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Old December 12th, 2015 #1
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Modest Mussorgsky - the piano suite "Pictures at an Exhibition"




Ilya Repin's celebrated portrait of Mussorgsky, painted 2–5 March 1881, only a few days before the composer's death.


"Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881) - (Russian: Модест Петрович Мусоргский) was a Russian composer. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period. He strove to achieve a uniquely Russian musical identity, often in deliberate defiance of the established conventions of Western music.

Many of his works were inspired by Russian history, Russian folklore, and other nationalist themes. Such works include the opera Boris Godunov, the orchestral tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, and the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition."

"Pictures at an Exhibition (Russian: Картинки с выставки – Воспоминание о Викторе Гартмане, Pictures from an Exhibition – A Remembrance of Viktor Hartmann) is a suite in ten movements (plus a recurring, varied Promenade) composed for piano by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874.

It was probably in 1870 that Mussorgsky met artist and architect Viktor Hartmann. Both men were devoted to the cause of an intrinsically Russian art and quickly became friends. Their meeting was likely arranged by the influential critic Vladimir Stasov who followed both of their careers with interest.

Hartmann died from an aneurysm in 1873. The sudden loss of the artist, aged only 39, shook Mussorgsky along with others in Russia's art world. Stasov helped organize an exhibition of over 400 Hartmann works in the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg, Russia in February and March 1874. Mussorgsky lent works from his personal collection to the exhibition and viewed the show in person. Fired by the experience, he composed Pictures at an Exhibition during 2–22 June 1874. The music depicts an imaginary tour of an art collection. Titles of individual movements allude to works by Hartmann; Mussorgsky used Hartmann as a working title during the work's composition.

Mussorgsky based his musical material on drawings and watercolours by Hartmann produced mostly during the artist's travels abroad. Locales include Poland, France and Italy; the final movement depicts an architectural design for the capital city of Ukraine. Today most of the pictures from the Hartmann exhibition are lost, making it impossible to be sure in many cases which Hartmann works Mussorgsky had in mind.

The surviving works by Hartmann that can be shown with any certainty to have been used by Mussorgsky in assembling his suite, along with their titles, are as follows:



No. 5
Sketch of theatre costumes for the ballet Trilby



No. 6a
Jew in a fur cap. Sandomierz




No. 6b
Sandomierz Jew



No. 8
Paris catacombs
(with the figures of V. A. Hartmann, V. A. Kenel, and a guide, holding a lantern)



