Leokadia Kashperova (1872-1940)

[Christopher]

Here's a new one (on me at any rate) - Leokadia Kashperova, Symphony in B minor played by the BBC Concert Orchestra under Jane Glover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnW3vxVBYCA

I can't find much about her, just a very brief English-language wikipedia entry which says Leokadiya Aleksandrovna Kashperova (1872-1940) was a Russian pianist and Romantic composer. She was the piano teacher of composer Igor Stravinsky - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leokadiya_Kashperova

- and then a footnote to a BBC article entitled "The women erased from musical history" - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1Tg6t6YxdxyYmKykSfWp9cs/the-women-erased-from-musical-history

From Russian online sources (via google translate):

Leokadia Alexandrovna (4 (16) May 1872, in Lyubim in Yaroslavl Province - 3 December 1940, Moscow) - Soviet pianist, composer and teacher. She graduated from St. Petersburg. conservatoire in piano classes (externally, 1893, in 1888-91 studied with A. G. Rubinstein) and composition by H. P. Solovyov (1895). She performed in Russia and abroad as a soloist and ensemble (in a string trio with L. S. Auer and A. V. Verzhbilovich, in a duet with Czech violinist P. Ondřicek). 1-st performer of some works of M. A. Balakirev, A. K. Glazunov, as well as own compopsitions. In 1918 she moved with her husband - prominent revolutionary actor S. Andropov - to Rostov-on-Don, she was a teacher at the Conservatory, she performed in concerts. From 1922 she taught in Moscow. Among her compositions - a symphony, an overture, a cantata "Orvasi", concerto for piano with orchestra, and chamber works including "Russian Serenade" and 2 sonatas for cello and piano; piano pieces, romances. Wrote "Memoirs" and "Memories of A. G. Rubinstein" (published in the collection: "The Musical Heritage", vol. 2, part 2, 1968).  -  https://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enc_music/3530/Кашперова

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks, Christopher. It's an attractive piece in fin de siècle Russian style, although I think Jane Glover's very cautious tempi do it no favours. In our Downloads Board I've placed a recording from the BBC broadcast, and added two shorter orchestral works by women composers from the same concert: Augusta Holmés' punchy Allegro Feroce and Florence Price's rambling Concert Overture No.2. I can find a date only for Holmés' work, and have no movement headings for Kashperova's Symphony I'm afraid.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Would you believe it, the University of Sheffield has a full score and parts of the symphony?! Indeed, it is the only library location given on WorldCat.
I would dearly love to find her piano concerto. Was it ever published, I wonder.

[eschiss1]

FLP Fleisher also has sc & pts for the symphony. Worldcat no longer mentions (or at best says "doesn't have info...") FLP stuff...

[eschiss1]

Andante - Allegro risoluto - Andante
Allegretto scherzando - Presto
Andante
Finale. Andante sostenuto - Molto allegro - Largo.

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks, Eric.

[CorentinBoissier]

I uploaded on the Downloads Board my recording of the live performance of the first movement (only ) from Leokadiya Kashperova's Cello Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op.1 No.1, which was broadcast by the BBC on March 8. It is a very pleasant and sunny work, melodically and harmonically superior to her symphony, in my opinion. A short snippet of the third movement is available on VIMEO ( https://vimeo.com/218447045 ) and the scores of both her cello sonatas are available at IMSLP.

[TerraEpon]

You should really compress it into FLAC format though. WAV is just a waste of space.

[semloh]

>« on: Yesterday at 13:25 »
You should really compress it into FLAC format though. WAV is just a waste of space.

Please see the fixed message at the start of the Downloads board regarding formats!

[semloh]

Although not a masterpiece, I agree with Mark's assessment of the symphony. It's charming, lively, and kept my attention throughout, but would have benefited from a tad more zip from the conductor's baton.  Thank you for making this available to us, Christopher.

Thank you, also, for the information about the composer - rather oddly, she doesn't appear in the New Grove Dictionary of Women Composers.

[Justin]

Boosey & Hawkes Publishing Co. dates the symphony to 1904-5, just for reference.

Also, the Medizinerorchester Bern is set to perform the symphony in Switzerland on the 30th (Biel) and 31st (Bern) of January, 2021.

[sdtom]

Only being a couple of years behind I just read the thread and downloaded the symphony. I found it to be quite pleasant although I do agree it lags in tempi in parts. I do find it one that I'll pass on to Naxos and see if they have any interest in it at all.

[Alan Howe]

More information here:
https://www.city.ac.uk/news/2018/march/leokadiya-kashperova-bbc-radio-3-forgotten-female-composers

[CorentinBoissier]

I just recorded and uploaded in the Downloads section a recording of her Cello Sonata No. 2 in E minor broadcast by the BBC on March 12.
I see that her first cello sonata, whose I had uploaded a recording of the first movement only, is now available on the BBC as a Classical Music Digital Archive:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07vlcqf
Unfortunately it turns out that it can't be listened from France (and probably from many other countries). Could one of you Brits out there record it and upload it in the Downloads section?...

[Mark Thomas]

I'm on the job Correntin, and will post it as soon as I have it

The movement headings for the four movements of the Second Sonata, by the way, are:

I. Allegro appassionato
II. Andante
III. Scherzo (Presto)
IV. Finale (Allegro maestoso)