1911 ballet live in St. Petersburg in 2013, in the 'Capella' (State Academic Capella, officially), where the organ of the Dutch Church (!) on the Nevsky Prospekt found a new home in 1926, the church of course closed after the Bolshevik Coup (they now got a new one there). Was really surprised by the quality and orignality of the music, easily on par with far better known scores by Rimsky-Korsakov from these years. The Capella: http://www.visit-petersburg.ru/en/leisure/196970/

Quote from: Christo on December 15, 2019, 12:05:18 AM
Heard a performance of (a Suite from) this 1911 ballet live in St. Petersburg in 2013, in the 'Capella' (State Academic Capella, officially), where the organ of the Dutch Church (!) on the Nevsky Prospekt found a new home in 1926, the church of course closed after the Bolshevik Coup (they now got a new one there). Was really surprised by the quality and orignality of the music, easily on par with far better known scores by Rimsky-Korsakov from these years. The Capella: http://www.visit-petersburg.ru/en/leisure/196970/

An impressive venue as well.

Quote from: vandermolen on December 14, 2019, 09:59:52 PM
Yes, you introduced to me to this fine work Leo:
(//)

CHANDOS still offers the CD direct from them as an "on-demand" item: the quality of the sound is excellent!  They also sell it as a "lossless" download, and an Mp3 download.

https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%209670 (https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%209670)

This was placed on YouTube in October: Musica Viva is a Russian orchestra.

Le Destin by Nikolai Tcherepnin:


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

Great loss
https://ria.ru/20200209/1564457770.html

Can you give us some context, please? Not all of us can speak Russian. This goes for everyone as well. Just a quick tl;dr on what the link is about doesn't take much time at all.

Quote from: Maestro267 on February 10, 2020, 02:38:48 AM
Can you give us some context, please? Not all of us can speak Russian. This goes for everyone as well. Just a quick tl;dr on what the link is about doesn't take much time at all.

https://topspb.tv/en/news/2020/02/10/composer-sergey-slonimsky-dies-st-petersburg-88/ (https://topspb.tv/en/news/2020/02/10/composer-sergey-slonimsky-dies-st-petersburg-88/)

Thanks Florestan!

There doesn't appear to be much of Slonimsky's music available on disc. I can only find one recording of one of his (apparently) 34 symphonies.

Quote from: Maestro267 on February 10, 2020, 03:19:40 AM
Thanks Florestan!

You're welcome! Seems like my Russian classes in secondary school have not been in vain.  :)

https://www.youtube.com/v/w8N2X4Bm8Jc

https://www.youtube.com/v/LBLbcyXnm7E

https://www.youtube.com/v/I9IuqRhNOdw

https://mariinskiy.com/?play_person_cod=slonimsky

Sergei Slonimsky (1932-2020), a prominent Russian composer, was born into the family of well-known writer Mikhail Slonimsky. He graduated from the Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory in 1955 where he studied with composer and pedagogue, Orest Evlakhov and piano with Vladimir Nilsen. He also studied at the Musical College in Moscow from 1943 until 1950. Sergei Slonimsky serves on the composition faculty at the Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory, since 1959.

Sergey Slonimsky is a People's Artist of Russia (1987), and received numerous honours and awards as: State Prize of the Russian Federation (2001), Glinka State Prize of the RSFSR (1983), International Baltic Star Prize (2009), and Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. In May 2010, he was invited as a honored guest to the Festival "Wall to Wall Behind the Wall" in New York (USA).
Source + read more at: https://en.remusik.org/resources/composers/slonimsky/

Quote from: Maestro267 on February 10, 2020, 02:38:48 AM
Can you give us some context, please? Not all of us can speak Russian. This goes for everyone as well. Just a quick tl;dr on what the link is about doesn't take much time at all.

When i wrote no english page
https://slippedisc.com/2020/02/death-of-a-rebel-soviet-composer-88/

Why is there no Ippolitov-Ivanov thread?
This is a scandal of the first order  :o
I would start one myself but as I'm still Champion of the 'starter of new threads' chart I thought that I would not, for today anyway.

I've been greatly enjoying this new CD of piano transcriptions of his best-known (or least unknown) orchestral works like the Caucasian Sketches suites 1 and 2. The interesting thing is that I find these works just as atmospheric and 'full of Eastern promise' as the more familiar orchestral versions. In a way these piano reductions encourage one to use one's imagination more. Very enjoyable CD:

By the way, the photo is of Ippolitov-Ivanov and not of myself.

(//)

Now I know why there's no Ippolitov-Ivanov thread  ;D

IMHO this is a great release,Gavrilin with Sviridov was architect of soviet choral songs renaissance during 60-70 years of last century.This is first recording of full orchestral version of Russian Notebook and Anyuta his masterwork wasn't on cd.
(https://i.ndcd.net/13/Item/500/534134.jpg)

This contains Georgi Mushel's Piano Concerto n°2
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiODc2NjU1MC4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE1ODMxNjA3NDl9)

Quote from: Roy Bland on March 05, 2020, 03:43:32 PM
IMHO this is a great release,Gavrilin with Sviridov was architect of soviet choral songs renaissance during 60-70 years of last century.This is first recording of full orchestral version of Russian Notebook and Anyuta his masterwork wasn't on cd.
(https://i.ndcd.net/13/Item/500/534134.jpg)

Interesting! Thanks for posting this.

Quote from: pjme on November 28, 2019, 12:36:50 AM
Cross posted from "Pieces that have blown you away recently":

https://www.youtube.com/v/pyfnU5Bd5HI

There's more Butsko on YT - albeit often in older recordings.
Symphony nr.3 : https://youtu.be/E_l2kLmVJYo
Symphony nr 4 : https://youtu.be/DM8Q33snlxE
Symphony nr 5 : https://youtu.be/SfoCapHkf9w
Symphony -suite "Old Russian paintings" : https://youtu.be/5ccxYccZLw0
Symphony- suite nr . 2: https://youtu.be/wIqhrQHXAW8
Canon to the Guardian Angel : https://youtu.be/1444GDE8spo

A Russian maverick!? Very intriguing, big, craggy, Romantic...

Yuri Butsko has devoted his life and art to adapting the old Russian chant (called "znamenny rospev") to modern times, while at the same time preserving its context and religious meaning. The znamenny chant is interpreted by Butsko as "the ideal of spiritual perfection, a goal to be constantly pursued." The composer has constructed an original system determining the "method of working with znamenny chant." The underlying principle of the system is a melodic scale extracted from znamenny chant (the ancient Russian tone-row). Although the scale is limited by the compass of a human voice, Butsko extends it in by adding tri-tones [or trichords] above and below until the initial starting pitch is restored. The system is open and contains twelve tones. Boutsko describes it as a kind of Russian dodecaphony, applying a twelve-tone row extracted from Russian material. Butsko's religious approach determines specific qualities of his music: extended durations, a continuous elaboration of each image or motive, and an absence of sharp contrasts. The ever intense 'tone' and the need to shape an exhaustive statement generate the quality of "extended time," sometimes to the extent of meditation.

Source: https://uiowa.edu/cnm/festival-composers

Thanks for posting. He sounds an interesting composer. I've just sampled 'Old Russian Paintings' on You Tube. Pity there is hardly anything on CD. Here he is:
(//)

(http://www.yuributsko.com/images/gallery/photos/photo_01.jpg)

Without the glasses ....!

http://www.yuributsko.com/en/

Alas, this website seems to be "under construction" forever.

(http://www.yuributsko.com/images/gallery/paintings/painting_03.jpg)

https://www.youtube.com/v/bIlGzwEyuK0

Quote from: pjme on April 19, 2020, 10:22:41 AM
(http://www.yuributsko.com/images/gallery/photos/photo_01.jpg)

Without the glasses ....!

http://www.yuributsko.com/en/

Alas, this website seems to be "under construction" forever.

(http://www.yuributsko.com/images/gallery/paintings/painting_03.jpg)

https://www.youtube.com/v/bIlGzwEyuK0

lol, what a non website.  Your post had more information about him than his website but I very much enjoyed the music sampler on the youtube clip.  I would like to hear/know more but sadly his website isn't the place to go.

EDIT: My bad, the Russian version of the site is far more complete, it was only the English version that was lacking.  I am intrigued and would love to hear more.  Here is his work list translated from his Russian site: 