No. 9
The hut of Baba-Yaga on hen's legs–clock in the Russian Style



No. 10
Project for a city gate in Kiev–main façade


1 - Promenade
Stasov comment: In this piece Mussorgsky depicts himself "roving through the exhibition, now leisurely, now briskly in order to come close to a picture that had attracted his attention, and at times sadly, thinking of his departed friend."
2 - The Gnome
Stasov comment: "A sketch depicting a little gnome, clumsily running with crooked legs."
Hartmann's sketch, now lost, is thought to represent a design for a nutcracker displaying large teeth.
3 - Promenade
A placid statement of the promenade melody depicts the viewer walking from one display to the next.
4 - The Old Castle
Stasov comment: "A medieval castle before which a troubadour sings a song."
This movement is thought to be based on a watercolor depiction of an Italian castle.
5 - Promenade
Another brief statement of the promenade melody (8 measures) gives it more extroversion and weight than before.
6 - Tuileries
Stasov comment: "An avenue in the garden of the Tuileries, with a swarm of children and nurses."
Hartmann's picture of the Jardin des Tuileries near the Louvre in Paris (France) is now lost. Figures of children quarrelling and playing in the garden were likely added by the artist for scale (see note on No. 2 above).
7 - Cattle
Stasov comment: "A Polish cart on enormous wheels, drawn by oxen."
8 - Promenade
A reflective 10-measure presentation of the promenade theme.
9 - The Ballet of Unhatched Chicks in their Shells
Stasov comment: "Hartmann's design for the décor of a picturesque scene in the ballet Trilby."
Gerald Abraham provides the following details: "Trilby or The Demon of the Heath, a ballet with choreography by Petipa, music by Julius Gerber, and décor by Hartmann, based on Charles Nodier's Trilby, or The Elf of Argyle, was produced at the Bolshoy Theatre, Petersburg, in 1871. The fledglings were canary chicks."
10- Samuel Goldenberg and Schmu˙le
Stasov comment: "Two Jews: Rich and Poor"
Stasov's explanatory title elucidates the personal names used in Mussorgsky's original manuscript. Published versions display various combinations, such as "Two Polish Jews, Rich and Poor (Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle)". The movement is thought to be based on two separate extant portraits.
11- Promenade
A nearly bar-for-bar restatement of the opening promenade. Differences are slight: condensed second half, block chords voiced more fully.
12- The Market at Limoges (The Great News)
Stasov comment: "French women quarrelling violently in the market."
Limoges is a city in central France. Mussorgsky originally provided two paragraphs in French that described a marketplace discussion (the 'great news'), but soon removed them.
13- Catacombs
Stasov comment: "Hartmann represented himself examining the Paris catacombs by the light of a lantern."
Mussorgsky's manuscript of The Catacombs displays two pencilled notes, in Russian: "NB – Latin text: With the dead in a dead language" and, along the right margin, "Well may it be in Latin! The creative spirit of the dead Hartmann leads me towards the skulls, invokes them; the skulls begin to glow softly from within."
14- The Hut on Fowl's Legs
Stasov comment: "Hartmann's drawing depicted a clock in the form of Baba Yaga's hut on fowl's legs. Mussorgsky added the witch's flight in a mortar."
15- The Great Gate of Kiev
Stasov comment: "Hartmann's sketch was his design for city gates at Kiev in the ancient Russian massive style with a cupola shaped like a slavonic helmet."
Hartmann designed a monumental gate for Tsar Alexander II to commemorate the monarch's narrow escape from an assassination attempt on April 4, 1866. Hartmann regarded his design as the best work he had done. His design won the national competition but plans to build the structure were later cancelled."

Text by Wikipedia.





A pianist: Sviatoslav Richter (1956).

1 - Promenade 00:00
2 - I. The Gnome 01:06
3 - Promenade 03:29
4 - II. The Old Castle 04:14
5 - Promenade 08:39
6 - III. Tuileries 09:01
7 - IV. Cattle 09:58
8 - Promenade 12:07
9 - V. The Ballet of Unhatched Chicks in their Shells 12:36
10- VI. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmu˙le 13:52
11- Promenade 15:33
12- VII. The Market at Limoges (The Great News) 16:36
13- VIII. Catacombs 17:55
14- IX. The Hut on Fowl's Legs 22:04
15- X. The Great Gate of Kiev 25:02









"Pictures at an Exhibition" in orchestration by french composer Maurice Ravel.

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Mariss Jansons.


00:54 - Promenade
02:36 - The Gnome
05:34 - Promenade 2
06:31 - The Old Castle
11:03 - Promenade 3
11:35 - Tuileries
12:36 - Cattle
15:34 - Promenade 4
16:18 - The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks in their Shells
17:37 - Samuel Goldenberg and Schmu˙le
20:07 - The Market at Limoges
21:36 - Catacombs
23:38 - Cum mortuis in lingua mortua
25:37 - The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba-Yagá)
29:08 - The Great Gate of Kiev





 
Old December 16th, 2015 #2
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Pyotr Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No 1 in B-flat minor, Op 23





Portrait of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky by Nikolai Kuznetsov.



"Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) - (Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский) was a Russian composer of the late-Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, bolstered by his appearances as a guest conductor in Europe and the United States. Tchaikovsky was honored in 1884 by Emperor Alexander III, and awarded a lifetime pension."

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Piano Concerto No 1 in B-flat minor, Op 23

1 - Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso
2 - Andantino semplice - Prestissimo
3 - Allegro con fuoco


Mikhail Pletnev, piano

Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra

Vladimir Fedoseyev, conductor





 
Old December 19th, 2015 #3
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Georgy Sviridov - Musical illustrations to Pushkin's story "Snow-storm"







"Georgy Vasilyevich Sviridov (1915-1998) - (Russian: Гео́ргий Васи́льевич Свири́дов; his patronymic is also transliterated Vasil'yevich, Vasilievich, and Vasil'evich) was a Soviet neoromantic composer.

