16th Symphony (Myaskovsky)
| 16th symphony | |
|---|---|
| subtitle | "Aviation" |
| key | F major |
| opus | 39 |
| Sentence names |
|
| Total duration | about 45 minutes |
| Composed | 1935/1936 |
| occupation | Symphony orchestra |
| premiere | On October 24, 1936 in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory under the direction of Eugen Szenkar |
| dedication | "For the Orchestra of the Moscow State Philharmonic" |
The Symphony in F major, Op. 39, “The Aviation” is the 16th symphony by the composer Nikolai Jakowlewitsch Mjaskowski .
History of origin
The 16th Symphony is the last work in a phase in Mjaskowski's oeuvre in which he was looking for a new style in six symphonies composed almost without interruption. The symphony represented the high point of his career so far in the Soviet Union, whereas the work received little attention abroad. The subtitle “Flieger-Sinfonie” refers to some associations of the listeners and especially to a theme used in the finale, which comes from Myaskovsky's mass song “The planes fly in the sky”.
Myaskovsky had the first ideas for the symphony in the summer of 1935, but it was difficult for him to choose suitable topics, as his diary shows:
- June 15: "Designed something symphonic ..."
- July 29th: "The thoughts become clearer"
- July 31: "The search has no results for the time being"
- August 14: "Still looking for material for the symphony"
- September 9: "It seems to be getting better with the search for material ..."
- September 21: "I design the exposition of the first movement of the symphony"
This slow development was mainly due to the fact that Myaskovsky was still struggling with the new style and at the same time was concerned about letting his tonal language become too banal. After his experience with the 15th Symphony , he wanted to make sure this time not to have to discard unsuccessful attempts again. In the period that followed, however, work on the work progressed quickly. At the end of December, Myaskovsky completed the piano version and from March 6 to April 5, 1936 he orchestrated it.
analysis
Outwardly, the symphony is similar to its predecessor in that it has a similarly optimistic mood, four movements and a comparable duration of performance, but on closer inspection it is much more complex. In addition to the poetry and melancholy known from the 15th, the emphasis in this work is above all on pathos and joy.
The first movement begins with the fanfare- like main theme, which directly evokes the association of a plane taking off. The dynamic that this theme creates runs through the whole sentence. It is contrasted with a lyrical second theme, which, however, takes up the lively elements of the main theme in the course of the development. In the slow second movement, a poetic theme appears, about which Prokofiev wrote that he saw behind it the "smile of Mikhail Glinka ". According to the composer's diary entry, another pastoral theme reflects the impressions of a walk in the forest in his summer residence in Nikolina Gora ( Rublevka ). On these walks he was often accompanied by his sister Valentin Yakovlevna and the daughter of his friend Pavel Lamm , Olga Pavlovna. These two people are characterized by concise themes of the cor anglais and the flute . The dramatic third movement is introduced by a melody played in unison with the horns , trombones and tuba , followed by a funeral march . According to the entry in his diary, this sentence expresses the emotions that the news of the crash of Maxim Gorky aroused. In the course of the movement, however, the march takes on more and more heroic traits, emphasizing pride in the sacrifice made. The fourth movement is the song-like, dance-like finale. The main theme from “The planes fly in the sky” does not appear immediately, but appears occasionally in the course of the sentence. It is only at the height of the development that it takes center stage, followed by radiant chords . Then the theme of the second movement appears again in the horns, then the music calms down and returns to the lyrical associations of nature.
Reception and criticism
For Myaskovsky, the symphony represented the greatest success since the sixth symphony . The new tonal language as well as the themes and associations used were an excellent match for Soviet propaganda, which is why it was described as the climax of the Soviet symphony. Mjaskowskis was delighted that his friend Prokofiev was present at the premiere on October 24, 1936. The composer was celebrated by the audience and had to go on stage several times to receive the applause. Prokofiev wrote about the symphony:
"In terms of the beauty of the material, the masterful layout and the harmonious overall structure, this is really great art, without any showmanship and any winking at the audience."
As is so often the case, the composer himself was dissatisfied with his work. He wrote:
“Even with my 16th symphony I do not tend to regard it as a consistently successful solution to the problem, neither in terms of form nor in terms of musical language, although the tendency of its content compared to my other works is much closer to the present lies"
Despite its great success in the Soviet Union, there is no indication that the work became known outside of Russia or was performed at all. The symphony represents the arrival in a new style, which Myaskovsky kept until his death. The use of these propagandistic themes (as well as the collectivization of agriculture in the 12th symphony ) brought the composer a lot of criticism in retrospect and is one of the reasons why he is hardly known outside of Russia today. The author Maya Pritsker writes:
“Should we blame Prokofiev for creating the great film score for Ivan Grozny, which interpreted history according to Stalin's dictatorial purposes, or Shostakovich for writing his ballets based on a typical soviet propagandist cliche? Should we blame Myaskovsky for his Kolkhoz or Aviation (Sixteenth) symphonies? Or for receiving Stalin's prize or simply for survival? I do not believe so. To differing degrees, they all experienced enormous inner tragedy and frustration; the deprivation of their freedom of speech and self-expression, the almost complete lack of outside information, the constant accompaniment of Soviet propaganda and official orders, i. e., what to write, how to write. [...] To survive emotionally and artistically, Shostakovich had his anger and irony, Prokofiev, his enormous vitality and foreign experience. Myaskovsky did not have any of that. "
“Should we condemn Prokofiev for writing the great score for Ivan the Terrible , who interpreted the story for the benefit of Stalin , or Shostakovich for writing ballets based on typical Soviet clichés? Shall we condemn Myaskovsky for the collectivization or aviator symphony? Or for receiving the Stalin Prize or just for survival? I do not think so. To varying degrees, they have all experienced enormous internal tragedies and frustrations; the deprivation of their freedom of speech and the freedom to express themselves, the almost complete lack of information from outside, the constant accompaniment of Soviet propaganda and official orders such as what and how to write. […] In order to survive emotionally and artistically, Shostakovich had his anger and irony, Prokofiev his enormous vitality and international experience. Myaskovsky had none of that. "
Myaskovsky chose to adapt as a way out of this difficult situation, which on the one hand brought him great successes within the Soviet Union, but on the other hand also brought severe internal conflicts that manifested themselves in frequent depressions.
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
- kith.org
- wanadoo.nl ( Memento from May 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- myaskovsky.ru