Operas
"Notes of a Madman" (by N.V. Gogol, 1964)
"White Nights" (according to F. M. Dostoevsky, 1968)
"From the artist's letters" (according to K. A. Korovin, 1974)
"Venediktov, or the Golden Triangle" (according to A. V. Chayanov, 1983)
Ballet
"Insight" (1974)
Cantatas and oratorios
Cantata No. 1 "Evening" (on folklore texts, 1961)
Cantata No. 3 "Wedding Songs" (to folklore texts, 1970)
Cantata No. 4 "Mayakovsky for Children" (1968)
Cantata No. 5 "Four Ancient Chants" (to the texts of Russian spiritual verses, 1969)
Cantata No. 6 "Liturgical hymn" (to liturgical Orthodox texts, 1982)
Cantata No. 7 "Metamorphoses" (to the French texts by B. de Dardel, 1986)
Canon to the Terrible (to the texts of the letters of Ivan the Terrible, 2009)
Oratorio No. 1 "The Legend of the Pugachevsky Revolt" (to folk texts and A. S. Pushkin, 1970)
Oratorio No. 2 "Pesnoslov" (to verses by N. A. Klyuyev, 2003)
For a large symphony orchestra
Symphonies
Symphony in 4 fragments (No. 2), 1972
Symphony-praises (No. 3, with solo piano), 1976
Recital Symphony (No. 4), 1986
Symphony-Intermezzo (No. 5), 1992
Symphony-Epilogue (No. 6), 1993
Symphony No. 7 (1996)
Symphonies suites
"Old Russian Painting" (1970)
"From Russian Antiquity" (1982)
"Mr. Veliky Novgorod" (1987)
"People's Russia for the sake of Christ" (1992)
The Voice of the Far Outskirts (1993)
Musical scenes (based on "Lysistrata" by Aristophanes, 2009)
For chamber orchestra
Symphony for Strings (1965)
Chamber symphonies
Number 1 "Solemn Chant" (1973)
No. 2 "Ode to the memory of the victims of the Revolution" (1983)
No. 3 "Spiritual Verse" (1982)
Concert Symphony "Letters without an Address" (with solo violas and violin, 2000)
Transfiguration Concert Symphony (with solo violin and viola, 2001)
Concert Symphony "Spring Motives" (2005)
Liturgical Music (2007)
Concert Symphony "Silence of Autumn" (2008)
Concerts for solo instruments with orchestra
Concertino for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1963)
"Epitaph" (Concerto No. 1 for violin and orchestra, 1975)
"Crying" (Concerto No. 2 for violin and orchestra, 1982)
Concerto No. 3 for violin and orchestra (1997)
Eclogue (Concerto No. 1 for viola and orchestra, 1989)
Concert No. 2 for viola and chamber orchestra (2001)
Concerto No. 1 for cello and orchestra (1968)
"Reacher" (Concerto No. 2 for cello and orchestra, 1979)
Invitation to the Waltz (Concert for String Orchestra, 1996)
Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (2004)
Concerto No. 4 for violin and orchestra (2005)
Chamber Instrumental Works
Trio Quintet "Es muss sein" for strings and piano (1970)
Piano Trio No. 1 (1972)
Polyphonic concerto for 4 keyboard instruments (1972)
Sonata No. 1 for two pianos (1974)
Sonata No. 2 for two pianos (1974)
Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano (1975)
String Quartet No. 1 (1975)
Sonata for Viola and Piano (1976)
String Quartet No. 2 (1979)
String Quartet No. 3 (1982)
String Quartet No. 4 (1983)
Piano Trio No. 2 "The Path Towards" (1994)
Piano Trio No. 3 "From the Days of My Youth" (2002)
String Quartet No. 5
String Quartet No. 6
String Quartet No. 7
Piano Trio No. 4 "Desert Angel"
For piano
Partita (1965)
Pastorales, a series of plays (1966)
Sonata in 4 Fragments (1972)
"From the diary", a series of plays (1990-2007)
For organ
Prelude, praises and postludes (1968)
Polyphonic variations on an old Russian theme (1974)
Large organ notebook (2003; dedicated to L. B. Shishkhanova)
Second Large Organ Notebook: Russian Images, Pictures, Tales, There were Nebylitsy (2010; dedicated to M.N. Cheburkina)
Vocal cycles
6 scenes to verses from the poem by A. A. Blok "The Twelve" for bass and piano (1957-1962)
"Loneliness" to verses by V. F. Khodasevich for baritone and piano (1966)
Compositions for a cappella choir
6 female choirs (for folk texts, 1968)
"Travel complaints" (to verses by A. S. Pushkin, 1990)
Music for the cinema
1968 - The Young Lady and the Hooligan
1968 - "First Love"
1970 - "Russia in its Icon" (documentary)
1971 - "Old Russian Painting" (documentary)
1971 - "These are different, different, different faces ..."
1975 - "Poshekhonskaya antiquity"
1977 - "Going through the agony" (TV series)
1977 - "Call me to the far light"
1982 - The Examiner (film production)
1984 - "Mr. Veliky Novgorod"
1985 - Shores in the Fog
1988 - Walking People
1991 - "The place of the killer is vacant ..."
1991 - "Mashenka"
1991 - "Ivan Fedorov"
1992 - The Breakthrough
1995 - "Under the Sign of Scorpio"
Other works
Theater music
Music for audio performances for children (10 phonograph records of the company "Melody")
Instrumentation of works by Russian classics for large and chamber orchestras (Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov, Glazunov, Lyadov)

YouTube offers the Butsko Symphony #4:


https://www.youtube.com/v/DM8Q33snlxE

I've enjoyed hearing some Butsko and wish that some of his symphonies were on CD.

Another symphony I have enjoyed is the No.1 by Andria Balanchivadze (Georgian composer 1906-1992):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hy_wQNjO7Q

At the beginning it sounds a bit 'Socialist-Realist Crash-Bang-Wallop' but I found myself more engrossed in it as it progressed and became, IMO, a rather deeper and more interesting work.

From one of my earlier posts on Butsko:

There's more Butsko on YT - albeit often in older recordings.

Symphony nr.3 : https://youtu.be/E_l2kLmVJYo
Symphony nr 4 : https://youtu.be/DM8Q33snlxE
Symphony nr 5 : https://youtu.be/SfoCapHkf9w
Symphony -suite "Old Russian paintings" : https://youtu.be/5ccxYccZLw0
Symphony- suite nr . 2: https://youtu.be/wIqhrQHXAW8
Canon to the Guardian Angel : https://youtu.be/1444GDE8spo

The "Wedding songs" cantata, an early work, is very reminiscent of Stravinsky's Svadebka.
https://youtu.be/ozqRGtUZU24
YT has also some organ music :
https://youtu.be/9iLzCvgDJ3Y

Chamber music : pianotrio nr 4
https://youtu.be/B_U6Yc3T8QI
Remembrance concert in 2016 - a year after his death. 30 long minutes, but I'll blame it on the performance....

Apparently he has still his admirers in Russia - fortunately! A fascinating composer with a huge (thus uneven...) catalogue. I think he's in heaven,singing the Lord's praises  with Wojciech Kilar, Olivier Messiaen, Andrzej Panufnik, Penderecki and other mystics...

Quote from: pjme on April 19, 2020, 11:07:19 PM
From one of my earlier posts on Butsko:

There's more Butsko on YT - albeit often in older recordings.

Symphony nr.3 : https://youtu.be/E_l2kLmVJYo
Symphony nr 4 : https://youtu.be/DM8Q33snlxE
Symphony nr 5 : https://youtu.be/SfoCapHkf9w
Symphony -suite "Old Russian paintings" : https://youtu.be/5ccxYccZLw0
Symphony- suite nr . 2: https://youtu.be/wIqhrQHXAW8
Canon to the Guardian Angel : https://youtu.be/1444GDE8spo

The "Wedding songs" cantata, an early work, is very reminiscent of Stravinsky's Svadebka.
https://youtu.be/ozqRGtUZU24
YT has also some organ music :
https://youtu.be/9iLzCvgDJ3Y

Chamber music : pianotrio nr 4
https://youtu.be/B_U6Yc3T8QI
Remembrance concert in 2016 - a year after his death. 30 long minutes, but I'll blame it on the performance....

Apparently he has still his admirers in Russia - fortunately! A fascinating composer with a huge (thus uneven...) catalogue. I think he's in heaven,singing the Lord's praises  with Wojciech Kilar, Olivier Messiaen, Andrzej Panufnik, Penderecki and other mystics...

Which are your favourites of his works?

Definitely the third Symphony-suite "Lord Novgorod the Great", with chorus and alto solo.
Movements:
I. Вьюн над водой: (Плач) ....(shout or cry)
II. Ах вы, ветры: (Причитание) .....(lament or elegy)
III. Слава: (Величальная) ......(cheering or joy, glory)

I suppose it is some kind of ode to Novgorod. But as there is very little up to date info in English  on the works by Butsko , I can only guess.
I will listen again to the symphonies.
It is the unusual, strange, baffling mix of styles that intrigues me.

Quote from: pjme on April 20, 2020, 02:20:57 AM
Definitely the third Symphony-suite "Lord Novgorod the Great", with chorus and alto solo.
Movements:
I. Вьюн над водой: (Плач) ....(shout or cry)
II. Ах вы, ветры: (Причитание) .....(lament or elegy)
III. Слава: (Величальная) ......(cheering or joy, glory)

I suppose it is some kind of ode to Novgorod. But as there is very little up to date info in English  on the works by Butsko , I can only guess.
I will listen again to the symphonies.
It is the unusual, strange, baffling mix of styles that intrigues me.

Thanks for introducing us to his music. It is certainly worth exploring IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/v/T7WnpUWVMgQ

For those interested in contemporary Russian music do visit Composer /pianist/conductor Mikhail Kollontay's You Tube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/poi2uytr
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kollontay

"I, undersigned Mikhail Kollontay declare
all my works of art to be in public domain
and free for any use as long
as they carry my name on it.
I shall not require any special permissions
nor royalties of any kind to me,
my family or my estate.
I shall however require my direct participation
in the rehearsal process of every composition
as long as I am alive. If this requirement
is not satisfied, then it will be left to God's judgment.
M. Kollontay
February 6, 2017"

Currently listening to the quite beautiful and consoling 'Songs of the Mountain and Meadow Mari':
(//)

Russian Composer Alexander Vustin is dead from Corona. He was Composer in Residence at last years Rosendal Chamber Music festival.

Quote from: vandermolen on April 22, 2020, 02:06:02 AM
Currently listening to the quite beautiful and consoling 'Songs of the Mountain and Meadow Mari':
(//)

I have this disc and am listening.
"The songs of the mountain and the meadow Mari" is really lovely, at moments almost Vaughan Williams like in some sweet string writing, the last rythmical section is vaguely reminiscent of Honegger/Martinu.
Scored for strings, 4 horns, solo flute, harp, celesta and timpani. Schirmer gives the title as "The Songs of the People in Mountains and Mari Meadows, Symphonic Pictures" which is more accurate, I think, since Eshpai uses seven Mari folksongs.

Quote from: pjme on April 22, 2020, 04:38:41 AM
I have this disc and am listening.
"The songs of the mountain and the meadow Mari" is really lovely, at moments almost Vaughan Williams like in some sweet string writing, the last rythmical section is vaguely reminiscent of Honegger/Martinu.
Scored for strings, 4 horns, solo flute, harp, celesta and timpani. Schirmer gives the title as "The Songs of the People in Mountains and Mari Meadows, Symphonic Pictures" which is more accurate, I think, since Eshpai uses seven Mari folksongs.

Am pleased that you like it too.
I think that you're right about the VW/Honegger/Martinu echoes - they are three of my favourite composers. Certainly the Tallis Fantasia came to mind at one point, although the emotion is more overt with Eshpai I think.

Quote from: The new erato on April 22, 2020, 03:30:22 AM
Russian Composer Alexander Vustin is dead from Corona. He was Composer in Residence at last years Rosendal Chamber Music festival.

Don't know his music but sorry to hear that.

A strong recommendation for this CD, my favourite of the Eshpai symphonies.
No.5 quotes German marching themes of WW2 in the manner of Shostakovich's 7th Symphony.
(//)

I have not heard Eshpai's 5th. The 3rd, I find a most moving symphony as the whole work is built around his father, Yakov Eshpai. A motif is borrowed from a work composed by his father and the symphony closes with a coda symbolising a minute of silence.
A Melodiya LP with Fuat Mansurov directing Orchestra of Moscow Radio. The R/S Ivanov conducting the 1st.

Quote from: Irons on April 23, 2020, 06:52:52 AM
I have not heard Eshpai's 5th. The 3rd, I find a most moving symphony as the whole work is built around his father, Yakov Eshpai. A motif is borrowed from a work composed by his father and the symphony closes with a coda symbolising a minute of silence.
A Melodiya LP with Fuat Mansurov directing Orchestra of Moscow Radio. The R/S Ivanov conducting the 1st.

Sounds very interesting Lol. Pity there is no CD. I think you'd like the Russian Disc CD featuring symphonies 4 and 5 as well as 'The Songs of the Mountain and Meadow Mari'.

