# Underappreciated Russian (and other countries'?) music



## RobertoDevereux (Feb 12, 2013)

Do you know of any gems hidden in the national repretoire of any countries that haven't earned international acclaim and recognition? I was recently reflecting on the music that I heard when I spent two years working in Moscow. They are more or less well-known in Russia, but remain almost totally absent internationally. This is my selection of 7:

1. Sviridov - Time, Forward! 





2. Chesnokov - The Pre-Eternal Council (watch the entrance of basso profundo at 0:34)





3. Glinka - Separation (Nocturne) 





4. Kalinnikov - Symphony No. 1 





5. Gretchaninov - Symphony No. 1 





6. Kabalevsky - Piano Sonatas (this is No. 3 Finale) 





7. Sviridov - Snowstorm Suite (this is No.1 Troika) 





They are very different, but I think they are very good! Do you know of any other "national schools" that are hiding some musical treasures? (I think Finland and the US are among the underappreciated classical music nations...) Any thoughts?

RD


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## Head_case (Feb 5, 2010)

Some fascinating composers there.

I live Sviridov's song cycles: "The Icon" is my favourite piece of his. Thanks to Olympia (London) who popularised his music
in the west over 20 years ago.

Grechaninov is highly appreciated! You'll find a large number of us adore his string quartets no. III & the masterpiece, no. IV (well, about 5 of us :lol

Stankovich (he was Russian, right? ) wrote some superb underrated string quartets which are obscure, sadly out of print, which is why they are hard to rate 

Benjamin Basner's string quartets approximate to a love song cycle for me - again, no formal release in western Europe and beyond.

Klebanov's string quartet cycle still eludes most of us here, although it's fabulous string quartet no IX's is regularly performed in his homeland with its lively scherzo performed on accordion too. Here's the Nocturnum Quartet:


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## RobertoDevereux (Feb 12, 2013)

Wow! This is a really good clip! I've never heard of Khlebanov. And I've never heard any of Gretchaninov's string quartets - I've always associated him with symphonic and choral music. 

And yes - I love Sviridov's songs too. I went to the Cardiff Singer of the World competition 2 years ago, where a Ukrainian guy won the Song Prize with some of Sviridov's solo songs.

The person whose music I can't "crack" is Sofia Gubaidulina. Do you know/like any of her work?

RD


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

@RobertoDevereux do you know Alexander Glazunov? He's quite fantastic, and very underrated. Russian composers definitely don't get as much international acclaim compared to other countries like Germany, Austria and France. Glazunov is well-loved in the Russia, but he's finally started to get a revival in the the last few decades in the rest of the world.

I'm a HUGE fan of Russian composers great and small, and I always enjoy hearing new things. Thanks for the shares!


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

RobertoDevereux said:


> The person whose music I can't "crack" is Sofia Gubaidulina. Do you know/like any of her work?


Could it be because she is Tartar?  Dificult peoples those... I think her music is brimming with excitement! Her Quartets are brilliant, as are her two violin concertos (Especially "Offertorium") and the percussion concerto! Some of her vocal works from the last 20 years are also very engaging. I think that *Canticle of the Sun* is perhaps one of her most accessible works together with the *Concerto for bassoon and low strings*.

A few composers that I have found worth while that are somewhat "underknown" among the Russians of the last 100 years; Vadim Salmanov, Boris Tchaikovsky, Rostislav Boiko, Andrei Esphai, Sergei Tanayev, Valery Gavrilin, Mikael Tariverdiev, Galina Ustvolskaya, Revol Bunin, Georgy Catoire, Alexander Dargomyzhsky, Edison Denisov, German Galynin, Reinhold Glière, Alexander Goedike, Alexander Mosolov, Gavriil Popov, Nikolai Roslavets, Rodion Shchedrin, Alfred Schnittke, Alexander Tcherepnin, César Cui, Boris Tishchenko, Nina Makarova, Aleksandr Lokshin, Arthur Lourié, Mikhaïl Nossyrev, Nikolai Rakov, Vissarion Shebalin (Not re-mentioning some of those previously given)

Many of these I was made aware of through my friend and mentor in anything Russian, the late, Per Skans.

/ptr


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

RobertoDevereux said:


> Wow! This is a really good clip! I've never heard of Khlebanov. And I've never heard any of Gretchaninov's string quartets - I've always associated him with symphonic and choral music.
> 
> And yes - I love Sviridov's songs too. I went to the Cardiff Singer of the World competition 2 years ago, where a Ukrainian guy won the Song Prize with some of Sviridov's solo songs.
> 
> ...


