Symphony No. 6 (Myaskovsky)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 6 in E flat minor, Op. 23 by Nikolai Myaskovsky
was composed between 1921 and 1923. It is the largest and most ambitious of his 27 symphonies, planned on a Mahlerian scale
, and uses a chorus in the finale. It has been described as 'probably the most significant Russian symphony between Tchaikovsky
's Pathétique
and the Fourth Symphony
of Shostakovich
'. (Myaskovsky in fact wrote part of the work in Klin
, where Tchaikovsky wrote the Pathétique.) The premiere took place at the Bolshoi Theatre
, Moscow on 4 May 1924, conducted by Nikolai Golovanov and was a notable success.
Soviet commentators used to describe the work as an attempt to portray the development and early struggles of the Soviet state, but it is now known that its roots were more personal. The harsh, emphatically descending chordal theme with which the symphony begins apparently arose in the composer's mind at a mass rally in which he heard the Soviet Procurator Nikolai Krylenko
conclude his speech with the call 'Death, death to the enemies of the revolution!' Myaskovsky had been affected by the deaths of his father, his close friend Alexander Revidzev and his aunt Yelikonida Konstantinovna Myaskovskaya, and especially by seeing his aunt’s body in a bleak, empty Petrograd
flat during the winter of 1920. In 1919 the painter Lopatinsky, who had been living in Paris, sang Myaskovsky some French Revolution
ary songs which were still current among Parisian workers: these would find their way into the symphony's finale. He was also influenced by Les Aubes (The Dawns), a verse drama by the Belgian
writer Emile Verhaeren
, which enacted the death of a revolutionary hero and his funeral.
The symphony is scored for 3 flutes (3rd takes piccolo), 3 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contra-bassoon, 6 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, side drum, celesta, harp, strings and mixed chorus. It has four movements:
The full score was published by Universal Edition
, Vienna in 1925. Myaskovsky revised the work in 1947. In this later version the chorus is optional.
There have been several recordings of this symphony, conducted by, among others, Kiril Kondrashin
(twice), Evgeny Svetlanov
, Dmitry Liss
, Neeme Järvi
, Veronica Dudarova
and Robert Stankovsky. Only Svetlanov - thus far the only conductor who recorded all 27 Myaskovsky symphonies - omitted the chorus in the finale, probably for financial rather than artistic reasons.
Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of the Soviet symphony".-Early years and first important works:...
was composed between 1921 and 1923. It is the largest and most ambitious of his 27 symphonies, planned on a Mahlerian scale
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, and uses a chorus in the finale. It has been described as 'probably the most significant Russian symphony between Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Pathétique
Symphony No. 6 (Tchaikovsky)
The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, Pathétique is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final completed symphony, written between February and the end of August 1893. The composer led the first performance in Saint Petersburg on 16/28 October of that year, nine days before his death...
and the Fourth Symphony
Symphony No. 4 (Shostakovich)
Dmitri Shostakovich composed his Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Opus 43, between September 1935 and May 1936, after abandoning some preliminary sketch material...
of Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
'. (Myaskovsky in fact wrote part of the work in Klin
Klin
Klin is a town and the administrative center of Klinsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Moscow. The M10 highway connecting Moscow to St. Petersburg and the Moscow-Saint Petersburg Railway run through the town. It was home to Klin air base during the Cold War. ...
, where Tchaikovsky wrote the Pathétique.) The premiere took place at the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
, Moscow on 4 May 1924, conducted by Nikolai Golovanov and was a notable success.