Concerning Alexander Vustin: this would seem appropriate.


https://www.youtube.com/v/hJtiaU3lcTs

IMHO better Eshpai's symphonies are n°2 and 4 (far superior at ballet "Circle" that ispired it).A modern recording of "Angara" would be  highly appropriate.

Quote from: Roy Bland on April 23, 2020, 03:19:01 PM
IMHO better Eshpai's symphonies are n°2 and 4 (far superior at ballet "Circle" that ispired it).A modern recording of "Angara" would be  highly appropriate.

Interesting to know. I haven't heard No.2 in ages so will lookout for my CD. 4 is very good but 5 is my favourite. I've actually enjoyed them all and the Flute and Violin Concerto.

Quote from: vandermolen on April 23, 2020, 10:55:35 PM
Interesting to know. I haven't heard No.2 in ages so will lookout for my CD. 4 is very good but 5 is my favourite. I've actually enjoyed them all and the Flute and Violin Concerto.

I have the violin concerto which is coupled with his sonata for the same instrument. A programming I like and wish occurred more often.

Inspired by thread I listened to Eshpai's 3rd last night. I found the work a mix of the traditional and modern, a foot in both camps.

Any suggestions for really great CDs of Stanchinsky's piano music? Thank you.

A major addiction : Ikarus IMHO is one finest work by Slonimsky
(https://i2.wp.com/altocd.com/northernflowers/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NFPMA_99137_Cover1.jpg?w=960)

Quote from: Roy Bland on July 28, 2020, 06:56:32 PM
A major addiction : Ikarus IMHO is one finest work by Slonimsky
(https://i2.wp.com/altocd.com/northernflowers/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NFPMA_99137_Cover1.jpg?w=960)

Interesting. I think that 'Icarus' ('Icare') is the finest work I have heard composed by the conductor Igor Markevitch:
(//)

Quote from: vandermolen on July 28, 2020, 07:00:53 PM
Interesting. I think that 'Icarus' ('Icare') is the finest work I have heard composed by the conductor Igor Markevitch:
(//)

I have to correct also Slonimsky composed a ballet on Ikarus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP9uCerxSrY

Quote from: Roy Bland on July 28, 2020, 07:34:18 PM
I have to correct also Slonimsky composed a ballet on Ikarus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP9uCerxSrY

I think that there are probably different ways of spelling it. I was not intending to correct you at all.
:)

The soviet Georgian composer Nektarios Chargeishvili (5 September 1937 – 14 November 1971), a 34-young Virgo wrote what, I consider, a ultra-stormy-cataclysmic wallow alla Russian Steppes! Now, THIS IS major stuff! How this composer has been passed unnoticed for so long is a crime. cilgwyn would explode by the wrath-mood-feeling of this epic and hair-rising symphony provokes!! Not only the orchestration is superbly done, but also the rhythmic vitality. I haven't hear anything as exciting as, say, Holmboe's Symphony No. 8 or Myaskovsky's Symphony No. 22. It, uncannily, finishes with an apparent calm mood, after so violent and insane music there is here.

Another composer it reminded of was the Bulgarian Emil Tabakov. Yet another creator of breathtakingly angry and hard-rhythmical symphonies and concertos, chiefly.

If you get enjoyment from Myaskovsky, Khachaturian, Shostakovich, don't miss this. No doubt here there are some of the most exciting climaxes in the Soviet symphonic literature. I mean, not apt for heart-suffering listeners!   :D :P

My last important discovery of this doom-laden-like year 2020 (?) (still to me).

BTW, this has been the year I've discovered and reassessed or reevaluated more stuff than ever. Rather fruitful in the end.

This performance had to be ultra exciting to attend. A real event for a music listener.

https://www.youtube.com/v/O9i02ussewA

This info is taken from Wiki. Despite his age, a significantly prolific man he was.


Orchestral works

Scherzo for Orchestra (1957)
Suite for Orchestra (1957)
The Return of the Prodigal Son (1967)
Concerto No. 1 for chamber orchestra with cymbal (1959)
Concerto for orchestra (1960)
Concerto No. 2 for chamber orchestra (1962)
The absence of Dobrynya (1963)
Symphonic poem by Kirsch Danilov (1965)
Dobrynia subdued the Chubis (чудь покорил) (1965)
Concerto for violin and orchestra (1966)
Suite for string orchestra in memory of C. Monteverdi (1967)
Symphony (1971)


Film music

I bought a dad (1962)
The Secret to Success (1962)
Dimka (1963)
The Traveler with Luggage (1965)
I loved you (1968)
In the country of unlearned lessons (1969)

An incredible work indeed. Every once in a while it resurfaces at GMG. Too bad there's never been a commercial release of his music  :-[.

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on December 31, 2020, 03:30:53 PM
Another composer it reminded of was the Bulgarian Emil Tabakov. Yet another creator of breathtakingly angry and hard-rhythmical symphonies and concertos, chiefly.

Tabakov is also a strong conductor.IMHO this is the better version of this work:
(https://static.kupindoslike.com/Stevan-Hristic-Ohridska-legenda_slika_XL_121090073.jpg)

A new film about Alexander Mosolov ('Mosolov's Suitcase) is coming out (from an American director). You can see a trailer within this article:
https://www.palmspringslife.com/mosolovs-suitcase/

Quote from: vandermolen on January 02, 2021, 01:22:33 AM
A new film about Alexander Mosolov ('Mosolov's Suitcase) is coming out (from an American director). You can see a trailer within this article:
https://www.palmspringslife.com/mosolovs-suitcase/

The one work I want to hear from Mosolov is the complete ballet of Steel (from which the Iron Foundry movement originated), but alas, the the other movements have been lost. :(

Quote from: Mirror Image on January 02, 2021, 06:33:02 AM
The one work I want to hear from Mosolov is the complete ballet of Steel (from which the Iron Foundry movement originated), but alas, the the other movements have been lost. :(

That's a pity. I really like the new Naxos CD featuring Symphony 5 and the Harp Concerto.

Enjoying Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra by Alexander Ma(t)chavariani, Georgian composer, in New Year's days.

Quote from: Roy Bland on December 31, 2020, 05:31:40 PM
Tabakov is also a strong conductor.IMHO this is the better version of this work:
(https://static.kupindoslike.com/Stevan-Hristic-Ohridska-legenda_slika_XL_121090073.jpg)

You often appear with some unusual and interesting repertoire from record labels I'm not familiar with. I remember that work from this CPO CD:

(https://www.chandos.net/artwork/CX9582.jpg)

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on January 02, 2021, 11:51:32 AM
You often appear with some unusual and interesting repertoire from record labels I'm not familiar with. I remember that work from this CPO CD:

I have listened either these discs,Tabakov's is far superion both orchestra and conducting  there is a third cd version with entire ballet
https://www.metropolismusic.rs/ohridska-legenda-balet.6190149.html

Some years ago a friend made me a copy of the Legend of Ohrid disc by Tabakov. What I have is a four movement suite lasting some 40 minutes. Is it all there is on the disc you picture, Roy ?

The Chargeishvili Symphony certainly is a powerful work.

This from Wikipedia about his life: "After being critical of the Soviet regime, he was dismissed from the Moscow Conservatory. After that, he struggled to find work (he was even denied a job as a bus driver), and his mental health deteriorated. In 1971, he committed suicide by hanging. He is buried in New Athos, Georgia."

I was reflecting on the intolerance and stupidity of the Soviet regime and then it occurred to me that that in our neo-liberal world a young composer on a similar trajectory probably wouldn't even have got the conservatory job, because of "higher education reforms".

Quote from: André on January 02, 2021, 04:45:40 PM
Some years ago a friend made me a copy of the Legend of Ohrid disc by Tabakov. What I have is a four movement suite lasting some 40 minutes. Is it all there is on the disc you picture, Roy ?

Yes it is.Here complete version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ4sXX9yBTs

Quote from: vandermolen on January 02, 2021, 08:55:11 AM
That's a pity. I really like the new Naxos CD featuring Symphony 5 and the Harp Concerto.

Very nice, Jeffrey. Symphony No. 5? I wasn't aware that Mosolov composed any symphonies aside from a symphony that appeared on the Northern Flowers label.

Quote from: calyptorhynchus on January 02, 2021, 05:02:58 PM
The Chargeishvili Symphony certainly is a powerful work.

This from Wikipedia about his life: "After being critical of the Soviet regime, he was dismissed from the Moscow Conservatory. After that, he struggled to find work (he was even denied a job as a bus driver), and his mental health deteriorated. In 1971, he committed suicide by hanging. He is buried in New Athos, Georgia."

I was reflecting on the intolerance and stupidity of the Soviet regime and then it occurred to me that that in our neo-liberal world a young composer on a similar trajectory probably wouldn't even have got the conservatory job, because of "higher education reforms".

How terribly sad.

Quote from: Roy Bland on January 02, 2021, 07:25:06 PM
Yes it is.Here complete version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ4sXX9yBTs

Thanks, Roy!

Effective work
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81x5ADw0S9L._SS500_.jpg)

Quote from: vandermolen on April 20, 2020, 09:44:03 PM
Thanks for introducing us to his music. It is certainly worth exploring IMO.

There is this:
https://2u4sale.com/en/product/view?id=3496809

Enjoying Medtner's PC 3 (Tozer).  Planning to buy discs by other performers as well.

https://mus.academy/en

It contains some composers as Flyarkovsky,Butsko,Irakli Gabeli and Yanchenko
(https://melody.su/upload/resize_cache/iblock/246/720_548_0/2467ccc0c60e0f34c9ae1ef702e974c7.jpg)

Interesting collection, Roy.

details:
Sergei Rachmaninov: Aleko + Youth Symphony + Spring Op. 20;
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: The Golden Cockerel;
Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 2 (The Age of Anxiety);
Aram Khachaturian: Gayaneh;
Youri Boutsko: Symphonie Nr. 2 in 4 fragmentierten Sätzen;
Irakli Gabeli: Symphonie Nr. 1 (Dramatic Dialogue);
Alexander Flyarkovsky: Urildaan, Festive Poem on Buryatian Themes;
Oleg Yanchenko: Symphony Andrei Rublev;
Dmitri Kabalevsky: Romeo and Juliet, Suite;
Mikis Thodorakis: Symphony No. 7 (Spring);
Richard Strauss: Don Juan, Op. 20;
Valery Kamyshov, Piano, Svetlana Volkova, Elena Ustinova, soprano, Sergei Larin, Alexander Fedin, tenor, Yuri Mazurok, baritone, Evgeny Nesterenko, bass, The Latvian Academic Chorus, Kaunas State Chorus, The Grand Academic Choir of USSR Central Television and All-Union Radio, Yurlov State Academic Choir, Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitrij Kitajenko
8 CDs Melodiya MEL CD 1002645 (493′)
Recordings 1974-1989
Release 18/08/2020

Just how does the Bernstein Symphony make it into a compilation like this?

