20th century unsung soviet period composers

[imirizaldu]

I didn t know Olympia folded ... i have to say i came across most of these composers on a (think) russian download site ... i downloaded a few (i know that this site is against that, but i have no other way of knowing some of this stuff) and then bought a few of the Northern Flowers releases that i sw there ...

[eschiss1]

Oh, and re M. Weinberg's sym 3 (in that much-loved by me key of B minor ), I borrowed a copy of the score years back for a couple of weeks; and was excited to see the announcement lately that a recording has been made- but still haven't heard it...

[Alan Howe]

The new Chandos CD which includes Weinberg's 3rd symphony is superb in every way. And the symphony itself is a winning score - not without its darker moments, but with tunes a-plenty. Weinberg is fast becoming my favourite unsung Soviet composer.

[Christopher]

I suggest a lot of soviet composers (which there is a lot on my channel).
Tikhon Khrennikov - Piano Concerto no.1 and 2, 3 Symphonies and Cello Concerto no.2



Some to mention..

Tony

Tony- do you know of a recording (and availability) of Khrennikov's Cello Concerto No.2?

[Hovite]

Pantcho Vladigerov - Piano Concertos (5), 2 violin Concertos and piano works written op.16 onwards.

Surely he was Bulgarian?

[eschiss1]

good point, if we're expanding to Soviet-bloc this is going to become huge, even staying with music that is in the loose sense Romantic as we usually do.

[alberto]

Re:list in reply 12.
Also Vesselin Stoyanov (1902-1969) was Bulgarian.

[eschiss1]

and isn't "coeval" in that list rather a really painful English translation of a word that means something more like "my contemporaries"? (not one of the better or the worst ever offense ever on that line, of course.)  Re Eiges, just saw his father (Konstantin's) name at Sibley (urresearch.rochester.edu ) ... interesting. (2 Skazki, op.12, now also at IMSLP )

[fyrexia]

I mentioned the bulgarians, since bulgaria was under the "soviet sphere of influence".
As for the Khrennikov. Probably i will re upload it on my channel. As for availablility , i do not have any idea.
My recording is from a recording of a recordingn elsewhere :/

Tony

[eschiss1]

as was the whole Soviet Bloc, in some sense, but not necessarily artistically (e.g. did Polish musical avantgardism - Bacewicz, Lutoslawski, ... only happen after the new Soviet musical loosened atmosphere? and is there historical evidence of a connection? an interesting question,  I think.

[Simon]

Hi,

What do you think of Mikhail Leonidovich Starokadomsky (1901-1954)? I know he wrote a Concerto for Orchestra, an Organ Concerto and a Violin Concerto, and some chamber music as well, but the only thing I've heard of him is his Pieces for bassoon and piano (similar to Prokofiev, IMHO)... Anyone else?

Simon

[Delicious Manager]

It's interesting to see this thread so lively. When I was an honours music degree undergraduate, I chose to present my compulsory thesis on Soviet composers. This was the end of the 1970s when information (and music) was hard to come by. However, a letter from me in Russian to the Union of Soviet Composers yielded the result of a huge package of LPs and booklets (all in Russian) from Moscow that revealed a swathe of music and composers more or less unknown in 'the West' at this time (even the music of Arvo Pärt and Alfred Schnittke - just for example - were still all but unheard outside the USSR).

Some of the composers not yet mentioned who have stuck-out for me include:

Yuri Falik (b 1936)(Russian)(there is a particularly fine Violin Concerto with former Leningrad Phil concertmaster Viktor Lieberman as soloist)
Jaan Rääts (b 1932)(Estonian)
Yuri Shaporin (Russian)(1887-1966)
Sergei Slonimsky (Belarussian)(b 1932)
Boris Tishchenko (Russian)(1939-2010)

A special mention (seconding an earlier post) for Nikolai Roslavets, whose works are gradually surfacing on CD and reveal a stunningly fine composer with a clear and original voice.

[fyrexia]

Jaan Raats is indeed a descent composer. I recomend his symphonies no.3 and 8.
Sergei slonimsky has written over 27 symphonies by day if i am not mistaken, although not type of composer.... his children pieces are excellent !
I have been wandering for years trying to find the piano music by Yuri Shaporin. And have only came to find his piano sonata no.2, performed by Maria Yudina. Its a typical soviet piano work, with hints of scriabin and myaskovsky.

Tony

[imirizaldu]

Tishchenko has a lot of recordings. The Northern Flowers label has a few releases of his. And there is more odf these composer s music available than one would think. Olympia and Melodiya have a lot of releases. Digging a bit, i was surprised by the ampiount of discography available from coomposers as Boris Tchaikovsky, Weinberg, Tishchenko ...

Also, i think Weinberg  spent most his life in the USSR , as he fled from Poland in 1939 if i remember correctly. Russians seem to have adopted him as a "soviet period" composer.

[Delicious Manager]

Also, i think Weinberg  spent most his life in the USSR , as he fled from Poland in 1939 if i remember correctly. Russians seem to have adopted him as a "soviet period" composer.

As a Polish Jew, Weinberg had to get out of Poland. Sadly he was the only one of his family to succeed and the whole of the rest of his family perished at the hands of the Nazis. Shostakovich recognised the young composer's promise and took him under his wing, as well as advocating performances of Weinberg's music. I'm not sure he ever returned to his home country.