Among Sviridov's most popular orchestral pieces are the Romance and the Waltz from his The Blizzard, musical illustrations after Pushkin (1975), that were originally written for the eponymous 1964 film based on the short story from Pushkin's The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin. A short segment from his score for the 1967 film Time, Forward! (Время, вперёд!) was selected as the opening theme for the main evening TV news program Vremya (Время, 'time') and became the staple of Soviet life for several generations.

While Sviridov's music remains little known in the West, his works received high praise in his homeland for their memorable lyrical melodies, national flavor and mainly for great expression of Russia and Russian soul in his music."

Text by Wikipedia.




Musical illustrations to Pushkin's story "Snow-storm".
/ Музыкальные иллюстрации к повести А.С. Пушкина "Метель".

01. Troika (Сarriage with three horses) / Тройка
02. Pastorale / Пастораль
03. Valse / Вальс
04. Wedding ceremony / Венчание
05. Military march / Военный марш
06. Spring and autumn / Весна и осень
07. Romance / Романс
08. Echo of valse / Отзвуки вальса
09. Winter road / Зимняя дорога



Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra

Vladimir Fedoseyev, conductor





 
Old December 24th, 2015 #4
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Mily Balakirev - Symphonic Poem "Russia"











"Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (1837-1910) - (Russian: Ми́лий Алексе́евич Бала́кирев) was a Russian pianist, conductor and composer known today primarily for his work promoting musical nationalism and his encouragement of more famous Russian composers, notably Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He began his career as a pivotal figure, extending the fusion of traditional folk music and experimental classical music practices begun by composer Mikhail Glinka. In the process, Balakirev developed musical patterns that could express overt nationalistic feeling."

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Symphonic Poem "Russia" / Симфоническая поэма "Русь"

Orchestra: The State Academic Symphony Orchestra [Russia]

Conductor: Evgeny Svetlanov





 
Old December 29th, 2015 #5
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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Symphonic Poem "Fairy Tale", Op. 29











"Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) - (Russian: Никола́й Андре́евич Ри́мский-Ко́рсаков) was a Russian composer. He was a master of orchestration. His best-known orchestral compositions — Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade — are staples of the classical music repertoire, along with suites and excerpts from some of his 15 operas. Scheherazade is an example of his frequent use of fairy tale and folk subjects.

Rimsky-Korsakov believed, as did fellow composer Mily Balakirev and critic Vladimir Stasov, in developing a nationalistic style of classical music. This style employed Russian folk song and lore along with exotic harmonic, melodic and rhythmic elements in a practice known as musical orientalism, and eschewed traditional Western compositional methods. However, Rimsky-Korsakov appreciated Western musical techniques after he became a professor of musical composition, harmony and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1871. He undertook a rigorous three-year program of self-education and became a master of Western methods, incorporating them alongside the influences of Mikhail Glinka.

Rimsky-Korsakov left a considerable body of original Russian nationalist compositions."

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Symphonic Poem "Fairy Tale" / Симфоническая поэма "Сказка"

Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra.

Conductor: Yondani Butt.





 
Old January 2nd, 2016 #6
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Nikolai Myaskovsky - Symphonic Poem "Alastor", Op. 14







"Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky or Miaskovsky or Miaskowsky (1881-1950) - (Russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Мяско́вский) was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the "Father of the Soviet Symphony". Myaskovsky was awarded the Stalin Prize five times, more than any other composer.

Myaskovsky was long recognized as an individualist even by the Soviet establishment. In the 1920s the critic Boris Asafyev commented that he was "not the kind of composer the Revolution would like; he reflects life not through the feelings and spirit of the masses, but through the prism of his personal feelings. He is a sincere and sensible artist, far from 'life's enemy', as he has been portrayed occasionally. He speaks not only for himself, but for many others".

Myaskovsky never married and was shy, sensitive and retiring; Pierre Souvtchinsky believed that a "brutal youth (in military school and service in the war)" left him "a fragile, secretive, introverted man, hiding some mystery within. It was as if his numerous symphonies provide a convenient if not necessary refuge in which he could hide and transpose his soul into sonorities".