Where's the family resemblance to the rest?

Only that Melodiya did have a certain preference for Western contemporary music with societal comments, when they took it up in recordings. They premiere-recorded the Nottingham Symphony by the British, communist composer Allan Bush, for example, and Honegger and Britten were also among their Western favourites. They'd avoid the more edgy, Western avant-garde from the 20th century.

Quote from: Roy Bland on January 22, 2021, 05:58:21 PM
It contains some composers as Flyarkovsky,Butsko,Irakli Gabeli and Yanchenko
(https://melody.su/upload/resize_cache/iblock/246/720_548_0/2467ccc0c60e0f34c9ae1ef702e974c7.jpg)

I was thinking about buying another box called Treasures of World Music, but I should rather buy this set. Or, the both.  :)

Valere Burnon, a Belgian pianist who has studied in Germany, is one of the youngest promoters (22 years old) of the music of Protopopov.

He has a World Premiere recording of the Opus 32 Preludes by Serge Protopopov: I understand that he went to Russia to study the original manuscript.


(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81jjteEKBLL._SS500_.jpg)


Amazon Deutschland offers a download. 

Here is the announcement on Burnon's FaceBook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ValereBurnon/?ref=page_internal (https://www.facebook.com/ValereBurnon/?ref=page_internal)

An excellent performance of all the works listed!  Highly recommended, and not just for the rare Protopopov work!

Enjoyable, if not exceptional, recording.

Samples of Kalmykh music
http://www.kalmfil.ru/index.php/novosti/296-100-letiyu-avtonomii-kalmykii-posvyashchaetsya

Quote from: Cato on January 26, 2021, 10:36:54 AM
Valere Burnon, a Belgian pianist who has studied in Germany, is one of the youngest promoters (22 years old) of the music of Protopopov.

He has a World Premiere recording of the Opus 32 Preludes by Serge Protopopov: I understand that he went to Russia to study the original manuscript.


(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81jjteEKBLL._SS500_.jpg)


Amazon Deutschland offers a download. 

Here is the announcement on Burnon's FaceBook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ValereBurnon/?ref=page_internal (https://www.facebook.com/ValereBurnon/?ref=page_internal)

An excellent performance of all the works listed!  Highly recommended, and not just for the rare Protopopov work!

From YouTube:


https://www.youtube.com/v/6v5staxcZ1g

Quote from: Roy Bland on February 12, 2021, 08:02:53 PM
Samples of Kalmykh music
http://www.kalmfil.ru/index.php/novosti/296-100-letiyu-avtonomii-kalmykii-posvyashchaetsya

Very nice - thanks. The second extract reminded me of 'The Butterfly Lover's Violin Concerto' (which I like).

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41HHTB8BEXL.jpg)
Yakut composer's  cd

Vladimir Rubin's opera "Night Visions"
(https://picsb.meshok.net/pics/219267987.jpg?1)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Rubin

(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/yiwAAOSw55ZgPPN6/s-l225.jpg)

Mikhail Simansky.He composed 40 Symphonies!!
http://www.sarcons.ru/en/news/2020/the_year_of_composer_mikhail_simansky.html

Absolutely zero recordings though according to Amazon. An untapped well of music?

Quote from: Maestro267 on March 08, 2021, 10:01:14 PM
Absolutely zero recordings though according to Amazon. An untapped well of music?

Something here with other composers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kNTVliqqyY

This is a general query, in the past few months I have been investigating several soviet era Russian composers although in the end I haven't found them very interesting (won't name names). However usually when reading about them I find that Shostakovich praised their music. Did DS make a habit of praising all his contemporaries, even those on the mediocre side?

Quote from: calyptorhynchus on March 24, 2021, 01:24:51 AM
This is a general query, in the past few months I have been investigating several soviet era Russian composers although in the end I haven't found them very interesting (won't name names). However usually when reading about them I find that Shostakovich praised their music. Did DS make a habit of praising all his contemporaries, even those on the mediocre side?

Not sure but he certainly rated Weinberg and Shebalin highly.
Walton and Sibelius tended to enthusiastically congratulate whoever conducted or recorded their music.

Obviously in the soviet situation there was a motive for DS praising his contemporaries; as a senior composer he might be seen as protecting them (though when he got into hot water this might have had the opposite effect).

Shostakovich was very generous with his praise.  He even praised conductors who interpreted his own music in completely different ways adding to the complexity of knowing exactly what he meant.  I take his opinion as basically an educator who supports the student.  Doesn't mean they like it but are supportive of it.  When we judge students, we don't judge them critically but with an attempt to encourage them rather than excessive criticism.  Some sensitive composers take this as a general approach.  Rather than saying something critical like "Horns, you're not playing loud enough" they would say "Horns, I invite you to make this your moment" which has the same meaning.  That's how I would interpret his feedback as well.  The player or conductor could read this as a compliment or invitation but we could also read this as a critique.  I've been in rehearsals where the conductor under stress, yells at a player in front of the whole orchestra.  He said "trumpet, that solo sounds like a shoe" whatever that means.  Every time after that, trumpet cracked his solo.  Conductors need human psychology skills too to get what they want.

Quote from: calyptorhynchus on March 24, 2021, 01:24:51 AM
This is a general query, in the past few months I have been investigating several soviet era Russian composers although in the end I haven't found them very interesting (won't name names). However usually when reading about them I find that Shostakovich praised their music. Did DS make a habit of praising all his contemporaries, even those on the mediocre side?

Or is he following the party line, did he praise composers approved by the Soviet USC? DSCH was and is an enigma, a rebel or not? There are more question marks with him then any other composer.

Mrawinsky in an interview on his professional relationship with Shostakovich said he never followed the composer's suggestions for tempi, which the composer would illustrate on the piano: much too fast, unplayable.

Sanderling on Shostakovich:

Quote
You knew that when he came around after the concert saying: "Wonderful, great!" and so on, you could be sure he didn't really like it. But when he came and he said: "Good, but at this point I would have liked it to sound like this and at that point like that" - then you could be sure that he was really interested and he had enjoyed the performance.

Hard to figure exactly how to take such remarks from the him (DSCH) when it seems that cultural factors should also be considered, not just the face value of the words used.

Composers from Voronezh
http://soyuzkompozitorov-vrn.ru/zapisi

Interesting set of P&F from Vsevolod Zaderatsky... very Russian, like a more severe Shostakovich. Except lacking in Shostakovich's variety and imagination.

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81Js5hl3jpL._SL1200_.jpg)

Enjoying the Naxos reissue and lesser-known recordings of N. Tcherepnin this weekend.

rather questionable (combining the Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia) but not without interest

https://dais.sanu.ac.rs/bitstream/id/41731/MusicInPostsocialism.pdf

(https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/1000/21/3971621-2707499.jpg)

Quote from: Roy Bland on May 14, 2021, 07:22:31 PM
(https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/1000/21/3971621-2707499.jpg)

Is this the same thing as his Violin Concerto No. 2?  That's one of my favorite works of his and highly recommended.

Quote from: relm1 on May 15, 2021, 05:54:38 AM
Is this the same thing as his Violin Concerto No. 2?  That's one of my favorite works of his and highly recommended.

It shoud be same thing
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81zYQtu5GOL._AC_SX355_.jpg)

Quote from: relm1 on May 15, 2021, 05:54:38 AM
Is this the same thing as his Violin Concerto No. 2?  That's one of my favorite works of his and highly recommended.

I don't know if it's the same work, but yes, his VC 2 is an amazing work.

Enjoying the music of Rostislav Boiko, conducted by Svetlanov. Very slavic.

Unusual choral music
https://frti.su/projects/2012/mosaic-emotions-disk
(https://frti.su/d/mosaic-emotions-disk.jpg)

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on May 20, 2021, 03:59:17 PM
Enjoying the music of Rostislav Boiko, conducted by Svetlanov. Very slavic.

I enjoy those discs as well.

On 8 July premiere of oratorio Alexander Nevsky by Circassian composer Kabardokov
(https://scontent.ffco3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/207018673_4135568713174474_3038382945869032507_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=-ioiHc79fF4AX9tneAk&_nc_ht=scontent.ffco3-1.fna&oh=e945a7677092049e74afe4b299c43a70&oe=60E5A59C)

Recording of Zhivotov's work "Heroic March","Festive Overture" and "Theatre Suite"
https://orpheusradio.ru/news/news/15322/aleksey-zhivotov-chelovek-kotorogo-ne-bylo

(https://imusic.dk/images/item/original/733/5028421959733/parrino-francesco-michele-pentrella-2021-goedicke-music-for-violin-piano-cd-530.jpg)

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on January 16, 2021, 05:08:18 AM
Enjoying Medtner's PC 3 (Tozer).  Planning to buy discs by other performers as well.

And? Did ya?

Quote from: Wanderer on November 02, 2021, 10:36:36 PM
And? Did ya?

I have a few other recordings now. I think I like the Ponti recording from Vox. I maybe biased because I like old recordings.

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on November 03, 2021, 05:56:17 PM
I have a few other recordings now. I think I like the Ponti recording from Vox. I maybe biased because I like old recordings.

Good to know! I don't think you liking the Vox recording is because of any bias, the Ponti rendition of the Third Concerto is indeed special, not to mention quite different from the others. The swift tempo suits the work well. It's a favourite of mine too.

It's devoted entirely to Alexander Tchaikovsky
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTI1NDcxMS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE2MzM2MDkxMjF9)


Tchaikovsky, A: Etudes in Simple Tones, Concerto No. 2 for viola, piano solo, and orchestra

Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
Mariss Jansons
Tchaikovsky, A: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra, Op. 70

Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
Mariss Jansons
Tchaikovsky, A: Symphony No. 4 for choir, orchestra & solo viola, Op. 78

Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
Mariss Jansons

Quote from: Roy Bland on January 22, 2021, 05:58:21 PM
It contains some composers as Flyarkovsky,Butsko,Irakli Gabeli and Yanchenko
(https://melody.su/upload/resize_cache/iblock/246/720_548_0/2467ccc0c60e0f34c9ae1ef702e974c7.jpg)

Quote from: pjme on January 23, 2021, 02:03:12 AM
Interesting collection, Roy.

details:

Youri Boutsko: Symphonie Nr. 2 in 4 fragmentierten Sätzen;
Irakli Gabeli: Symphonie Nr. 1 (Dramatic Dialogue);
Alexander Flyarkovsky: Urildaan, Festive Poem on Buryatian Themes;
Oleg Yanchenko: Symphony Andrei Rublev;

I hadn't noticed this great release! These works mostly drew my attention. Me wants to hear this.

