11th Symphony (Myaskovsky)

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11th symphony
key B flat minor
opus 34
Sentence names
  • I Lento
  • II Andante
  • III Precipitato
Total duration approx. 35 minutes
Composed 1931/1932
occupation Symphony orchestra
premiere On January 16, 1933 in Moscow under
the direction of Konstantin Saradschew
dedication "For Maximilian Ossejewitsch Steinberg "

The Symphony in B flat minor, Op. 34, is the eleventh symphony by the composer Nikolai Jakowlewitsch Mjaskowski .

History of origin

In 1929, Sergei Prokofiev invited Mjaskowski on a car tour through France. Despite repeated efforts, he did not succeed in persuading his friend to go on a trip. Myaskovsky preferred to concentrate entirely on his compositional work and teaching activities at the Moscow Conservatory . In the Soviet Union, meanwhile, a change in the cultural system was on the horizon, culminating in the 1932 decision of the CPSU “ On the restructuring of literary-artistic organizations ”. As early as 1931 Mjaskowski had left the Association for Contemporary Music (ASM) together with other composers, whereupon the organization disbanded a short time later. In the following years, the composer devoted himself to the genre of the mass song, in which he quickly became very successful: his songs Marschgesang (based on texts by A. Surkow) and As the Poplars Bloomed (based on words by S. Ostrowoi) received the prize in 1934 “ Best Komsomolzenlieder "the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda . During this time he worked intensively on the writings of communist authors, his student Dmitri Kabalewski later said: "Since the end of the twenties we have been able to see books by Marx , Engels , Plekhanov and Lenin more and more frequently on Myaskovsky's table [...]" .

After leaving the ASM, Mjaskowski and others, including many of his students, founded the “New Artistic Association”. In their declaration it said: “The artistic work of the 'Vereinigung' aims at instrumental and vocal works for the broad masses, both in the small (mass song, Soviet Estradenlied ) and in the large forms (opera, symphony), where she regards the creation of the latter as her main task. ”A short time later, Mjaskowski also published works from the genre of the string quartet for the first time , his string quartets No. 1 to 4, Op. 33. Myaskovsky also received criticism for these new works, his new one Art to compose was seen by some as a desperate attempt to gain access to the audience. Myaskovsky was very angry about this and wrote to Prokofiev: "You might think that today and in the past I would have composed nothing but string quartets ...". But it cannot be denied that during this time he had difficulties reconciling his ideas about music with those of the audience and the party. It is also doubtful whether Mjaskowski made this change in his music voluntarily, but there is hardly any evidence to be found in the available sources. This dichotomy also affected his next two great works, the eleventh and twelfth symphonies . When the collectivization of agriculture began, Mjaskowski had the idea of ​​setting this event to music. Before that, however, he composed the eleventh symphony, which, according to him, has no program. With these works a new phase in the composer's oeuvre began, which should lead him back to a more traditional and romantic tonal language.

analysis

The three-movement work is in a minor key, but shows more optimistic features overall. It is not based on a program and it should not evoke any particular associations in the listener. The alternation between lyrical and tense passages, which is typical for Mjaskowski, is contrasted here with cheerful passages; In many respects this is reminiscent of earlier chamber music works such as the Serenade in E flat major op.31 no.1 or the Lyrical Concertino in G major op.31 no.3 .

The first movement begins with a longer introduction in E major in the style of a recitative . It goes over a chromatic line into the main part in sonata form , both of which are known from the first string quartet. A brief allusion to the beginning leads to the coda in B flat major . The second movement begins with a prelude to prepare for the new key of E flat major . The main theme of the movement is followed by a kind of wind fugato over a melody, the first part of which consists of the main theme of the first movement and the second part of which is an anticipation of part of the finale. The finale consists of a theme and variations , which is a novelty in Mjaskowski's symphony. The theme is strongly reminiscent of Antonín Dvořák's Symphonic Variations op. 78 , and Mjaskowski's movement may be based on the same folk song on which Dvořák's work is based. The movement is mostly in B flat major, only one variation is in B flat minor. At the end the music surprisingly changes to a fast tempo and ends up with a B flat major chord, after which the basses play the notes Gb, Eb, Db, Cb. The piece ends with a short B in the low strings, wind instruments and percussion.

Reception and criticism

As is so often the case, Myaskovsky was dissatisfied with his work. He attested it a certain “dryness” and “ unnecessary simplicity”. This was probably mainly due to the fact that the symphony is a first attempt at a new tonal language and so in many places seemed a bit awkward to the listeners and critics. After Mjaskowski had heard the symphony in a piano version, he reworked it by, among other things, correcting a "defect" in the finale by expanding the implementation. The first performance of the reworked symphony took place on January 16, 1933, that is, after the first performance of the twelfth symphony. Both concerts only took place after the decision of the CPSU, and it can be assumed that Myaskovsky was preparing for possible and already emerging changes with these two works.

literature

  • CD supplement Warner Music France 2564 69689-8 (Miaskovsky: Intégrale des Symphonies, Evgeny Svetlanov (cond.))
  • Soja Gulinskaja: Nikolai Jakowlewitsch Mjaskowski. Moscow 1981, German Berlin 1985

Web links