Soviet commentators used to describe the work as an attempt to portray the development and early struggles of the Soviet state, but it is now known that its roots were more personal. The harsh, emphatically descending chordal theme with which the symphony begins apparently arose in the composer's mind at a mass rally in which he heard the Soviet Procurator Nikolai Krylenko
Nikolai Krylenko
Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician. Krylenko served in a variety of posts in the Soviet legal system, rising to become People's Commissar for Justice and Prosecutor General of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic.Krylenko was an...
conclude his speech with the call 'Death, death to the enemies of the revolution!' Myaskovsky had been affected by the deaths of his father, his close friend Alexander Revidzev and his aunt Yelikonida Konstantinovna Myaskovskaya, and especially by seeing his aunt’s body in a bleak, empty Petrograd
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
flat during the winter of 1920. In 1919 the painter Lopatinsky, who had been living in Paris, sang Myaskovsky some French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
ary songs which were still current among Parisian workers: these would find their way into the symphony's finale. He was also influenced by Les Aubes (The Dawns), a verse drama by the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
writer Emile Verhaeren
Emile Verhaeren
Emile Verhaeren was a Belgian poet who wrote in the French language, and one of the chief founders of the school of Symbolism....
, which enacted the death of a revolutionary hero and his funeral.
The symphony is scored for 3 flutes (3rd takes piccolo), 3 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contra-bassoon, 6 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, side drum, celesta, harp, strings and mixed chorus. It has four movements:
- I Poco largamente - Allegro feroce, a large and turbulent sonataSonata formSonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
-allegro - II Presto tenebroso, a scherzo apparently inspired by the winter winds blowing outside the house where the composer's aunt lay dead, with an Andante moderato trio that uses a form of the Dies IraeDies IraeDies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
chant. - III Andante appassionato, a romantic slow movement
- IV Allegro vivace - Più sostenuto - Andante molto espressivo, an episodic finale beginning with a bright E flat major fantasia on the French revolutionary songs Ah! ça iraAh! ça ira"Ah ! ça ira" is an emblematic song of the French Revolution, first heard in May 1790. It underwent several changes in wording, all of which used the title words as part of the refrain.-Original version:...
and CarmagnoleCarmagnoleLa Carmagnole, the name of the short jacket worn by working-class militant sans-culottes adopted from the Piedmontese peasant costume whose name derives from the town of Carmagnola, is the title of a French song created and made popular during the French Revolution, based on a tune and a wild dance...
then turning to a dark C minor with the Dies Irae. A clarinet introduces the melody of a Russian Orthodox burial hymn, 'How the Soul Parted from the Body' (Shto mui vidyeli? - 'What did we see? A miraculous wonder, a dead body ...'). The chorus enters with wailing cries that punctuate a setting of the hymn. In the codaCoda (music)Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
the main theme of the third movement returns as the basis of a peaceful epilogue.
The full score was published by Universal Edition
Universal Edition
Universal Edition is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, and originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market...
, Vienna in 1925. Myaskovsky revised the work in 1947. In this later version the chorus is optional.
There have been several recordings of this symphony, conducted by, among others, Kiril Kondrashin
Kiril Kondrashin
Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin , was a Russian conductor.-Early life:...
(twice), Evgeny Svetlanov
Evgeny Svetlanov
Yevgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov was a Russian conductor, composer, and though less well-known, a pianist.Svetlanov was born in Moscow and studied conducting at the Moscow Conservatory. From 1955 he conducted at the Bolshoi Theatre, being appointed principal conductor there in 1962...
, Dmitry Liss
Dmitry Liss
Dmitry Liss - Russian conductor considered to be one of the best European conductors of his generation and famous for his elegant style and artistic execution, artistic director and chief conductor of the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
, Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi is an Estonian-born conductor.-Early life:Järvi studied music first in Tallinn, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others...
, Veronica Dudarova
Veronica Dudarova
Veronika Borisovna Dudarova was a Soviet and later Russian symphony conductor, the first woman to succeed as symphony conductor in 20th century after success of Marie Gruner with Vienna's Ludwig Morelli Orchestra in 1860s. She became a conductor of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra in 1947, and...
and Robert Stankovsky. Only Svetlanov - thus far the only conductor who recorded all 27 Myaskovsky symphonies - omitted the chorus in the finale, probably for financial rather than artistic reasons.