On Rauf Murtazin and Bashkirian composers
https://bashmusic.net/ru/music/music-collection/proizvedeniya-bashkirskikh-kompozitorov/view/playlist/id/237

On Yakut music
https://sakhamusic.ru/#!/artists/list//1

A part of the soundtrack for Andrei Rublev by our lamented and almost forgotten Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov has been performed by a singer/composer named Sarah Davachi.

Scroll down and the first track is the excerpt.

https://www.factmag.com/2020/09/14/sarah-davachi-fact-mix/ (https://www.factmag.com/2020/09/14/sarah-davachi-fact-mix/)

Quote from: Cato on November 20, 2021, 02:51:26 AM
A part of the soundtrack for Andrei Rublev by our lamented and almost forgotten Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov has been performed by a singer/composer named Sarah Davachi.

Scroll down and the first track is the excerpt.

https://www.factmag.com/2020/09/14/sarah-davachi-fact-mix/ (https://www.factmag.com/2020/09/14/sarah-davachi-fact-mix/)

Very nice Leo. Reminds me a bit of his War and Peace music.

Stefan Neaga
https://m.moldovenii.md/en/section/65/play-audio/id/4724

Georgi
https://audiovideoteca.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/gheorghe-neaga-urmas-al-culturii-muzicale-autohtone-romanesti/

on moldavian
http://www.artes-iasi.ro/magazines/Artes15_en.pdf

On Spendiarian
http://spendiaryanmuseum.am/htmls_eng/spendiaryan_works.html

According to a person on YouTube, a ceremony of some sort took place on November 24th in the hometown of Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov and a memorial plaque was set up.

Does anyone know anything about this?  I cannot find a thing about it.

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on November 03, 2021, 05:56:17 PM
I have a few other recordings now. I think I like the Ponti recording from Vox. I maybe biased because I like old recordings.

Ponti's Medtner 3rd is definitely different from the others; there's a wonderful, ~impressionistic flow to it, where others tend to be heavier.
In my Top-10 of piano concerto recordings.

Quote from: Cato on November 20, 2021, 02:51:26 AM
A part of the soundtrack for Andrei Rublev by our lamented and almost forgotten Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov has been performed by a singer/composer named Sarah Davachi.

Scroll down and the first track is the excerpt.

https://www.factmag.com/2020/09/14/sarah-davachi-fact-mix/ (https://www.factmag.com/2020/09/14/sarah-davachi-fact-mix/)

They've already made a movie on the Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev?!  But he's barely started his professional tennis career!  ???

(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.N4qXX9vcaXRbbnOevbbJvgHaEK%26pid%3DApi&f=1)

Sorry, couldn't resist!  ;)  But, seriously, that sounds like it would make for a very interesting topic for a movie.

PD

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on December 01, 2021, 05:59:40 AM
They've already made a movie on the Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev?!  But he's barely started his professional tennis career!  ???

Sorry, couldn't resist!  ;)  But, seriously, that sounds like it would make for a very interesting topic for a movie.

PD

;)

The movie concerns a Medieval artist by that name:


https://www.youtube.com/v/zUePS__gfVM&lc=UgwLQgWagQnBeCrdelx4AaABAg.951fKgCvKP39VMeIKkK4L5


The movie was directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.  It is available from Criterion.

Quote from: Cato on December 01, 2021, 05:37:12 AM

According to a person on YouTube, a ceremony of some sort took place on November 24th in the hometown of Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov and a memorial plaque was set up.

Does anyone know anything about this?  I cannot find a thing about it.

Quote from: Cato on December 01, 2021, 06:18:48 AM
;)

The movie concerns a Medieval artist by that name:


https://www.youtube.com/v/zUePS__gfVM&lc=UgwLQgWagQnBeCrdelx4AaABAg.951fKgCvKP39VMeIKkK4L5


The movie was directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.  It is available from Criterion.

Yes, I googled the artist--and the movie.   ;D  Perhaps I might be able to get ahold of a copy through interlibrary loan?  And will check out the music in a bit too; thank you for that imbed.

PD

p.s.  By the way, regarding the tennis player, he's only 24 years old and ranked No. 5 in the world.  Not too shabby, eh?  :)

IMHO a good novelty
(https://www.dibpic.com/uploads/posts/2021-11/1637967216_folder.jpg)

Quote from: Roy Bland on December 10, 2021, 07:55:38 PM
IMHO a good novelty
(https://www.dibpic.com/uploads/posts/2021-11/1637967216_folder.jpg)

The Curious Case of Reinhold Gliere!  A great talent!

My friends and I knew about Gliere through some severely truncated monophonic recordings of the Third Symphony "Ilya Murometz" conducted by Stokowski and Fricsay.  One of my friends found the mono recording with the entire work conducted by Hermann Scherchen in the Dayton Public Library, and that was passed around quite a bit!

The CHANDOS CD with Edward Downes conducting has the nearly complete score and is an excellent performance.  Somewhere out there is a complete performance from the 1970's, and I have read that it is the best ever: on Melodiya with a Russian orchestra and Nathan Rakhlin conducting.  However, I have also read the transfer to CD (Russian Disc) was botched or that the original tapes might have been allowed to deteriorate.

(https://www.azernews.az/media/2021/07/28/32r23r3rr223r1.jpg)

Quote from: Roy Bland on December 14, 2021, 07:40:16 PM
(https://www.azernews.az/media/2021/07/28/32r23r3rr223r1.jpg)

That looks fun.  :)

Quote from: Roy Bland on December 14, 2021, 07:40:16 PM
(https://www.azernews.az/media/2021/07/28/32r23r3rr223r1.jpg)

Nice recording!

It's on Spotify - and such-and-suches, I guess.

Quote from: Roy Bland on December 14, 2021, 07:40:16 PM
(https://www.azernews.az/media/2021/07/28/32r23r3rr223r1.jpg)

Link to purchase?

Quote from: André on December 15, 2021, 06:21:07 AM
It's on Spotify - and such-and-suches, I guess.

No physical format?

Quote from: Mirror Image on December 15, 2021, 06:26:57 AM
No physical format?

The picture showed by other posters is clearly that of a physical lp  :-\

I found this link


https://www.azernews.az/culture/181626.html (https://www.azernews.az/culture/181626.html)

Quote from: André on December 15, 2021, 06:31:00 AM


The picture showed by other posters is clearly that of a physical lp  :-\

Hmmm....the photo from Roy Bland looks like a CD. Anyway, the availability of this one looks non-existent or so it seems.

You can purchase it losslessly through Qobuz and then burn it to 2 CDs:

https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/azerbaijani-symphonic-mughams-liepaja-symphony-orchestra-yalchin-adigezalov/hawygf13uz8sb

I've recently encountered the music of the Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Alizadeh.  There is a complete album of her music with the Kronos quartet which I enjoyed titled Mugam Sayagi.  She's a contemporary female classical music composer.  Or if you have their Night Prayers album, one of her works is also on there.

(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP._e2WoOOyG-joCSev403Q-QHaGj%26pid%3DApi&f=1)
PD

Quote from: timwtheov on December 15, 2021, 07:38:53 AM
You can purchase it losslessly through Qobuz and then burn it to 2 CDs:

https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/azerbaijani-symphonic-mughams-liepaja-symphony-orchestra-yalchin-adigezalov/hawygf13uz8sb

Thanks, but I'd prefer to own it on CD.

IT is a cd
https://www.azernews.az/culture/181626.html
I have asked to Liepaja orchestra and they say that there aren't other release scheduled
http://enene.musigi-dunya.az/simfonik_mugam.html

I just received a copy of this book today from the author. I did some proof-reading for it and was pleased get a nice mention in the acknowledgments. The three are Roslavets, Popov and Mosolov - all of whose music I admire:
(//)

Quote from: vandermolen on December 16, 2021, 10:44:04 AM
I just received a copy of this book today from the author. I did some proof-reading for it and was pleased get a nice mention in the acknowledgments. The three are Roslavets, Popov and Mosolov - all of whose music I admire:
(//)

Cool!  And I see that you're a man of many side hustles er talents too!  ;) :) Just teasing you!

PD

Quote from: ultralinear on December 16, 2021, 10:52:28 AM
I don't suppose there's any chance you get some heavily discounted copies of this...?

I just checked Amazon and their discounted price is GBP 96 (down from 103). :o :o :o

[guilt trip]
Please use whatever influence you have (which I'm sure is considerable) on our behalf.
[/guilt trip]

It's available on Kindle for $50 (US Amazon)?  If that helps.

PD

Thank you guys  ;D
I was sent a copy as a freebie as I didn't charge anything for my proof-reading work. I'm happy to ask the author, Gregor about the most inexpensive way of getting a copy of his book. Gregor also wrote a biography of Myaskovsky (I prefer Miaskovsky) 'The Conscience of Russian Music'. The first biography in English since Ikkonikov's wartime biography was translated into English.

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on December 16, 2021, 10:51:32 AM
Cool!  And I see that you're a man of many side hustles er talents too!  ;) :) Just teasing you!

PD

'side hustles' (great expression) is true PD  ;D

Quote from: ultralinear on December 16, 2021, 10:52:28 AM
I don't suppose there's any chance you get some heavily discounted copies of this...?

I just checked Amazon and their discounted price is GBP 96 (down from 103). :o :o :o

[guilt trip]
Please use whatever influence you have (which I'm sure is considerable) on our behalf.
[/guilt trip]

I've asked Gregor for advice on this.

Quote from: ultralinear on December 16, 2021, 10:52:28 AM
I don't suppose there's any chance you get some heavily discounted copies of this...?

I just checked Amazon and their discounted price is GBP 96 (down from 103). :o :o :o

[guilt trip]
Please use whatever influence you have (which I'm sure is considerable) on our behalf.
[/guilt trip]

No promises, but if you wait a bit (next month) it might be possible to obtain copies at £35 according to Gregor.

Quote from: ultralinear on December 16, 2021, 12:13:25 PM
That would be brilliant.  I understand about the pricing of academic volumes ... but 96 quid!!! - sheesh.  Just a bit more realistic, and he has a confirmed sale. :)  Thanks for making the enquiry.

My pleasure.
Gregor says, wherever you live, please contact him directly about the possibility of obtaining a discounted copy of his book.
gtassie@hotmail.co.uk,

Quote from: ultralinear on December 16, 2021, 12:31:26 PM
Will do.  Thanks again. :)

My pleasure.

Quote from: MusicTurner on December 01, 2021, 05:42:35 AM
Ponti's Medtner 3rd is definitely different from the others; there's a wonderful, ~impressionistic flow to it, where others tend to be heavier.
In my Top-10 of piano concerto recordings.

