Here's a new thread for modern Russian composers from the last century (I'm being a bit selfish and keeping the original thread focused on contemporary composers).
Kullervo wrote: "What about Mosolov? I've heard bits of his piano music and it sounds pretty intriguing. Anyone more familiar with him?"
Mosolov's Iron Foundry 1936 recording under Julius Ehrlich can be downloaded here
http://www.damians78s.34sp.com/records.htm (http://www.damians78s.34sp.com/records.htm)
And for those whose cravings for steelworks can't be satiated by 70 year old recording, here is another slightly fresher one:
Alexander Mosolov - Iron Foundry
LA Philharmonic / Esa-Pekka Salonen
From FM broadcast of concert given on 25.05.2007 (3.1 MB @ 128 Kbps)
http://rapidshare.com/files/44434069/Mosolov_-_Iron_Foundry.mp3.html (http://rapidshare.com/files/44434069/Mosolov_-_Iron_Foundry.mp3.html)
This could be a fascinating thread, but getting good and recent information is still difficult, I think;
Alexander Mosolov's music is not well represented. i have an old Melodya CD with Zavod ( great, wild performance under Svetlanov) ,coupled with choruses " Front road" and "Collective farm meadows" - rather bland ,but well performed by the Russian RTV chorus under Nicolai Kutuzov. The most interesting work is pianoconcerto nr 1 op.14 ( ca 1926)- a repetitive & percussive piece - Rusudan Chuntsaria ,piano : Vladimir kozhukar cond. the USSR Symph.Orch. The CD I have is not dated - but these recordings dat propably back to the 1960-1970-ies.
Michael Rudy performed a second pianoconcerto some years ago in Paris .
the CD leaflet mentions 5suites for orchestra, concertos for harp and cello, 6 symphonies ,two operas and chambermusic.... it is clear that we have a very limited view of Mosolov. Zavod is announced as a ballet for Bolshoi - but i can hardly imagine that it is the complete work - at 2.51 mins! There's propably more.
Leon Mouraviev (1905-1987) lived most of his life in Paris. I have a little but very beautiful piece by him " Nativité" for string trio and string orchestra. But for the rest - ??? a mystery.
Nicholai Obouhov is another fascinating artist. He wrote the most amazing works between ca 1915 and 1950. Mysticism , Russian Cosmism (??), experiment and deep religious feeling combine in really difficult music. Pianoclusters, singing and speaking voices, organ, Theremin, bells and incantatory choruses...I wtnessed the performance of two works at the Holland festival (2003-2006) and was totaly bowled over by the strangeness of this music ( Le troisième et dernier Testament - 1918). Ives, Messiaen and Xenakis come to mind , but Obouhov's extasis is totaly is own creation.
so far for today...
See yoy all tomorrow.
Peter
Alexander Lokshin is worth hearing too. Dark, harrowing symphonies, often including vocal parts. Quite a few of them are recorded, however I've heard only one and don't even remember which number it was ::) Good website here where you can listen:
http://www.lokshin.org/
Tishchenko adores him and has used Lokshin's works as examples while teaching his own students.
I have the same Mossolov CD--the Svetlanov recording of Iron Foundry is stunning, far superior to Riccardo Chailly's.
As far as I know, the 3-minute Iron Foundry was one episode from a projected ballet that was never completed.
I'll have to investigate to Oboubov--are CD's of his works available?
Another essential name would be Gavriil Popov. In my opinion early Popov is more interesting than late. 1st Symphony, Chamber Symphony, Symphonic Suite No.1 are the pieces to go for, 2nd Symphony sufferes a bit from excess rethoric but is it wartime piece so it's tolerable, 6th was something of a letdown for me but still interesting, haven't listened to the 5th so far. There were three Olympia disc devoted to his music (1st & 2nd, Chamber Sym & 6th, Sym. Suite & 5th) but oop and quite rare these days.
As far as I know, nothing of importance by Obouhov was recorded. But then, possibly, nothing of importance is available in print.
I wrote following lines when the performance of "Troisième et dernier Testament" was announced :
I really thought that it would NOT happen, but Dutch musicologist /journalist Elmer Schoenberger continues his exploration of the compositions by Nikolaj Obouchov (Moscou 1892 - Paris 1954).
Much is unclear about this composer who signed some of his compositions with "Nicholas l'Extasié" (Nicholas the Extatic).
He came to France in 1918 and was a pupil of Nicolai Tcherepnin. He met Maurice Ravel , Serge Koussevitsky and the pianist Marie Antoinette de Broglie.
His life is not well documented and many questions remain unsolved: is it true that he wrote some scores in his own blood? What is the true character of his private, deeply religous universe? Where was/is he burried? He designed and had an electrical instrument built (La croix sonore) .But apparently only one photograph survives. (the Paris opera museum was credited for a long time to have such an instrument)...