Stung by the many accusations in the Soviet press of "individualism, decadence, pessimism, formalism and complexity", Myaskovsky wrote to Asafiev in 1940 "Can it be that the psychological world is so foreign to these people?" When somebody described Zhdanov's decree against "formalism" to him as "historic", he is reported to have retorted "Not historic – hysterical".

As professor of composition at Moscow Conservatory from 1921 until his death, Myaskovsky exercised an important influence on his many pupils."



"Alastor (/əˈlćstər, -tɔːr/; Greek: Αλάστωρ, English translation: "avenger") refers to a number of people and concepts in Greek mythology:

Alastor was an epithet of the Greek god Zeus, according to Hesychius of Alexandria and the Etymologicum Magnum, which described him as the avenger of evil deeds, specifically, familial bloodshed. As the personification of a curse, it was also a sidekick of the Erinyes. The name is also used, especially by the tragic writers, to designate any deity or demon who avenges wrongs committed by men. In Euripides' play Elecktra, Orestes questions an oracle who calls upon him to kill his mother, and wonders if the oracle was not from Apollo, but some malicious alastor. There was an altar to Zeus Alastor just outside the city walls of Thasos.
By the time of the 4th century BC, alastor in Greek had degraded to a generic type of insult, with the approximate meaning of "scoundrel".
Alastor, a son of Neleus and Chloris. When Heracles took Pylos, Alastor and his brothers, except Nestor, were killed by him. According to Parthenius of Nicaea, he was to be married to Harpalyce, who, however, was taken from him by her father Clymenus.
Alastor, a Lycian, who was a companion of Sarpedon, and was slain by Odysseus.
Alastorides is a patronymic form given by Homer to Tros, who was probably a son of the Lycian Alastor mentioned above.
Another, unrelated Alastor is mentioned in the Iliad of Homer.
Alastor, in Christian demonology, came to be considered a kind of possessing entity. He was likened to Nemesis. The name Alastor was also used as a generic term for a class of evil spirits."

Text by Wikipedia.





Symphonic Poem "Alastor" / Симфоническая поэма "Аластор"

Orchestra: (?)

Conductor: Evgeny Svetlanov.





 
Old January 3rd, 2016 #8
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This march was written in honor of the coronation of Tsar Alexander II.








The title page of the first piano edition of the "Grand Dukes March", carries the dedication: "composed by Johann Strauss, conductor, to commemorate the high presence in Vienna of Their Imperial Highness Grand Duke Russian Nikolay and Michael".








 
Old January 6th, 2016 #10
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Alexander Borodin - Symphony No.2 in B minor








"Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (1833-1887) - (Russian: Алекса́ндр Порфи́рьевич Бороди́н) was a Russian Romantic composer of Georgian origin, as well as a doctor and chemist. He is best known for his symphonies, his two string quartets, In the Steppes of Central Asia and his opera Prince Igor.

He was a notable advocate of women's rights and a proponent of education in Russia and was a founder of the School of Medicine for Women in St. Petersburg.

His music is noted for its strong lyricism and rich harmonies."

Text by Wikipedia.





Symphony No.2 in B minor


I. Allegro (00:00)
II. Scherzo: Prestissimo - Trio: Allegretto (07:50)
III. Andante (13:07)
IV. Finale: Allegro (23:42)




Orchestra: Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra.

Conductor: Valery Gergiev.





 
Old January 7th, 2016 #11
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Georgy Sviridov - Three choruses from incidental music to A.K. Tolstoy's drama "Tsar Fedor Ioannovich"


Three choruses from incidental music to A.K. Tolstoy's drama "Tsar Fedor Ioannovich" / 3 хора из музыки к драме А. К. Толстого "Царь Федор Иоаннович" (1973)





Prayer / Молитва


Mother of God
Virgo, Hail
Mary full of grace
the God is with thee
you are blessed woman
and your child is blessed also
You gave birth to the Saviour of our souls










Sacred Love / Любовь святая


Sacred Love! It was pursued from the beginning, and covered with blood.