Just curious, what are the 10 fav pc recordings of yours?  :)

I am trying to explore Tishchenko's oeuvre - I've so far only heard Concerto for Piano, Violin and Strings, and String Quartets No. 4 and 5. His music has some similarities with Shostakovich. What are his best orchestral/concertante pieces as an introduction to his music?

Quote from: lordlance on December 19, 2021, 12:25:38 PM
I am trying to explore Tishchenko's oeuvre - I've so far only heard Concerto for Piano, Violin and Strings, and String Quartets No. 4 and 5. His music has some similarities with Shostakovich. What are his best orchestral/concertante pieces as an introduction to his music?

Try his 2nd violin concerto.

This recording is generally easy to find on the marketplace. Also available on the Northern Flowers label.

(https://img.discogs.com/WcgIP7aYOIgbg5CbHJdE7FU8_y8=/fit-in/583x584/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-9249415-1477345701-8488.png.jpg)

Quote from: André on December 19, 2021, 12:50:18 PM
Try his 2nd violin concerto.

This recording is generally easy to find on the marketplace. Also available on the Northern Flowers label.

(https://img.discogs.com/WcgIP7aYOIgbg5CbHJdE7FU8_y8=/fit-in/583x584/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-9249415-1477345701-8488.png.jpg)

Good call  I started listening to Symphony #1 and
'The Blockade Chronicle Symphony' recently, but was a little underwhelmed. #2 was better, but not enough to keep me coming back. Doubtless he is really worthwhile, but I'm not sure I would begin with his symphonic output.

Quote from: foxandpeng on December 19, 2021, 01:21:09 PM
Good call  I started listening to Symphony #1 and
'The Blockade Chronicle Symphony' recently, but was a little underwhelmed. #2 was better, but not enough to keep me coming back. Doubtless he is really worthwhile, but I'm not sure I would begin with his symphonic output.

He wrote some decent symphonies. Have you ever tried his string quartets? They're much more cohesive and interesting.

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on December 19, 2021, 01:39:30 PM
He wrote some decent symphonies. Have you ever tried his string quartets? They're much more cohesive and interesting.

I will do as you suggest 🙂. Have saved them to a playlist to explore.

Thank you 😁

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on December 19, 2021, 01:39:30 PM
He [Boris Tishchenko] wrote some decent symphonies. Have you ever tried his string quartets? They're much more cohesive and interesting.

Thanks. I've long considered his string quartets, but never found many comments or reviews.

Quote from: T. D. on December 19, 2021, 07:22:48 PM
Thanks. I've long considered his string quartets, but never found many comments or reviews.

Did you enjoy the ones by Boris Tchaikovsky? And Yuri Falik, another outstanding Soviet composer.

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on December 19, 2021, 07:23:49 PM
Did you enjoy the ones by Boris Tchaikovsky? And Yuri Falik, another outstanding Soviet composer.

Boris Tchaikovsky's very much, though it took a few listens to get my bearings. I have a few other B. T. recordings, mostly concerti, which are excellent. Have not heard Falik. Another composer to look for!

Quote from: André on December 19, 2021, 12:50:18 PM
Try his 2nd violin concerto.

This recording is generally easy to find on the marketplace. Also available on the Northern Flowers label.

(https://img.discogs.com/WcgIP7aYOIgbg5CbHJdE7FU8_y8=/fit-in/583x584/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-9249415-1477345701-8488.png.jpg)

I am doubtful if I would enjoy a modernist VC. I don't even like violin concerti that much. Any other orchestral recommendations?

Quote from: lordlance on December 20, 2021, 01:12:20 AM
I am doubtful if I would enjoy a modernist VC. I don't even like violin concerti that much. Any other orchestral recommendations?

Do you like orchestral song cycles?  You might like his Symphony No. 6, I thought it was quite beautiful. 

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on December 19, 2021, 06:04:34 AM
Just curious, what are the 10 fav pc recordings of yours?  :)

I'd have to think, but besides Medtner Cto 3 /Ponti, some of the most played have at least been:

- Beethoven Emperor /Kempff,Leitner
- Schumann /Argerich,Harnoncourt
- Brahms Cto 1, for example Woodward,Masur, and the crazy Horowitz,Walter
- Tchaikowsky Cto 1, for example Horowitz,Szell live
- Scriabin, no real favourite, but for example Bashkirov
- Busoni, Donohoe,Ermler
- Stravinsky, Capriccio, for example Entremont,Stravinsky
- Prokofiev Cto 4, Krainev,Kitayenko,MoscowO
- Nørgård, In Due Tempi. There's only Salo,Segerstam, but I'd have a few alternative ideas for some details in it.

I've got many further, potential ones for the list. I own a lot of British material for example, but I'm not totally acquainted with it yet. And some American ones (Barber's is fine), Scandinavian, Austro-German, etc. etc.

Quote from: relm1 on December 20, 2021, 05:39:20 AM
Do you like orchestral song cycles?  You might like his Symphony No. 6, I thought it was quite beautiful. 

My distaste of western classical singing cannot be understated. It's incredibly grating solo. Massed I can sort of tolerate and even enjoy (Choral Fantasy is superb.)

Quote from: MusicTurner on December 20, 2021, 06:52:16 AM
I'd have to think, but besides Medtner Cto 3 /Ponti, some of the most played have at least been:

- Beethoven Emperor /Kempff,Leitner
- Schumann /Argerich,Harnoncourt
- Brahms Cto 1, for example Woodward,Masur, and the crazy Horowitz,Walter
- Tchaikowsky Cto 1, for example Horowitz,Szell live
- Scriabin, no real favourite, but for example Bashkirov
- Busoni, Donohoe,Ermler
- Stravinsky, Capriccio, for example Entremont,Stravinsky
- Prokofiev Cto 4, Krainev,Kitayenko,MoscowO
- Nørgård, In Due Tempi. There's only Salo,Segerstam, but I'd have a few alternative ideas for some details in it.

I've got many further, potential ones for the list. I own a lot of British material for example, but I'm not totally acquainted with it yet. And some American ones (Barber's is fine), Scandinavian, Austro-German, etc. etc.

I like Prokofiev 4 Moscow too. The Nørgård sounds interesting. I will look for the recording. 😄

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on December 20, 2021, 02:00:08 PM
I like Prokofiev 4 Moscow too. The Nørgård sounds interesting. I will look for the recording. 😄

I wouldn't waste your time. It's one of the worst "piano concerti" I've heard. I mean the whole work does absolutely nothing for it's entire duration. I like a few works from Nørgård, but this certainly wasn't one of them. Just my two cents.

Quote from: Mirror Image on December 20, 2021, 07:37:05 PM
I wouldn't waste your time. It's one of the worst "piano concerti" I've heard. I mean the whole work does absolutely nothing for it's entire duration. I like a few works from Nørgård, but this certainly wasn't one of them. Just my two cents.

Yes - definitely not for you.

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on December 19, 2021, 07:23:49 PM
Did you enjoy the ones by Boris Tchaikovsky? And Yuri Falik, another outstanding Soviet composer.

The Falik release gives me pause because it's performed by the Taneyev Quartet. I'm becoming disillusioned with their playing and not eager to add more recordings.
As mentioned, I enjoy the BT release, and it happens to feature a different ensemble (at the time of purchase I didn't even consider the performers).

Quote from: Mirror Image on December 20, 2021, 07:37:05 PM
I wouldn't waste your time. It's one of the worst "piano concerti" I've heard. I mean the whole work does absolutely nothing for it's entire duration. I like a few works from Nørgård, but this certainly wasn't one of them. Just my two cents.

Thank you John. I always appreciate alternative- either positive or negative- views. I would look for a recording and let you know my opinion. In fact I was thinking about making a thread for recordings/works divisive among listeners.

Quote from: MusicTurner on December 21, 2021, 01:18:16 AM
Yes - definitely not for you.

I love a lot of the post-WWII avant-garde composers like Boulez, Ligeti et. al., but this concerto felt aimless to me.

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on December 21, 2021, 09:31:30 AM
Thank you John. I always appreciate alternative- either positive or negative- views. I would look for a recording and let you know my opinion. In fact I was thinking about making a thread for recordings/works divisive among listeners.

No problem, Dry Brett. If I were you, I'd track down the Segerstam recording on Chandos as this is the one I own. Just to let you know, I have no qualms with the performance itself.

Quote from: T. D. on December 21, 2021, 07:27:05 AM
The Falik release gives me pause because it's performed by the Taneyev Quartet. I'm becoming disillusioned with their playing and not eager to add more recordings.
As mentioned, I enjoy the BT release, and it happens to feature a different ensemble (at the time of purchase I didn't even consider the performers).

Oh, I see. No problem, it's better when you can connect with the music with appropriate performances.

On Helmer Sinisalo
http://www.rkna.ru/exhibitions/sinisalo/

Quote from: T. D. on December 21, 2021, 07:27:05 AM
The Falik release gives me pause because it's performed by the Taneyev Quartet. I'm becoming disillusioned with their playing and not eager to add more recordings.
As mentioned, I enjoy the BT release, and it happens to feature a different ensemble (at the time of purchase I didn't even consider the performers).

If you like quarter-tone/microtonal music, however, they are the group for you!   :D

Of course, the original music will probably NOT be a quarter-tone work...  ;)

Songs about Kisinev
(https://chisinauorasulmeu.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/faed1-coperta2bcd.jpg)

Looking for orchestral music recommendations from lesser known Soviet composers. I can tick off Tishchenko for now. And the usual suspects obviously (Schnittke, Ustolvskaya, Myaskovsky.)

A certain degree of vigor would be appreciated.

Quote from: lordlance on January 20, 2022, 09:55:54 PM
Looking for orchestral music recommendations from lesser known Soviet composers. I can tick off Tishchenko for now. And the usual suspects obviously (Schnittke, Ustolvskaya, Myaskovsky.)

A certain degree of vigor would be appreciated.

Vainberg, Popov to start...

Quote from: springrite on January 20, 2022, 10:34:57 PM
Vainberg, Popov to start...

+1
Also Shebalin.

Quote from: springrite on January 20, 2022, 10:34:57 PM
Vainberg, Popov to start...

I've already tried Weinberg. The music is far too dour to be enjoyable.

Anything specific from Popov and Shebalin?

Quote from: lordlance on January 21, 2022, 12:00:24 AM
I've already tried Weinberg. The music is far too dour to be enjoyable.

Anything specific from Popov and Shebalin?

Popov's first and second symphonies are both damn good. Can't get enough of em lately.

Quote from: vers la flamme on January 21, 2022, 05:35:39 AM
Popov's first and second symphonies are both damn good. Can't get enough of em lately.

+1

+ 1 for Shebalin. Try also Boyko for good measure.

