performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Neeme Järvi, or below by the Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of Culture and the Russian State Academic Choir Cappella under Gennady Rozhdestvensky (cover image by Paul Morris) …whereas in October, the … Continue reading Shostakovich Symphony no. 3 in E flat, op. 20, ‘The First of May’
performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under Leif Segerstam, or below by the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky While composing the symphony for four years, I simultaneously worked on the music to M. Romm‘s film I Believe…. … Continue reading Schnittke Symphony no. 1
performed by the “Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra Of The Moscow Chamber Theatre” and the Leningrad Philharmonic under Gennady Rozhdestvensky, or below (in English) by the Royal Opera conducted by Ingo Metzmacher The Nose loses all meaning if it is seen just as a … Continue reading Shostakovich: The Nose
Variations and Fugue on a theme of Purcell performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky, or below by the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under Jukka-Pekka Saraste This is fun. And of musical integrity. There are some pieces with either specific … Continue reading Benjamin Britten: The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
performed by the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky “[Tchaikovsky] also knew my Third Symphony, which is dedicated to him. Much in it found his approval and, at his request, I often played the scherzo of the … Continue reading Alexander Glazunov: Symphony no. 3 in D, op. 33
performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky (or in the other recording below by Concertgebouw under Karel Mark Chichon) Heaven forbid! Do not touch it; alter nothing. Your modulations are neither extravagant nor faulty. Your artistic instinct … Continue reading Borodin Symphony no. 2 in B minor
performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky At this point, it’s incredible to believe the blog has been going for more than two years. I have been planning for some time to get around to revisiting some … Continue reading Revisit: Borodin Symphony No. 1 in E flat major
This article has been marked as in need of a revisit. That’s where I feel like I didn’t do the piece justice or have more to say (usually because I didn’t know it nearly well enough or didn’t have the right perspective). I’ll keep the original article for posterity, but publish a new version that will eventually be linked here for my new take on it. performed by the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky This piece was written in 1906-07 and premiered in 1908 with the composer conducting. I will talk about some of its background … Continue reading Rachmaninoff Symphony no. 2
Performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky There’s no article for Wikipedia on this, but other sources reveal it was premiered in 1868 by Borodin’s mentor, Mily Balakirev. I had heard somewhere that Balakirev also helped Rimsky-Korsakov with (and conducted the premiere of) his first symphony. Balakirev encouraged RK to continue work on the first movement. He did so, but apparently made a disaster of the orchestration. Balakirev came to the rescue again, getting RK started by helping him orchestrate the first page. He did well after that. But later, RK said of Balakirev: “[I] was convinced … Continue reading Alexander Borodin: Symphony No. 1 in Eb
Fugue for Thought 