The truth just may be more prozaic : as with many talented and art-obsessed creators he neglected his wife and child and was not very good at getting his work performed - inspite of his famous friends! Sergei Prokofiev noted in his diary that he was deeply impressed by 'Préface au Livre de Vie" (Preface to the Book of life")
Two years ago, this "Préface" was resurrected by Elmer Schoenberger at the Holland Festival. I witnessed that concert (at the Concertgebouw) and can only tell you that it was an extraordinary experience.
Let it be clear for the lovers of Rococo-, early- or -late Romantic music, sweet melodies and comforting sounds : this is not for you!
In Obouchovs tormented Russian soul, boils a cauldron of extreme,monumental music that is very rare for its time : ca 1910-1920. Schoenberger sees in Obouchov the missing link between Scriabin and Messiaen.
Roughly 60 opuses remain, many of them different versions of the same piece and his Magnum Opus (literaly so); Le livre de Vie ;
Schoenberger claims that : Le livre de Vie is not an ordinary composition. it is the musical articulation of a deeply felt religious conviction. It is an "Action sacrée" a sacred action- that ,if possible should be performed in a Temple -the musicians beeing the celebrants, the audience the co-celebrants. Obouchov's sees himself as the "Opener" of divine powers -through mystic extasis.
The texts are based on the Bible (Revelations and Apocryphal books).
"Livre de Vie " has never been performed in its entirity. Schoenberger,who studied the scores in Paris (bibliothèque Nationale), estimates that the whole work may last up to 8 or 10 hours. It is divided in 4 parts (4 books of ca 800 pages) and accompanied by a kind of portable "explanation" ,consisting of large cartons with drawings, amulets,charms and mystical, handwritten texts.
Some parts of the score( orchestra,chorus,soloists and Croix sonore) may be almost unperformable.... The vocal lines have more than extreme tessitura, the omni-present pianists need more than 2 hands and 20 fingers,there is the Croix Sonore...(propably built on the basis of a Theremin)
This will never be "popular" music - it really is extreme. But that Obouchov speaks & thinks in an original language is undeniable.
After "Testament" I wrote:
Last year already, Dutch composer/journalist Elmer Schoenberger, had a fragment (The Prelude) performed of Nikolai Obouchov's magnum opus, "Le livre de Vie" – The book of life. Apparently Obouchov worked on it for many years ,never finishing the megalomaniac project . During his lifetime only small sections were performed. Moreover, he kept changing the instrumentation, or reworked complete sections in different versions. The Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris keeps the imposing books and it will take years before everything has been cleared out....For Schoenberger it has become a work of love and history of music, for he sees Obouchov as a missing link between Scriabin and Messiaen.
What I heard last Saturday, "Le troisième et dernier testament" (The third and last testament) (1946) comes close to Messiaen – complex & grand,combined with something like Ivesian toughness – Propably ,by 1940-1942, Obouchov knew some organworks by Messiaen. Still, he has his own voice, and it is not an easy one. Instrumental and vocal lines cross & divide, extatic solos alternate with intricate polyphonic combinations.
This section from "Le livre" ( about 35 minutes in lenght and one of three versions) is scored for mammoth forces : 5 voices, including a super-soprano of Wagnerian stamina ( "the Bride of God and God himself"), a very large orchestra , two solo pianos, an organ and Obouchov's own version of the Theremin, La croix Sonore ( the sonorous cross). Thereministe extraordinaire, Lydia Kavina, has re-created such an instrument ( a Theremin in the form of a cross, based on a large glass ball, at the center of the cross a crystal star that lights up...).We had bad luck – the thing did not work and had to be replaced in extremis by an ordinary Theremin...capable of swooning & crooning sounds that made the Hall shudder.
It is too early to make a clear verdict on Obouchov. We know too little .But he definitely is an inspired original – possibly confused and hindered by his extreme religious beliefs????
It is a ritual, set off by a stroke on a large bell, unleashing an unstoppable "stream of consciousness".Inspired by the Bible, Obouchov's own text is a plea, an invocation for universal love through Divine love .
In the program booklet, Elena Poldieva calls it "Russian cosmism" and speaks of "Sobornost" (a collective spiritual or artistic experience) .
I felt exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. In these times of banality and uniformity, there is still music that can astonish .The Amsterdam audience (very international) –used to even more extreme artistic utterances- reacted with enthusiasm.