Verses Of Atone (or Penitential verse) / Покаянный стих


I outcast and a beggar man
My life comes to an end and the end is approaching
And The Last Judgement is preparing
My Poor Soul have a woe
The sun of my soul came to sunset
And day of my soul is preparing to the evening
And the ax lies at the root





 
Old January 9th, 2016 #12
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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Serenade for cello & orchestra, Op. 37





Серенада для виолончели (ор. 37, 1893) / Serenade for cello, Op. 37


Сello: Vytautas Sondeckis,
Orchestra: Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: David Geringas





 
Old January 18th, 2016 #13
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Sergei Prokofiev - Сantata "Alexander Nevsky", Op. 78







"Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (1891-1953) - (Russian: Сергей Сергеевич Прокофьев) was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist and conductor. As the creator of acknowledged masterpieces across numerous musical genres, he is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century. His works include such widely heard works as the March from The Love for Three Oranges, the suite Lieutenant Kijé, the ballet Romeo and Juliet – from which "Dance of the Knights" is taken – and Peter and the Wolf. Of the established forms and genres in which he worked, he created – excluding juvenilia – seven completed operas, seven symphonies, eight ballets, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, a cello concerto, and nine completed piano sonatas."

"Alexander Nevsky (Russian: Александр Невский) is the score composed by Sergei Prokofiev for Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 film Alexander Nevsky. The subject of the film is the 13th century incursion of the knights of the Livonian Order into the territory of the Novgorod Republic, the summoning of Prince Alexander Nevsky to the defense of Rus', and his subsequent victory over the crusaders in 1242 in the decisive Battle on the Ice. The majority of the score's song texts were written by the poet Vladimir Lugovskoy.

In 1939, Prokofiev arranged the music of the film score as the cantata, Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78, for mezzo-soprano, chorus, and orchestra.


'Russia under the Mongolian Yoke': The opening movement begins slowly, and in C minor. It is meant to evoke an image of destruction, as brought to Russia by the invading Mongols.
'Song about Alexander Nevsky': This movement (B flat) represents Prince Alexander Yaroslavich's victory over the Swedish army at the Battle of the Neva in 1240. Alexander received the name 'Nevsky' (a form of Neva) in tribute.
'The Crusaders in Pskov': For this movement (C-sharp minor), Prokofiev's initial intention was to use genuine 13th century church music; however, the examples he found in the Moscow Conservatoire sounded so cold, dull and alien to the 20th century ear that he abandoned the idea and instead composed an original theme "better suited to our modern conception" to evoke the brutality of the Teutonic Knights.
'Arise, ye Russian People': This movement (E flat) represents a call to arms for the people of Russia. It is composed with folk overtones.
'The Battle on the Ice': The fifth (and longest) movement is arguably the climax of the cantata. It represents the final clash between Nevsky's forces and the Teutonic Knights on the frozen surface of Lake Peipus in 1242. The serene beginning (representing dawn on the day of battle) is contrasted by the jarring middle section, which is cacophonous in style.
'The Field of the Dead': Composed in C minor, the sixth movement is the lament of a girl seeking her lost lover, as well as kissing the eyelids of all the dead. The vocal solo is performed by a mezzo-soprano.
'Alexander's Entry into Pskov': The seventh and final movement (B flat) echoes the second movement in parts, and recalls Alexander's triumphant return to Pskov."

Text by Wikipedia.





Кантата для хора, меццо-сопрано и оркестра "Александр Невский", Op. 78 (1939) / Cantata for mezzo-soprano, chorus, and orchestra "Alexander Nevsky", Op. 78



1 - Русь под игом монгольским / Russia under the Mongolian Yoke
2 - Песня об Александре Невском / Song about Alexander Nevsky
3 - Крестоносцы во Пскове / The Crusaders in Pskov
4 - Вставайте, люди русские! / Arise, Russian People!
5 - Ледовое побоище / The Battle on Ice
6 - Мертвое поле / Field of the Dead
7 - Въезд Александра во Псков / Alexander's Entry in Pskov





Orchestra: USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: E. Svetlanov
The Republican Choir Kapella
Artistic director A. Yurlov





























 
Old January 23rd, 2016 #14
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César Cui - Sonata for violin and piano, Op. 84







"César Antonovich Cui (1835-1918) - (Russian: Це́зарь Анто́нович Кюи́) was a Russian composer and music critic of French and Lithuanian descent. His profession was as an army officer (he rose to the rank of Engineer-General (compared to full general) of The Russian Imperial Army) and a teacher of fortifications, and his avocational life has particular significance in the history of music.

