I just learned that Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov has died!
The only substantial obituary I have found so far is in Russian: it has a very nice picture, and a link to an excerpt of War and Peace directed by Sergey Bondarchuk in the 1960's. From what I have found, not one Western newspaper has reported this.
https://www.svoboda.org/a/29751193.html (https://www.svoboda.org/a/29751193.html)
Two weeks ago I had written to NAXOS about considering a CD dedicated to his works.
No reply!
Talk Classical has a kind of YouTube Memorial for Ovchinnikov:
https://www.talkclassical.com/50082-vyacheslav-aleksandrovich-ovchinnikov-born.html?fbclid=IwAR31eUewO9cxCnBD2boHXaWtIULDZTAIowgmkQBU3VvnZyab9n0PXyaRLLY (https://www.talkclassical.com/50082-vyacheslav-aleksandrovich-ovchinnikov-born.html?fbclid=IwAR31eUewO9cxCnBD2boHXaWtIULDZTAIowgmkQBU3VvnZyab9n0PXyaRLLY)
For the life of me, I had no idea he was still alive ???. For some reason I always thought he had died many years ago. A cd of his works is certainly a good idea. I'll write to Naxos, too. Who knows ?
Edit: email sent. Sort of feels like throwing a bottle at sea...
RIP. I was a big fan of his Symphony No. 1. :(
Indeed. A masterpiece IMO.
Sad news indeed and thanks Leo for letting us know. I shall play his terrific score for 'War and Peace' in tribute. The only symphony I know is No.2 for string orchestra which I had on an old Melodiya LP. I wish there was more.
No.1 sounds wonderful having sampled the link above.
A laconic obituary (a translation of a small report from the Russian Times) has this information:
http://www.tellerreport.com/life/--composer-vyacheslav-ovchinnikov-will-be-buried-at-troyekurovsky-cemetery-.HyMrOwePEE.html (http://www.tellerreport.com/life/--composer-vyacheslav-ovchinnikov-will-be-buried-at-troyekurovsky-cemetery-.HyMrOwePEE.html)
Here's the reply I got from Naxos:
Quote
Envoyé de mon iPad
Le 6 févr. 2019 à 19:59, Naxos Customer Service <customer.service@naxos.com> a écrit :
##- Please type your reply above this line -##
Your request (#61497) has been solved. To reopen this request, reply to this email or click the link below:
http://naxos.zendesk.com/hc/requests/61497
Here's a reminder of what your ticket was about:
Kryshia Tabang (Naxos Customer Service)
Feb 7, 8:59 AM HKT
Dear Mr. ..........,
Many thanks for your suggestion.
We have added your recommendation to our repertoire suggestions list which will be sent to our A&R manager at the end of the month.
Should you have any further concerns, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Have a good day!
Warmest regards,
Kryshia Tabang
Customer Service
Naxos Digital Services Ltd.
Customer.Service@naxos.com
Feb 7, 8:46 AM HKT
------------------
Submitted from: Naxos.com
This email is a service from Naxos Customer Service.
[9369VR-6OGO]
From what I could glean with my (very rudimentary Russian), Ovchinnikov was taken to a hospital about two weeks ago with an ailment.
Here is an interview with him about music and working with several famous directors, e.g. Bondarchuk and Tarkovsky. He has some curious comments about how "concrete music" and "aleatoric" techniques were both used first by Russian composers, not by the "Poles" or anyone else in the West.
https://www.youtube.com/v/20HCFNcdvK4&fbclid=IwAR3LYkhY6dSazydLvHcXVbHNwEa2ciqXzgJ2gW8Y6Xn_SIw4Z_jxMgtyU3g
Can't play the video over here but thanks to you I played the excellent Symphony 1 today. The first movement ends in the same way as does his great score to 'War and Peace'.
Quote from: vandermolen on February 08, 2019, 02:19:05 PM
Can't play the video over here but thanks to you I played the excellent Symphony 1 today. The first movement ends in the same way as does his great score to 'War and Peace'.
Is there a copyright problem?
Try this: A tribute to
Ovchinnikov by the Harvard Film Archive from 2006.
https://library.harvard.edu/film/films/2006spring/ovchinnikov.html (https://library.harvard.edu/film/films/2006spring/ovchinnikov.html)
Quote from: Cato on February 08, 2019, 04:08:20 PM
Is there a copyright problem?
Try this: A tribute to Ovchinnikov by the Harvard Film Archive from 2006.
https://library.harvard.edu/film/films/2006spring/ovchinnikov.html (https://library.harvard.edu/film/films/2006spring/ovchinnikov.html)
Thanks Leo.
It says that it has been 'blocked by Mosfilm' maybe a symptom in the current breakdown in Anglo/Russian relations. I emailed Melodiya suggesting that they release Ovchinnikov's symphonies 1 and 2 on CD as a memorial tribute. I'm unlikely to receive a reply.
What a shame that Brilliant didn't include either of these or Miaskovsky's 27th Symphony in the two Alexander Gauk boxed sets released a while back.
In the meantime I can console myself with the 'War and Peace' soundtrack which I was thrilled to track down on CD recently.
Mrs. Cato and I finished Sergei Bondarchuk's 4-part version of War and Peace with the great score by Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov!
This is the restored version recently completed by MosFilm and released by The Criterion Collection.
So much excellent music, and the soundtrack (still NOT on a CD) extracted decades ago is better than nothing, but there are many wonderful sections which are unavailable, unless one owns the complete movie.
5-star recommendation: the complexities of filming re-creations of the Battles of Austerlitz and Borodino must have been equal to the actual complexities of the battles themselves. The ballroom scenes and the evacuation and burning of Moscow are marvels, along with many other more intimate sections with one or two characters.
[asin]B07PRZP38H[/asin]
Quote from: Cato on July 25, 2019, 05:35:05 AM
Mrs. Cato and I finished Sergei Bondarchuk's 4-part version of War and Peace with the great score by Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov!
This is the restored version recently completed by MosFilm and released by The Criterion Collection.
So much excellent music, and the soundtrack (still NOT on a CD) extracted decades ago is better than nothing, but there are many wonderful sections which are unavailable, unless one owns the complete movie.
5-star recommendation: the complexities of filming re-creations of the Battles of Austerlitz and Borodino must have been equal to the actual complexities of the battles themselves. The ballroom scenes and the evacuation and burning of Moscow are marvels, along with many other more intimate sections with one or two characters.
[asin]B07PRZP38H[/asin]
Very interesting news Leo. I will look out for that although like 2001: A Space Odyssey it really needs to be seen at the cinema. I do have the soundtrack on CD:
(//)
Quote from: vandermolen on July 25, 2019, 11:42:50 AM
Very interesting news Leo. I will look out for that although like 2001: A Space Odyssey it really needs to be seen at the cinema. I do have the soundtrack on CD:
(//)
True, but...the reality is that such an achievement will be mainly ignored by the generations obsessed with screens measuring 2x4 inches.
Speaking of soundtracks, here is a half-hour interview with
Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov on his work with
Andrei Tarkovsky.https://www.youtube.com/v/20HCFNcdvK4