Vladimir Sokalsky

[Alan Howe]

Has anyone come across this composer?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Sokalsky
His rather lovely Symphony in G minor of 1894 can be heard here (in a 1955 recording with the State Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Natan Rakhlin):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXpgwk6fgFg

[Mark Thomas]

Just found this myself, not 10 minutes ago on YouTube, by following up there Santo's reference to Arkady Filippenko!

[Alan Howe]

Great minds...

[Mark Thomas]

rather lovely Symphony

Hmm, well yes up to a point, IMHO. Sokalsky could certainly pen an attractive Russian/Ukrainian-style tune and orchestrate it with lavish amounts of Rimskian colour. What I don't think he could do very well was develop his material, so his over-reliance on sequence to keep things going makes this longish work amongst the most repetitive I've heard in a long time. It's a bit unfair to pass judgement on Sokalsky's Symphony without hearing it freed of the constraints of the typically thin Soviet (presumably Melodiya) 1950s recording, but on this showing he could have more profitably used his material to create an enjoyable 20 minute suite, rather than this Symphony of twice that length.

[Christopher]

Another interesting case of Russian or Ukrainian! English-language wikipedia page says "Russian composer". German-language one says "Ukrainian composer".  Ukrainian-language one says "Ukrainian composer". Russian-language one says just "composer"!

I have the Melodiya LP and I rather like this symphony.  The only other pieces of his I have been able to find a recording of are:

- Elegiac andante for cello and piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdGxas6Uu3c

- Canzonetta for violin and piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E0CpMtTD6s (twinned with Jenkinson's "Elves Dance"...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPQY1isqBbQ - for violin ensemble and violin

Song "Golden Rays of Sunset"
https://youtu.be/DGkDMb2JIZI

Little Bird (solo piano)
https://youtu.be/nDLLMXRF86E
https://youtu.be/HQZ0jiM0mn0

Souvenir du passe (solo piano)
https://youtu.be/-OCTJnwjcsk

Elegy (violin and piano)
https://youtu.be/gJ77o4wBzMo


Most of the above appear to be school concert recordings, with the exception of the "Little Bird" piece (less than a minute long, very cute).

His uncle Petro (1832-1887) was also a composer - https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Сокальський_Петро_Петрович (in Ukrainian, use google translate... - the equivalent German-language page calls him a "Russian composer"...!)
Just songs on youtube, eg:
https://youtu.be/7g2EX5NBQdE - "Do I hear the sounds of song?"
https://youtu.be/-HH0d6cr1sM - "I fell in love with a Cossack"

[eschiss1]

Is he the same as Vladimir Ivanovich Sokalsky who also wrote some piano works (Mazurka, Canzonetta, etc.) published by Laudy and others around the turn of the century? Perhaps they show him in a better light. (Which wouldn't be an insult if so. Then again, it's possible they don't show him in any better light.) All we have @ IMSLP at present is a elegy for cello and piano.)

[eschiss1]

Thanks for the link to the Elegiac Andante on YouTube, have added it to the page @ IMSLP.

[eschiss1]

The violin and piano elegy (in C minor) may be by Pyotr/Pedro Sokalsky rather than Vladimir - see here (assuming that the new edition of the work is attributing the work properly...)

[Alan Howe]

I agree with Mark about the Symphony. Lovely, but it does go on a bit. Lengths, yes; heavenly, no.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Precisely my feeling. It began well and there are some enjoyable melodies - but they do go on... and on... which is a pity.

[semloh]

For me, the symphony is like a visit from the grandchildren: truly delightful for quite some time! Grandparents will know what I mean. 

[Gauk]

I'm baffled by this piece. So far as I can recall, I have never heard of Vladimir Sokalsky, yet this symphony is extremely familiar. It's not just that it reminds me of another work, I can hum along with it (except the finale). It's as though the orchestra has recorded another work by mistake, but I can't think what. Or is there another work that uses the same themes?

[Christopher]

His uncle Petro (1832-1887) was also a composer - https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Сокальський_Петро_Петрович (in Ukrainian, use google translate... - the equivalent German-language page calls him a "Russian composer"...!)
Just songs on youtube, eg:
https://youtu.be/7g2EX5NBQdE - "Do I hear the sounds of song?"
https://youtu.be/-HH0d6cr1sM - "I fell in love with a Cossack"

These two pieces - Waltz and Tarantella -  by PETRO Sokalsky for solo piano have just been posted on youtube -  - https://youtu.be/R-cqCa3OaaI  (soloist Anatoliy Hudko)

[chriss]

I've discovered this ukrainian composer yesterday for the first time. The symphony is not a masterpiece, it's perhaps too long. But it is melodic and uplifting. Would be wonderful to hear this in a modern recording with a good orchestra.