Cui composed in almost all genres of his time, with the distinct exceptions of the symphony and the symphonic poem. By far art songs constitute the greatest number of works by Cui; these include a few vocal duets and many songs for children. Several of his songs are available also in versions with orchestral accompaniment, including his Bolero, Op. 17, which was dedicated to the singer Marcella Sembrich. Some of his most famous art songs include "The Statue at Tsarskoye Selo" ("Царско-сельская статyя") and "The Burnt Letter," ("Сожжённое письмо"), both based on poems by Cui's most valued poet, Alexander Pushkin."

Text by Wikipedia.





Соната для скрипки и фортепьяно Op. 84 / Sonata for violin and piano Op. 84





 
Old January 23rd, 2016 #15
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Modest Mussorgsky - Symphonic poem "Night on Bald Mountain"





Симфоническая поэма "Ночь на Лысой горе" (1867) / Symphonic poem "Night on Bald Mountain"





 
Old January 31st, 2016 #16
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Alexander Glazunov - Musical picture for orchestra "Karelian Legend" in A minor, Op. 99




Portrait of Glazunov by Ilya Repin, 1887


"Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov (1865-1936) - (Russian: Алекса́ндр Константи́нович Глазуно́в) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He served as director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was also instrumental in the reorganization of the institute into the Petrograd Conservatory, then the Leningrad Conservatory, following the Bolshevik Revolution. He continued heading the Conservatory until 1930, though he had left the Soviet Union in 1928 and did not return.

Glazunov was significant in that he successfully reconciled nationalism and cosmopolitanism in Russian music. While he was the direct successor to Balakirev's nationalism, he tended more towards Borodin's epic grandeur while absorbing a number of other influences. These included Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestral virtuosity, Tchaikovsky's lyricism and Taneyev's contrapuntal skill."


"The Republic of Karelia (Russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic), located in the northwest of Russia. Its capital is the city of Petrozavodsk.

The republic is located in the northwestern part of Russia, taking intervening position between the basins of White and Baltic Seas. The White Sea has a shore line of 630 kilometers (390 mi).

Borders:
internal: Murmansk Oblast (N), Arkhangelsk Oblast (E/SE), Vologda Oblast (SE/S), Leningrad Oblast (S/SW)
international: Finland (SW/W/NW) (border line length: 723 km)

Highest point: 576 m (1,890 ft), the Nuorunen peak.

There are 60,000 lakes in Karelia. The republic's lakes and swamps contain about 2,000 kmł of high-quality fresh water. Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega are the largest lakes in Europe."

Text by Wikipedia.





Музыкальная картина для симфонического оркестра "Карельская легенда", Соч. 99 (1916) / Musical picture for orchestra "Karelian Legend" in A minor, Op. 99

Orchestra: Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Igor Golovchin





 
Old February 6th, 2016 #17
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Vasily Kalinnikov - Symphony No. 1 in G minor







"Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov (1866-1901) - (Russian: Васи́лий Серге́евич Кали́нников) was a Russian composer of two symphonies, several additional orchestral works and numerous songs, all of them imbued with characteristics of folksong.

His reputation was established with his First Symphony, written between 1894 and 1895, which had great success when Vinogradsky conducted it at a Russian Musical Society concert in Kiev. Further performances swiftly followed, in Moscow, Vienna, Berlin, and Paris.

His younger brother Viktor Kalinnikov (1870–1927) was also a composer, mainly of choral music."

Text by Wikipedia.