Yet another "eccentric" is Iwan Vyshnegradsky (°1893 -1980) who is mainly known for his research on quarter tones. During one of the mentioned concerts in Amsterdam, his "La journée de l'existence - confession de la Vie ,devant la Vie" was performed ( The day of existence - Confession of Life, in front of Life)
It is a full hour long melodrama for speaking voice , large orchestra and a chorus (only in the last section). In spite of Alexey Tarasov's stentorian qualities and conductor Pascal Rophé's splendid work with the( very Scriabinesque) orchestra, this pompous opus left me totally unmoved and...exhausted... ( From the darkness of Existence's Night, appears the Day...The divine fire of consciousness...etc etc etc)
(http://www.xs4all.nl/~huygensf/pics/wyschnegradsky.jpg)
Now we have to wait for (more & better) recordings of sergey Protopopov, Arthur Lourié, alexander Roslavetz...
I was about to add Wyschnegradsky but I see pjme has already mentioned him! A most interesting composer, though I have not heard "The day of existence", but the microtonal piano preludes and some songs for tenor (microtonal?) and piano (microtonal of course). The sound of these pieces can be quite absorbing since it is so strange and different from most other music.
I agree, even if I have heard only very few works by Wyschnegradsky ( pieces for two pianos,tuned in quartertones) As far as I could/can judge, "Journée de l'existence" sounded tonal - maybe a late work?
Some of Obouhov piano music (7 Prayers. to be more precise) is available on Jenny Lin's 'Preludes to a Revolution' disc on Hanssler along with preludes by Anatol Liadov, Reinhold Gliere, Alexander Scriabin, Samuel Feinberg, Nikolai Roslavetz, Alexei Stanchinsky, Arthur Vincent Lourié, Anatoli Alexandrov and Ivan Wyschnegradsky
Here is one of Obouhov's Prayers played by Jenny Lin for sample
http://rapidshare.com/files/44630632/Nikolai_Obouhov_-_Prayer_IV.wma.html (http://rapidshare.com/files/44630632/Nikolai_Obouhov_-_Prayer_IV.wma.html)
(http://www.haenssler-classic.de/fileadmin/mediafiles/scm_shopproduct2/Bilder/gross/098480000.jpg)
Some time should be spent discussing Sofia Guibadulina, composer of so many beautiful works. When I have more free time I'll try to contribute; until then, I am sure some of you have heard of her and her compositions.
Quote from: Drasko on July 22, 2007, 11:32:17 AM
Mosolov's Iron Foundry 1936 recording under Julius Ehrlich can be downloaded here
http://www.damians78s.34sp.com/records.htm (http://www.damians78s.34sp.com/records.htm)
Shucks! I only spotted your link now, and it seems "Socialist realism" has been removed from that site only yesterday! :'(
Could anyone upload that somewhere?
Please?
Quote from: uffeviking on July 23, 2007, 08:10:41 PM
Some time should be spent discussing Sofia Guibadulina, composer of so many beautiful works. When I have more free time I'll try to contribute; until then, I am sure some of you have heard of her and her compositions.
Lis, you'll like this (the companion thread):
Contemporary Russian composers (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,2312.0.html)
Quote from: Maciek on July 24, 2007, 02:26:19 PM
Shucks! I only spotted your link now, and it seems "Socialist realism" has been removed from that site only yesterday! :'(
Could anyone upload that somewhere? Please?
Here
http://rapidshare.com/files/44838392/SocReal.rar.html (http://rapidshare.com/files/44838392/SocReal.rar.html)
info on the performances is in ID3v2 Tag Comment of the Meytuss piece
You're the greatest! :D 8)
Quote from: pjme on July 23, 2007, 08:19:18 AM
As far as I know, nothing of importance by Obouhov was recorded. But then, possibly, nothing of importance is available in print.
There are a couple of interesting piano pieces to download at IMSLP...
Hope it's alright to bump a bit of an aged thread, but i hope people are aware of Jay Gottlieb's superb CD of Obouhov's piano works, released last year? It's by far the most significant Obouhov release to date - not that there are many as yet! His name has been spelt Nicolas Obouhow, which may mean it gets missed from some people's radars; Amazon has it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Obouhow-Piano-Works-Jay-Gottlieb/dp/B003VPG8C0.
All the music on the disc is also now readily available as sheet music - the publication seems to have been designed to coincide with & accompany Gottlieb's CD release. Di-arezzo have it here: http://www.di-arezzo.co.uk/sheet+music/classical+score/sheet+music-for-piano/LEMOI04174.html.
One can only hope that more of Obouhov's music might begin to surface; with my conductor hat on, i'd love to take on some of his music. i'm hoping to include a performance of the 4 songs for voice & piano in one my ensemble's concerts at some point (they've been orchestrated by someone), & i'm also considering orchestrating some of the piano works.
Quote from: 5against4 on July 20, 2011, 05:14:49 AM
Hope it's alright to bump a bit of an aged thread
Always a great idea. In fact, it is encouraged! Thanks for bumping this one up. :)
An Obukhov rarity has been around on the web etc. but became available on you-t just a few days ago: the large work
"Le Troisieme et Dernier Testament", probably the first work to include electronics in the orchestra (1946):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOTRsrk5rH8
The piano works on you-t also seem magnificent, rather Scriabin-like.