Quote from: lordlance on January 20, 2022, 09:55:54 PM
Looking for orchestral music recommendations from lesser known Soviet composers. I can tick off Tishchenko for now. And the usual suspects obviously (Schnittke, Ustolvskaya, Myaskovsky.)

A certain degree of vigor would be appreciated.

One word: Kabalevsky. He's my second favorite Soviet composer after Prokofiev. His orchestral output is highly consistent, enjoyable, memorable, and yes, full of vigor aplenty. His four symphonies, four piano concerti, and two cello concerti are all superb works ranging from lighthearted (2nd Symphony, 3rd PC) to quite serious and dramatic (4th Symphony, 2nd Cello Concerto). There's an excellent series on CPO that covers just about all his major works in excellent performances and sound. Give Kabalevsky a shot, but since you seem to be rather picky, I won't be offended if you don't like him. ;)

Yes I don't choose to, I simply don't like thing easily.

I was randomy listening to this:
(https://img.discogs.com/8a7C-kGzTdxfs3LXZqp6Axr_fG8=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-20076391-1630512030-7333.jpeg.jpg)

I was surprised by Yevlakhov's Poem Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and Uspensky's Music for Violin and Orchestra. They are very enjoyable works despite my distaste for violin concerti. Sometimes random pieces can be good.

For those interested, you can hear the pieces here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le9YhlBoE4E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOdL9A75Dhc

Quote from: lordlance on January 21, 2022, 06:47:22 PM
Yes I don't choose to, I simply don't like thing easily.

I'm sorry to hear that! ;)

Quote from: lordlance on January 21, 2022, 12:00:24 AM
I've already tried Weinberg. The music is far too dour to be enjoyable.

Anything specific from Popov and Shebalin?

Popov symphonies 1,2 and 6
Shebalin symphonies 1 and 5

+1 for Kabalevsky, especially symphonies 1 and 4 and the First Piano Concerto.

IMHO best of Kabalevski is Piano Concerto n°2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYTjC9qZolA

Olympia edition is older than CPO meanwhile orchestras,conductors and performances are far superior

https://translate.yandex.com/translate?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkabalevsky.ru%2F&lang=ru-en

Quote from: André on January 21, 2022, 06:52:39 AM
+ 1 for Shebalin. Try also Boyko for good measure.

Any specific Boyko work?

There are 2 discs that contain his symphonies and that I really like:

(https://i.discogs.com/oClsUey9NyHMAIckHHILyYmZEnodIBIrYiulGKCgjjs/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:595/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWltYWdlcy9SLTkw/NDAyNTQtMTQ3Mzcy/MDU4OC01OTExLmpw/ZWc.jpeg)
(https://i.discogs.com/Rwj1A5HEEv9s_NMT-uqAnrS4FcSQcGG96eZsybYOm2M/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:594/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWltYWdlcy9SLTkw/NDI2MjItMTQ3Mzc3/NDAyOC04MTU3Lmpw/ZWc.jpeg)

Quote from: André on January 24, 2022, 09:00:22 AM
There are 2 discs that contain his symphonies and that I really like:

(https://i.discogs.com/oClsUey9NyHMAIckHHILyYmZEnodIBIrYiulGKCgjjs/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:595/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWltYWdlcy9SLTkw/NDAyNTQtMTQ3Mzcy/MDU4OC01OTExLmpw/ZWc.jpeg)
(https://i.discogs.com/Rwj1A5HEEv9s_NMT-uqAnrS4FcSQcGG96eZsybYOm2M/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:594/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWltYWdlcy9SLTkw/NDI2MjItMTQ3Mzc3/NDAyOC04MTU3Lmpw/ZWc.jpeg)

+1

+1. Nice recordings!

https://cdmusic.cz/en/czech-contemporary/borkovec-p.-aslamas-a.-burian-e.f.-string-quartets-pavel-borkovec-quartet-%5Bid%3D0764460983296%5D

Quote from: lordlance on January 24, 2022, 02:55:19 AM
Any specific Boyko work?

Also this
https://youtu.be/NgURd66FbqI

On Eastern Soviet music
https://www.academia.edu/32760599/National_Form_and_Socialist_Content_Soviet_Modernization_and_Making_of_Uzbek_National_Opera_Between_the_1920s_and_1930s?email_work_card=title
https://www.academia.edu/40505174/Soviet_Music_as_National_Achievement_The_Development_of_Professional_Music_in_the_Tatar_ASSR_1928_59?email_work_card=title

Lydia Auster..... her piano concerto and various misc works are wonderful.... ballet music.. they were issued on Melodiya oin the  1970s

(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTMyMjcwMS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE2NDkwNjgyNDV9)

https://www.academia.edu/41753554/Legacies_of_Romanticism_in_the_early_Soviet_Symphony?email_work_card=title

Quote from: Roy Bland on April 04, 2022, 07:46:42 PM
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTMyMjcwMS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE2NDkwNjgyNDV9)

Speaking of Shaporin (1887-1966) I've been blown away by his 5 Pieces for Cello and Piano:

https://youtu.be/BTqDrb1xH6A

What soulful, passionate music, full of depth and inspiration! I'll have to seek out more of his music - I see he has a Symphony which hasn't been recorded.

 world premiere of "Asja" ("Ася"), an opera by composer Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov based on the homonymous short story by Ivan Turghenev, will be presented in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on 6 June 2022.
(https://www.classicalmusicnews.ru/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/asya-06.06.22.jpg)

Further proof that there's excellent music out there by composers who we (even at GMG!) know very little about: Nikolai Peiko's (1916-95) Symphony no. 4 (1963-65):

https://youtu.be/hb-QBiG7pPg

(USSR SO/Svetlanov. There's also a recording on YT with Konstantin Ivanov conducting.)

While there are the expected whiffs of Shostakovich, Weinberg, Kabalevsky et al., this is quite a personal, exciting, and compact work. It's written in a broadly tonal idiom but with plenty of harmonic "spikiness", and with some terrifically imaginative orchestration in places. Actually, the composer I was reminded most of most was Einar Englund, specifically the "avian" arabesques of the solo flute which recall the Finn's Symphony no. 2 The Blackbird. Fans of any of the composers I mentioned need not hesitate! Hardly any of Peiko's music has been commercially recorded, but quite a bit of it is available on YT.

Quote from: kyjo on June 12, 2022, 08:35:55 PM
Further proof that there's excellent music out there by composers who we (even at GMG!) know very little about: Nikolai Peiko's (1916-95) Symphony no. 4 (1963-65):

https://youtu.be/hb-QBiG7pPg

(USSR SO/Svetlanov. There's also a recording on YT with Konstantin Ivanov conducting.)

While there are the expected whiffs of Shostakovich, Weinberg, Kabalevsky et al., this is quite a personal, exciting, and compact work. It's written in a broadly tonal idiom but with plenty of harmonic "spikiness", and with some terrifically imaginative orchestration in places. Actually, the composer I was reminded most of most was Einar Englund, specifically the "avian" arabesques of the solo flute which recall the Finn's Symphony no. 2 The Blackbird. Fans of any of the composers I mentioned need not hesitate! Hardly any of Peiko's music has been commercially recorded, but quite a bit of it is available on YT.

Sounds interesting Kyle - thanks for posting.

Quote from: vandermolen on June 13, 2022, 02:25:15 AM
Sounds interesting Kyle - thanks for posting.

I have no doubt you'd enjoy the Peiko very much, Jeffrey, given your proclivity for Soviet-era symphonism!

Quote from: kyjo on June 13, 2022, 08:31:14 AM
I have no doubt you'd enjoy the Peiko very much, Jeffrey, given your proclivity for Soviet-era symphonism!

It sounds like a fine crash-bang-wallop Soviet symphony (interspersed with moments of lyricism - just the sort of thing that I like!  :)

I have to say of the lesser-known Russian/Soviet composers that Boris Tchaikovsky is probably my favorite. There's something absolutely alluring about his music, especially underneath the surface. I hear a compositional voice that, no matter the musical material, aches and has a yearning quality to it. This certainly applies to the Sebastopol Symphony, but also the Clarinet Concerto amongst other works.

@Mirror Image: must be the name!

Regarding Peiko, looks like Melodiya did release Svetlanov's recording. It's on Tidal (https://listen.tidal.com/album/139055986), and I'd imagine you could download it somewhere.

Quote from: timwtheov on June 13, 2022, 12:54:57 PM
@Mirror Image: must be the name!

It certainly didn't help him, but I argued with Karlo (North Star) about this and feel that there's no point in changing one's name unless it rhymes with a male or female body part. :P

Quote from: vandermolen on July 13, 2008, 02:43:48 PM
Since we've had threads devoted to American, British, Scandinavian and Japanese composers, I thought that it was time for a Russian/Soviet one. Of the lesser known ones, Miaskovsky stands out for me, a key linking figure between the 19th Century nationalist figures (Rimsky, Borodin, Tchaikovsky, Balakirev, Liadov etc) and the great 20th Century figures like his friend Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Miaskovsky is well served on CD now with a complete set of symphonies on Warner and the Olymia/Alto set of symphonies being completed in August. In some ways, though, the best introduction is the one and only Naxos CD of Miaskovsky symphonies, containing two of the best, No 24 and 25. There is a separate Miaskovsky thread here too.

Gavril Popov (1904-72) is another great figure, whose First Symphony is the only one I know, apart from Vainberg's (or Weinberg's) Symphony No. 5 which stands comparison with Shostakovich's 4th Symphony. A terrifically compelling manic score.

Vissarion Shebalin (1902-63) is another composer whose music has meant a lot to me, especially symphonies 1 (like Miaskovsky) and the moving, valedictory 5th Symphony. Sadly, with the demise of Olympia his music is now difficult to find on CD.

Finally, for now, there is Vadim Salmanov (1912-78) , whose four symphonies, on a double CD set are well worth exploring. Mravinsky obviously thought highly of them as he recorded them all. Nos 1 and 4 are my favourites, No 2 is also a fine score. I have been listening to No 4 a lot recently. It was premiered by Mravinsky in 1977, not long before Salmanov's death (the performance is the one featured in the set) and there is a photo of Mravinsky and Salmanov together, at the premiere in the accompanying booklet. One critic described it as a "farewell symphony" and the last movement is very touching. The symphonies are a bit derivative of Shostakovich but I think that Salmanov is still well worth exploring. I am about to explore his string quartets, which are highly regarded by some.

These are just a few composers, but I look forward to reading about others.

I last listened to that Melodiya set of the Salmanov symphonies in 2016 (March 26, to be precise  :D ). I remembered not having been bowled over. I listened to it again today and now I understand sort of why: the sound is sometimes rough - extremely rough in the case of symphony 1, where the percussion badly saturates the soundstage. Since it's a crash-bang-wallop movement ( ;)) it kind of ruins the show. At least it did for me. Also, these being live performances, various bronchial episodes occur every now and then, which is rather unfortunate.

