20th century unsung soviet period composers

[Amphissa]

I am no great fan of Liszt, but I certainly did not intend to spit in his eye. 

[minacciosa]

I really believe the definition here is getting too narrow. Pretty much any modern composer would term Myaskovsky's transitional and late works romantic, due to the smooth textures, linear melismas and the prevalence of slurs. If we adhere to such a definition with consistency, composers like Florent Schmitt and Alexander Scriabin will be off limits.

[Balapoel]

That said, some of Myaskovsky's music is melodic and lyrical in the best tradition of romanticism, while other works have more complex harmonies and are less melodic. The 4th is among the latter, so it falls outside the purview of UC. Those who are interested can find it over at the other site.

Come on. I agree with Minacciosa, this is getting too restrictive.

[Mark Thomas]

Amphissa's views are his own, not those of the moderators. UC's take on "defining" the romantic in music is unchanged (it's here), and is always tempered with a healthy amount of flexibility.

[Amphissa]

Sigh. I've been slapped down by the mods for wanting to upload music that is clearly melodic and lyrical, like Poulenc's piano concerto. Now I'm slapped around for my caution.

According to the official UC definition of acceptable works, "the restrained employment (if at all) of dissonance, a reliance on 19th century models of harmony and construction and the fundamental importance of melody. Mere tonality, without strong elements of these other characteristics, does not qualify music as being romantic in style."

This is not one of Myaskovsky's later works. The 4th is an early work and you will be hard pressed to find a shred of melody anywhere in it. And although it is not especially dissonant, the harmonies are complex and the piece is largely atonal.

However, if the UC mods decide, after listening to it, that it is appropriate for this forum, I'll gladly add it here.

[eschiss1]

Composed 1917-18 (in part on the WW1 front, I believe, or just after?); premiered 1925; published 1926.  It -is- just a bit late for our 1915 cutoff, I admit. His marginally more popular 5th symphony (recorded at least a half-dozen times, I think, to once (twice?) for symphony 4) - whose own considerable anxious, troubled elements can pass under the radar in some performances, I think - forms something of a (relatively) happier - not twin (they're neither formally nor otherwise alike) but- ... something? Hrm.

I hope anyone who's familiar with e.g. Walker's biography of Liszt, especially certain parts of The Weimar Years, will understand what I meant with my reference above.

[Amphissa]

Myaskovsky's 5th and 6th were much more in the romantic tradition than the 4th. And both have enjoyed multiple recordings. To my knowledge, the only commercial recording of the 4th was Svetlanov's, so this performance by Gergiev is a welcomed rarity.

It was not my intention to re-open the debate here at UC regarding the scope of the forum's purview. I do not have a problem with the definition. There are always going to be works that straddle the line, no matter where the line is drawn. IMO, Myaskovsky's 4th does not straddle the line. I find it interesting with some compelling ideas and a distinctive sound world. It is not dissonant to my ears. But not a romantic work.

If Mark and Alan hear it differently, I'll gladly add it tio the UC archive.

[eschiss1]

I vaguely recall being informed of a plan (from a little while back- mid-1990s maybe?) to record symphonies 4, 14 and 20- at the time the only ones unavailable even on broadcast tapes (some commercially never-recorded symphonies of his were available in that form, anyway; not those three) - on a CD on the label "Boheme Music" out of Moscow - but for whatever reason- maybe the Svetlanov series' appearance, and I would guess that reason - well, that disc seems not to exist. So yep...

[eschiss1]

A very unsung (Bulgarian, not Soviet- is that too outside of this category?... but Soviet-period and Soviet Bloc) composer by whom I've encountered recordings of only a few orchestral works but who seems to have written at least a half-dozen string quartets, etc. would be Boian Georgiev Ikonomov (1900-1973)... I'm definitely curious about the chamber music. I think some local (and not so local...) libraries here have his 2nd string quartet and 2 wind trios of his, which I'll see if I can interloan. Will report back if I succeed in having a look (especially if my impression leads me to a belief that it belongs within R-UC rather than NR-UC.  (R != NR... no no, no math/compsci obscure puns today...) (Hrm. In particular, nearby SUNY Oneonta, which is - or was last I checked - on the limited list of institutions which interloans with my local library - has a copy of his 2nd string quartet (in A, Op.16, pub. 1937.) I'll put in a request for that sometime soon. Right now trying to scan or typeset works by Raff & Moór that I've also interloan/borrowed/etc., but, long story.)