There´s also a lot more Mosolov available now than mentioned earlier in this thread. If you like Bartok´s piano concertos, you´ll probably like his too.
Yuri Khanen anyone?
Quote from: snyprrr on January 11, 2012, 07:14:18 AM
Yuri Khanen anyone?
Never heard of him. Here's some:
http://intoclassics.net/news/2009-05-24-6100
link to music http://files.mail.ru/BJN2CC
Never heard of him, though I try to keep myself updated. Sounds interesting, judging from the wikipedia article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Khanon
The title of one of his mentioned works, ""Five Smallest Orgasms", op.29 (1986) ..."written in response to Scriabin's "Poem of Ecstasy" and recorded by Olympia sounds ... erm ... very unusual :-X. I don´t know of a similar case of a provocative title. Other titles seem to reflect critical and philosophical thinking in various ways, apparently inspired by Satie.
There seems to be quite a lot on you-t, with Russian spelling, for instance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DeBdgNpCe8
There he is spelled "Khanin".
I'd love to know what you all think of his YT output. I think it's ridiculous and mad! :o ;D
A very positive review in the Apr. 15th
Wall Street Journal of
Maximilian Steinberg's Passion Week:
An excerpt:
Quote...the opening verses of the alleluia of "Passion Week," intoned in Church Slavonic by one of Cappella's stentorian bass voices, seemed to portend another dose of the ensemble's usual hieratic Byzantine and Russian austerity. But it was immediately and surprisingly soothed by soaring high harmonies from an all-star lineup of sopranos who also sing in choir-crazed Portland's other top choruses and vocal ensembles. In fact, the entire "Passion Week," which lasted about an hour, proved unexpectedly gentle, sometimes even lush, occasionally delicate, graced by intermittent dissonances and touches of counterpoint.
Steinberg mostly chose texts (and wrote appropriate music) that focused less on the dark drama that drives J.S. Bach's Passion settings and instead emphasized enlightenment and exaltation. In the troparion "When the Glorious Disciples," when Judas is "stricken and darkened with the love of money," glowering bass tones overwhelm the ethereal sopranos. Later, at "I shall arise and be glorified," the music suddenly surges from gently consoling to assertive and joyous. Though it requires highly skilled singers (particularly basses and sopranos) familiar with Orthodox idioms, it's easy to imagine parts of "Passion Week" being used in both secular and sacred choral settings.
It might even spark a rediscovery of its composer, who was later overshadowed by his contemporaries. "Part of the joy of this piece is discovering more about Steinberg himself," says Mr. Lingas, who plans a return to St. Petersburg for further study. "He wrote some very fine music, so highly valued by his contemporaries."
See:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303663604579501311292027666?mg=reno64-wsj (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303663604579501311292027666?mg=reno64-wsj)
Quote from: Cato on April 15, 2014, 03:40:21 AM
A very positive review in the Apr. 15th Wall Street Journal of Maximilian Steinberg's Passion Week:
An excerpt:
See:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303663604579501311292027666?mg=reno64-wsj (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303663604579501311292027666?mg=reno64-wsj)
Amazon has two DGG CD's of the first two symphonies: according to a reviewer the plan to record all of the symphonies was dropped. They are out-of-print, but are available used.
[asin]B000026D06[/asin]
May 12, 2023 at the Magnitogorsk State Conservatory named after M.I. Glinka for the first time will host the Russian-Chinese music festival "Art-stream".
The main goal of the festival is the international promotion of the best traditions of Russian professional music education, the popularization of Russian musical art, the strengthening of cultural and educational ties between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China.
The festival will open with a plenary session and a scientific conference "Russian Musical Art: Chinese View", which will be attended by officials, musicologists from Russia and China, teachers working with Chinese students in creative universities in Russia. Students and young scientists from China will present the results of their research on Russian music.
The problems of pedagogical and organizational support for Chinese students in the process of their professional education in Russian universities of the arts will be devoted to the round table "Problems of integrating Chinese students into the system of professional music education in the Russian Federation", which will be attended by officials, leading musicologists of Russia and China, teachers and musicians.
At the end of the festival, there will be a concert "Russia and China: Musical Bridge", which will feature works by Russian and Chinese composers performed by students from the two countries, teachers and creative teams of the Magnitogorsk State Conservatory named after M.I. Glinka.
The Russian-Chinese Music Festival "Art Potok" is held on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Magnitogorsk State Conservatory - the youngest musical university in Russia. It is expected that it will become a landmark cultural event in the Southern Urals and open up new prospects for comprehensive and fruitful cultural and educational cooperation between Russia and China
(https://muzobozrenie.ru/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/rus_ch_fest_600.jpg)
(https://muzobozrenie.ru/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/progr_fest_1920.jpg)