The music is often very fine, even with the derivative bits accounted for. And there's a clear sense of progression in the composer's métier and artistic vision. Symphony no 4 (1976) in particular breaks up with the stalinist/soviet mold and offers a much more contemporaneous feel. I think it's a near masterpiece. New performances of the first 2 symphonies are badly needed, although I doubt they would equal the electric tension generated by Mrawinsky in these live performances.

Quote from: André on June 13, 2022, 04:40:07 PM
I last listened to that Melodiya set of the Salmanov symphonies in 2016 (March 26, to be precise  :D ). I remembered not having been bowled over. I listened to it again today and now I understand sort of why: the sound is sometimes rough - extremely rough in the case of symphony 1, where the percussion badly saturates the soundstage. Since it's a crash-bang-wallop movement ( ;)) it kind of ruins the show. At least it did for me. Also, these being live performances, various bronchial episodes occur every now and then, which is rather unfortunate.

The music is often very fine, even with the derivative bits accounted for. And there's a clear sense of progression in the composer's métier and artistic vision. Symphony no 4 (1976) in particular breaks up with the stalinist/soviet mold and offers a much more contemporaneous feel. I think it's a near masterpiece. New performances of the first 2 symphonies are badly needed, although I doubt they would equal the electric tension generated by Mrawinsky in these live performances.

I read the quoted passage with great interest and then realised that I had written it  ::). Yes André, those Salmanov recordings are a bit rough I agree, but they do not stop me appreciating his music. Since I started the thread, like John/MI I have come to discover the music of Boris Tchaikovsky and, like John, greatly enjoy the 'Sevastopol/Sebastopol Symphony' - which I consider a major work. You are right that we could do with modern recordings of the Salmonov symphonies. Eshpai is another very worthwhile composer, especially, for me, symphonies 1,4,5 and the Songs of Mountain and Meadow Mari.

I also agree with the view of the (much missed) Colin/Dundonnell who recommended Kabalevsky's unaccountably neglected 4th Symphony (although a modern recording on CPO does exist). Maximilian Steinberg's 2nd (DGG) and 4th symphony(Dutton) were revelations to me and thankfully in modern recordings.

Jeffrey, outside of that Sebastopol Symphony recording on Chandos, what else do you own of Boris Tchaikovsky's music?

Quote from: Mirror Image on June 14, 2022, 02:08:20 PM
Jeffrey, outside of that Sebastopol Symphony recording on Chandos, what else do you own of Boris Tchaikovsky's music?

Hi John.
A Hyperion disc with the Chamber Symphony etc
Naxos - Symphony No.1
Russian Disc - Symphony No.2 (+ I have another recording featuring Symphony No.2)
+ this one
(//)

Quote from: vandermolen on June 14, 2022, 02:16:19 PM
Hi John.
A Hyperion disc with the Chamber Symphony etc
Naxos - Symphony No.1
Russian Disc - Symphony No.2 (+ I have another recording featuring Symphony No.2)
+ this one
(//)

Alright, thanks, Jeffrey. Like you, I own two recordings of the 2nd symphony. I own around 12 recordings of his music, but I added some more today, which I'll post in the 'Purchases' thread momentarily. ;)

Quote from: Mirror Image on June 14, 2022, 02:29:20 PM
Alright, thanks, Jeffrey. Like you, I own two recordings of the 2nd symphony. I own around 12 recordings of his music, but I added some more today, which I'll post in the 'Purchases' thread momentarily. ;)

Excellent John!
(bedtime for me now)

Concerning Alexander Nemtin, who spent 30 years with the sketches and outlines for Scriabin's unfinished Prefatory Action and produced the nearly 3-hour Mysterium: apparently someone published a study of his Concerto for Organ 18-months ago.

Quote

...Nemtin's own musical compositions are much less known to musicians or music lovers. They are written mostly in a traditional style, with predominantly diationic harmonies, their textures follow the vein of Romantic instrumental music with a very moderate implementation of neoclassical and more modernist elements of 20th century music.

Among them is a large-scale work, titled the Concerto for Organ, which was composed in 1963. This composition is for solo organ, although in the large scale of its instrumental texture and the six varied movements comprising its overall formal design, it validates its somewhat extraordinary title. The Concerto for Organ is characterized by extended diatonic harmonies complemented with a large number of dissonant sonorities.

It contains a dialogue with the Baroque style and elements of stylization in the vein of Bach and other Baroque composers. Stylization in the Concerto for Organ is expressed most visibly by its adherence to the genres of the Baroque period – preludes, canons, chorales, arias, ricercars and fugues. Nemtin's Concerto follows an extended tradition of lengthy and massive works for solo organ and organ with orchestra.

Its academic formal qualities, broad use of contrapuntal techniques and adherence to well-known Baroque genres makes it aesthetically closer to the German organ tradition.

In his instrumental composition of a large-scale genre Alexander Nemtin demonstrated himself as a master of large-scale form capable of thinking in categories of massive dramaturgy and philosophic thought. He has established his place in music history not only be creating the completed version of Scriabin's "Prefatory Action," but also with his own musical compositions which continue the tradition of orchestral, vocal and chamber instrumental music by 20th century Russian composers...

See:

https://web.p.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=2782358X&AN=148482558&h=JYdYVV9sPeLo7onAUCB8ivjGK4ZhyGhwkS3O%2fmwU0QP4LCUmjco6hieCH6YLMpAS3LGQxbg2d0bdAPM9PEvHuA%3d%3d&crl=f&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d2782358X%26AN%3d148482558 (https://web.p.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=2782358X&AN=148482558&h=JYdYVV9sPeLo7onAUCB8ivjGK4ZhyGhwkS3O%2fmwU0QP4LCUmjco6hieCH6YLMpAS3LGQxbg2d0bdAPM9PEvHuA%3d%3d&crl=f&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d2782358X%26AN%3d148482558)

The YouTube channel known for rarities has somehow come across the score and a recording of Yevgeny Svetlanov's Symphony from 1954.

I am listening to the  First Movement now: it sounds very Russian in the 19th-century sense.


https://www.youtube.com/v/v_1gnQooK7I

Quote from: Cato on September 10, 2022, 03:22:04 PM
The YouTube channel known for rarities has somehow come across the score and a recording of Yevgeny Svetlanov's Symphony from 1954.

I am listening to the  First Movement now: it sounds very Russian in the 19th-century sense.


https://www.youtube.com/v/v_1gnQooK7I

It also features in the Brilliant Svetlanov set Leo.

Quote from: vandermolen on September 11, 2022, 12:22:26 AM
It also features in the Brilliant Svetlanov set Leo.

Aha!  I will investigate!  Many thanks!

YouTube also offers this tone-poem by Svetlanov:

https://www.youtube.com/v/-29dXY3ZvKI

Quote from: Cato on September 11, 2022, 06:38:00 AM
Aha!  I will investigate!  Many thanks!

YouTube also offers this tone-poem by Svetlanov:

https://www.youtube.com/v/-29dXY3ZvKI

Disc 9 and 10 Leo - you also get the symphonies by Boiko and NYM thrown it + much more:

(//)

A really, *really* late Romantic piano concerto:

https://www.youtube.com/v/67Lsc1ErnrU

Quote from: lordlance on October 13, 2022, 09:17:51 PM
A really, *really* late Romantic piano concerto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Lsc1ErnrU

I really enjoyed it. I bought that CD recently.

Quote from: lordlance on October 13, 2022, 09:17:51 PM
A really, *really* late Romantic piano concerto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Lsc1ErnrU

I remember hearing this work on the ASV label (I think), but it wasn't that special.

Shirvani Chalayev 's Cantata "Pirosmani"on 19 November

(https://sun9-west.userapi.com/sun9-46/s/v1/ig2/8BLNoRnwTDdGZq8cxUQGQ5f0_DpEuNagSKpR7Uwke8tKc4rjHsTT_mXKvGX0Lv1gXJteWy7lSMjmUwERXeqkNM_9.jpg?size=1284x1812&quality=95&type=album)

Good news! At last a performance (and hopefully a future recording) of his 4th Symphony, but I didn't recall it was written for soloists and chorus. Not enticing enough to me. BTW, Popov has his own thread.

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on February 01, 2023, 07:37:32 PMGood news! At last a performance (and hopefully a future recording) of his 4th Symphony, but I didn't recall it was written for soloists and chorus. Not enticing enough to me. BTW, Popov has his own thread.

i will move TNX

I recently heard Bacewicz's Third and Fourth symphonies and liked it. Any other composers in similar vein?

IMHO Krein's family are absolutely underrated
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTQ5MDg1OC4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE2ODM3MjgxNDV9)

(https://i.discogs.com/iDu3ASQtz5_SVSv1kfmh8hsQhmuyrzrbFz6mRoAs1Nk/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:596/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTI3Mzgz/MDM3LTE2ODY3NjEz/NzEtMjg2Ny5qcGVn.jpeg)

Quote from: Roy Bland on July 02, 2023, 07:34:17 PM(https://i.discogs.com/iDu3ASQtz5_SVSv1kfmh8hsQhmuyrzrbFz6mRoAs1Nk/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:596/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTI3Mzgz/MDM3LTE2ODY3NjEz/NzEtMjg2Ny5qcGVn.jpeg)

I wonder why the composer's name was in such small print!

Despite the Ukrainian aspect of the recording here, Wikipedia describes Valeri Kikta as a Russian composer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Kikta (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Kikta)

YouTube offers a few of his works: this one seems intriguing!

A "Scottish" Concerto for Two Harps!


Concerning his Ukrainian connection:

Any recommendations for later Soviet-era composers who flirted with the avant-garde, aside from Alfred Schnittke? I am aware of the reasons why composers of this species might be uncommon, but I suspect Schnittke must not be the only one...

Quote from: vers la flamme on July 07, 2023, 01:15:25 PMAny recommendations for later Soviet-era composers who flirted with the avant-garde, aside from Alfred Schnittke? I am aware of the reasons why composers of this species might be uncommon, but I suspect Schnittke must not be the only one...

I would suggest Rodion Shchedrin, Galina Ustvolskaya, Sofia Gubaidulina, Boris Tishchenko for starters.

Quote from: relm1 on July 07, 2023, 04:59:49 PMI would suggest Rodion Shchedrin, Galina Ustvolskaya, Sofia Gubaidulina, Boris Tishchenko for starters.

Thank you! Any particular works from these composers? I have heard a bit of Gubaidulina and have a couple of her works on CD that I ought to revisit. I don't have a note from any of the others.