13th Symphony (Myaskovsky)
| 13th symphony | |
|---|---|
| key | B flat minor |
| opus | 36 |
| Sentence names |
or
|
| Total duration | about 20 minutes |
| Composed | 1933 |
| occupation | Symphony orchestra ( 3333/4331 / Pk / Schl / Str ) |
| premiere | Simultaneously in Moscow under the direction of Leo Moritzewitsch Ginsburg and in Chicago under the direction of Friedrich August Stock or in autumn 1935 in Winterthur under the direction of Hermann Scherchen |
| dedication | Dedicated to Frederick August Stock |
The Symphony in B flat minor op. 36 is the 13th symphony by the composer Nikolai Jakowlewitsch Mjaskowski .
History of origin
In the course of the decision of the CPSU of April 23, 1932, the organizing committee for an association of Soviet composers was formed in the summer of the same year, chaired by Reinhold Glière , which Mjaskowski and some of his students also joined. During this time, Myaskovsky was very keen to develop a musical culture, for example he organized radio and philharmonic concerts, founded a permanent orchestra, a choir and an opera studio at the Conservatory and promoted the establishment of a state museum of musical culture. Through his contacts (including Prokofiev ), he also promoted the performance of works by young composers abroad. He not only encouraged his own students, there are known cases in which he deleted the works of his students from programs because other pieces seemed more promising to him. During this time he wrote his 13th symphony, which he sketched in a single February night in 1933. The completion of the symphony was not so quick because he was already sketching ideas for the 14th and 15th symphonies . S. Gulinskaja suspects that a personal, but not transmitted, event also led to the creation of the symphony, as he later wrote about the work:
“My 13th Symphony arose out of the need for a certain discharge of pent-up subjective impressions that I have all the time and that can hardly be eradicated at my age - a very pessimistic work with rather strange content. This symphony is a kind of page from my diary ... "
analysis
The symphony differs significantly from its predecessor and its successor. In terms of its tonal language, it ties in with the symphonies of the 1920s and thus clearly goes against efforts to adapt to the new Soviet culture. In a sense, it represents a counterpoint to Mjaskowski's change in his music at that time, and above all to the rural idyll of the Twelfth Symphony. The author Maya Pritsker speaks of a “farewell to modernism and experimentation”. She sees the symphony as one of Mjaskowski's best compositions.
The one-movement work (also referred to as three-movement in some sources) is one of the shortest and at the same time most experimental symphonies of Mjaskowski. In his autobiographical remarks from 1936 he wrote that the work was a "linear constructivist attempt to destroy the tonality ". The mood of the symphony is gloomy and desolate, reminiscent of the mood in Sibelius' fourth symphony . It begins with a slow introduction, which is underlaid with a concise rhythm of the kettledrum . This is followed by a sonata form with the first theme in B flat minor and the second in D flat major . The development develops into a fugato in B minor before the recapitulation begins. The subsequent coda ends with a B minor chord with additional a and c (seventh chord), which, accompanied by the opening rhythm of the kettledrum, ends in ppp .
Reception and criticism
The world premiere took place almost simultaneously in Chicago and Moscow . According to other sources, it was only performed in Winterthur in autumn 1935 , but, according to S. Gulinskaja, this performance took place after the first performance. Myaskovsky himself was very satisfied with the work. The symphony is - apart from the 21st - the last which was demonstrably successful abroad in its time and was performed outside of Russia. Besides Myaskovsky, his friend Prokofiev and his advocate Frederick Stock were also satisfied with the work. Prokofiev wrote about stick:
"In Chicago you got an ardent admirer in the person of the chief conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Frederick Stock: every year he 'roasts' at least two of your symphonies and has apparently all through ..."
A letter from Stock expressing his admiration for the music of Myaskovsky also shows that he dedicated this work to him:
"My dear Mr. Myaskovsky,
I have not yet replied to your kind letter of March 29 th . I wish to say that I greatly admire you for the splendid work you are doing as a composer of excellent music. I feel that the time will come when your symphonies will be just as well known as any of those by Tschaikowsky or any of your predecessors.
I accept with gratitude the dedication of your Thirteenth Symphony and shall repeat this and several of your major works on my programs in Chicago as well as on tour during the coming year.
Our mutual friend Prokofieff joins me in my highest estimation and admiration of your genius and I hope it will be possible for me before long to pay you a visit in Moscow so that I may have the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with you.
In the meantime, I am, with renewed expressions of highest esteem and most cordial greetings,
very sincerely yours,
Frederick A. Stock ”
“Dear Mr. Myaskovsky,
I have not yet replied to your letter of March 29th. I would like to tell you that I admire you very much for the excellent work you are doing as a composer of excellent music. I believe that one day the time will come when your symphonies will be as well known as the Tchaikovskis or any of your predecessors.
I accept the dedication of your 13th Symphony with gratitude and intend to include this and other major (important) works of yours in my programs in Chicago and on next year's tour.
Our mutual friend Prokofiev shares my high opinion and admiration for your genius, and I hope that I will soon be able to pay you a visit in Moscow so that I may have the pleasure of personal acquaintance.
For the time being, I remain with renewed expressions of the highest respect and best regards, Yours
faithfully,
Frederick A. Stock “
Myaskovsky was aware that this work did not necessarily correspond to the expectations of the party, so he waited until 1945 before printing the score. Prokofiev wanted to persuade Myaskovsky to correct the image of Soviet music with a performance in Paris and wrote:
“In Paris, expectations of Soviet music are somewhat different from those in Moscow: while in Moscow they place great value on freshness, in Paris this Soviet freshness has not been questioned for a long time, but the fear is often expressed that behind the depth of the content is lacking ... Your 'thirteenth' is just the right time to help close the gap that has emerged! "
Myaskovsky declined, however, because he did not like the fact that the event had been organized by some workers' associations. He feared that this audience would not understand his work.
Later Mjaskowski wrote about the twelfth and 14th symphonies that they were a "failure". It is therefore obvious that the 13th Symphony represents a last attempt to defy the requirements of the regime and to compose as he liked. Based on the sources, which, as in the case of the sixth and twelfth symphonies, hardly reflect Myaskovsky's true motives, it is entirely possible that S. Gulinskaja's conclusions regarding the printing of the score and the cancellation of the concert in Paris are incorrect. The correspondence with Frederick Stock is only printed in her Mjaskowski biography, it is not mentioned in the text, nor is the dedication in her catalog raisonné. An explanation as to whether or if not, why all later works were initially no longer performed outside the Soviet Union, she also owes.
literature
- CD supplement Warner Music France 2564 69689-8 (Miaskovsky: Intégrale des Symphonies; Dir .: Evgeny Svetlanov)
- Soja Gulinskaja: Nikolai Jakowlewitsch Mjaskowski. Moscow 1981, German: Berlin 1985
Web links
- kith.org
- wanadoo.nl ( Memento from May 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
-
myaskovsky.ru
- Maya Pritsker: In the musical history of the former Soviet Union ...
- 13th Symphony : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
Individual evidence
- ^ Soja Gulinskaja: Nikolai Jakowlewitsch Mjaskowski. Moscow 1981, German Berlin 1985, p. 158
- ↑ Nikolai Myaskovsky. In: www.fuer-die-ohren.at. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010 ; Retrieved July 3, 2013 .
- ↑ Autobiographical Notes . In: Sowjetskaja Musyka magazine , sixth issue, 1936