Blumenfeld Symphony in C minor

[Alan Howe]

Want to hear a symphony in line of descent from Tchaikovsky's 6th? I can suggest none better than the Symphony in C minor, Op.39 "To the Beloved Dead" (1907), by Felix Blumenfeld. Until recently I had no idea of the existence of an admittedly rather poorly recorded performance on Russian Disc, conducted by Igor Golovchin, but it is well worth hunting down a second-hand copy. If you do, you'll be rewarded with a 33-minute Tchaikovskian wallow. Very enjoyable indeed.

[eschiss1]

Seconded!

The low-treading opening to the first movement is simple, striking, and if I may say, an earworm (at least, it stuck in my ear awhile later in one of those "this is really good but who wrote it???" ways- I haven't heard Blumenfeld's etudes or anything else by him, so don't have a handle on his style, and tried to see if it was in Tchaikovsky's Manfred or in Paderewski's symphony before hearing the Blumenfeld again- anyway!) ... the rest of the work, in two linked pairs of movements, is very good in general! (The other most memorable part of the symphony, I think, is the opening of its scherzo. Not to deprecate the rest of the work, just that in some sense the very opening of the symphony and the main theme of the scherzo may be what catch a listener on first acquaintance. Or may not
Eric

[wunderkind]

Thanks!  Found a used copy at Amazon.com - there are a few available.

Sounds like this is right up my listening alley!

[JimL]

I've always liked the Blumenfeld Concert Allegro in A, which is coupled with the Napravnik Concerto Symphonique on Hyperion.

[Hovite]

I haven't heard Blumenfeld's etudes or anything else by him, so don't have a handle on his style

He also contributed the opening Sarabande for the quartet collection Les Vendredis (the composers of the other 15 items included Borodin, Glazunov, Liadov, and Rimsky-Korsakov).

There is more information on him here:

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

[Marcus]

I love the Blumenfeld Symphony Alan. Reminiscent of Paderewski's B minor, Rachmaninov's 1st, Liapunov & Tchaikowsky.
In a nutshell, typical  russian drama & melancholia, but very effective with colourful orchestral writing, and if you collect russian romantic symphonies, you will enjoy this one.
I do hope that another interpretation will become available on Cd soon.
Marcus.

[Alan Howe]

It needs Sinaisky to do it for Chandos....

[izdawiz]

 Hey guys,

Yes Alan, Eschiss1, Marcus, I also have a liking to  the Blumenfeld's Symphony. a better recording would it feel even more  dramatic yes eventhough it might not be the best recording .. it is the only one  out there for  now. .  the coupling on the russian disc@ lable wasn't really memroble to me .. I could have just not have paid to much attention to it. As i did for the Blumenfeld Symphony  which was the reason for me buying the CD a few years back.  I still see my self  coming back to it because it's got somthing in it that makes it intriguing and making me go back to it evey so often.

-izdawiz*

[eschiss1]

Hey guys,

Yes Alan, Eschiss1, Marcus, I also have a liking to  the Blumenfeld's Symphony. a better recording would it feel even more  dramatic yes eventhough it might not be the best recording .. it is the only one  out there for  now. .  the coupling on the russian disc@ lable wasn't really memroble to me .. I could have just not have paid to much attention to it. As i did for the Blumenfeld Symphony  which was the reason for me buying the CD a few years back.  I still see my self  coming back to it because it's got somthing in it that makes it intriguing and making me go back to it evey so often.

-izdawiz*

Shebalin's concertino is probably not his best work in my honest opinion. His string quartets (available on Olympia before the demise of that label), especially nos. 4 to 9, find that (I think much much underrated) composer in far better form, with veins of lyricism and emotion worthy of a student of Myaskovsky.  The 9th quartet, written I gather after his stroke?, recalls Myaskovsky's first quartet of 30 years earlier in its hints of Berg (maybe???) at the opening - well, there's something dissonantly expressionistic about it, in a still Russian Romantic context.  I find them pretty remarkable pieces, anyway. I've also heard the Borodin quartet's recording of no. 5 from an older LP, which is unsurprisingly wonderfully done; a remastering of that would be great.

His five numbered symphonies are pretty good too. Anyhow, there is more to Shebalin than that concertino; please pardon my ramble.
I know nothing about Banshchikov.
Eric