Симфония № 1 g-moll / Symphony No. 1 in G minor

1. Allegro moderato 0:00
2. Andante commodamente 14:25
3. Scherzo: Allegro non troppo 21:47
4. Finale: Allegro moderato 30:10





 
Old February 13th, 2016 #18
Alex Him
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Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 7. C Major







"Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906-1975) - (Russian: Дми́трий Дми́триевич Шостако́вич) was a Soviet composer and pianist, and a prominent figure of 20th-century music.

A poly-stylist, Shostakovich developed a hybrid voice, combining a variety of different musical techniques into his music. Shostakovich's music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; the composer was also heavily influenced by the neo-classical style pioneered by Igor Stravinsky, and (especially in his symphonies) by the post-Romanticism associated with Gustav Mahler.

Shostakovich's orchestral works include 15 symphonies and six concerti. His chamber output includes 15 string quartets, a piano quintet, two piano trios, and two pieces for string octet. His piano works include two solo sonatas, an early set of preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. Other works include three operas, several song cycles, ballets, and a substantial quantity of film music; especially well known is The Second Waltz, Op. 99, music to the film The First Echelon (ru) (1955–1956), as well as the Suites composed for The Gadfly."

Text by Wikipedia.





"Symphony No.7. was written in Leningrad (Ленинград - now Saint Petersburg) in 1941 in the first months of the war.
The score was completed on December 27, 1941 in the town of Kuibyshev (Куйбышев - now Samara).

Dedication: "To the City of Leningrad".

Premieres: March 5, 1942 in Kuibyshev at the Palace of Culture. Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre of the USSR. Conductor S. Samosud.

The concert was broadcast by all radio-stations of the Soviet Union and relayed abroad. A speech by Shostakovich was broadcast live before the symphony was played.


"My dear friends! I am speaking to you from Leningrad, while at the very gates to the city fierce battles with the enemy are raging...I am speaking from the front-line.
Yesterday morning I completed the score of the second part of my new symphonic work. <...> I am telling you this so that you all should know that the danger threatening Leningrad has not put a stop to its full-blooded life. <...> All of us are now doing our 'guard-duty'. <...> Soviet musicians, my dear and countless comrades-at-arms, my friends! Remember that a great danger is threatening our Motherland, our life and our art! Let us come to the defence of our Motherland, our life,
our music. Let us work with honest and selfless commitment!"
(From a broadcast on Leningrad Radio on September 16, 1941)


"I completed the first part of this work on September 3rd, the second part on September 17th and the third on September 29th.
Now I am completing the fourth and final part. I have never composed at such a pace before."
("Vechernyaya Moskva" - October 8, 1941)"

http://live-en.shostakovich.ru/composition/247/





Симфония № 7 до мажор, Соч. 60 / Symphony No.7. C Major, Оp. 60

I. Allegretto (00:00)
II. Moderato (poco allegretto) (28:23)
III. Adagio (43:25)
IV. Allegro non troppo (1:03:19)


Orchestra: Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
Conductor: Valery Gergiev





 
Old February 21st, 2016 #19
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Rodion Shchedrin - Music for the Town of Köthen for chamber orchestra






"Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin (Russian: Родио́н Константи́нович Щедри́н; born 16 December 1932) is a Russian composer and pianist, winner of the Lenin (1984), USSR State Prize (1972) and the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1992), and a former member of the Interregional Deputy Group (1989–1991). He is also a citizen of Lithuania and Spain."


"Köthen (Anhalt) is a city in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about 30 km (19 mi) north of Halle.

The city is conveniently located at the hub of the Magdeburg-Leipzig, Dessau–Köthen and Köthen–Aschersleben railways."

Text by Wikipedia.





Музыка для города Кётена для камерного оркестра (1984) / Music for the Town of Köthen for chamber orchestra (1984)


I. Allegro moderato [00:00]
II. Andante [08:23]
III. ("A minute apotheosis") Moderato maestoso [16:55]



Orchestra: "Moscow Virtuosi" Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Vladimir Spivakov





 
Old February 22nd, 2016 #20
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Modest Mussorgsky - cantata "Joshua"




Кантата "Иисус Навин" / cantata "Joshua"



Elena Zaremba, mezzo-soprano

Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker & Prague Philharmonic Chorus
Conductor: Claudio Abbado





 
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