Gubajdulina can be a tough nut to crack, but her style has been very varying. The early *Piano Quintet* for instance is very Shostakovich-like and a bit too simplistic to my taste. But her *piano works* - including the Sonata and the Chaconne in particular - and the *Piano Concerto* are a bit of a relevation, primarily in the Beatrice Rauch BIS CD, the most engaged recording of these works IMO. Here´s a clip from the Sonata 



 The *1st Violin Concerto, "Offertorium"* is an ambitious, splendid and intricate work, quoting Bach, with a beautiful cantabile section at the end; here´s the splendid Kagan recording 



 And the *Viola Concerto* has an elegiac, lyrical tone as well 




*Edison Denisov *has a fascinating production; he no doubt repeated himself too much in his later style, but overall he experimented a lot, influenced by the French tradition and other stuff. His flute works sound almost impressionistic, such as the *Flute Sonata* 



whereas the cantata "*The Sun of the Incas*" was an early example of Boulez-influence in the USSR (a sort of Le Marteau sans Maitre; it´s not on you-tube). Another example is his use of bird-recordings and ensemble soloists in the beautiful "*Birds Singing*" 



 . The cool *Sonata for Cello & Saxophone* employs occasional jazz influence 



, like his wild Piano Concerto. The Cello Concerto is recommended in the Georgian/Kitayenko recording, but it is a dark, tragic work, with the unusual inclusion of an electric guitar.

*Valeri Gavrilin* wrote in the grand, melodical Russian tradition, with a focus on vocal music, as heard in his "*Chimes Concerto*" 



 and sweeping *songs* 



 and *waltze*s 



 He seems under-recorded, at least in the West.

*Alexander Lokshin* was a dissident and wrote ambitious, rather modern-sounding *symphonies*, which await up-to-date recordings, such as No.4


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## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

RobertoDevereux said:


> Do you know of any gems hidden in the national repretoire of any countries that haven't earned international acclaim and recognition?


Rimsky Korsakov - _Sadko_





Glinka - _Ruslan And Ludmila_


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## RobertoDevereux (Feb 12, 2013)

*Huilunsoittaja*, yes, I've heard some of Glazunov's music, though not much, and I do agree that he is very underrated. I saw his ballet "Raymonda" at the Bolshoi, and I heard his violin concerto once as well as one of his early symphonies, but that's about it.

Yes, I think there are quite a lot of interesting Russian composers/works that never gained popularity outside of Russia. I really like Sviridov (as you could see from my selection above!) and I think Chesnokov can be really profound - I think he is Palestrina of Russian church music 

RD


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## RobertoDevereux (Feb 12, 2013)

*sharik*, yep, totally agree - I think Rimsky is the most underappreciated Russian operatic composer. Everyone knows the Flight of the Bumble Bee (which is actually a part of his opera) and the Cappriccio Espagnol, but Sadko, Tsar's Bride, May Night, and even Mozart and Salieri are real masterpieces!

RD


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## RobertoDevereux (Feb 12, 2013)

ptr said:


> ...A few composers that I have found worth while that are somewhat "underknown" among the Russians of the last 100 years...


Wow, that a list! It'll take me a century just to go through this!  Some of the names actually sound familiar though, so maybe 80 years? 

Thanks!

RD


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## RobertoDevereux (Feb 12, 2013)

joen_cph said:


> *Valeri Gavrilin* wrote in the grand, melodical Russian tradition, with a focus on vocal music, as heard in his "*Chimes Concerto*"
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes! Love Gavrilin! (which perhaps betrays a certain lack of sophistication on my part, but hey!...  A friend told me that just about anyone who studied in Russian "music schools" knows this cute but exciting Tarantella. It never fails to cheer me up:





RD


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Boris Lyatoshinsky (1895-1968)

Another composer who fell foul of the authorities and was obliged to tone down his style (not that it was actually outrageous to start with). Here is the 4th of his five symphonies, published in 1963.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

RobertoDevereux said:


> *Huilunsoittaja*, yes, I've heard some of Glazunov's music, though not much, and I do agree that he is very underrated. I saw his ballet "Raymonda" at the Bolshoi, and I heard his violin concerto once as well as one of his early symphonies, but that's about it.
> 
> Yes, I think there are quite a lot of interesting Russian composers/works that never gained popularity outside of Russia. I really like Sviridov (as you could see from my selection above!) and I think Chesnokov can be really profound - I think he is Palestrina of Russian church music
> 
> RD


WAhhhh! What I would do to get a chance to hear a full-scale work by Glazunov performed live, even a symphony or ballet! Such rare occasions around here, but I might get my break soon.


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## hreichgott (Dec 31, 2012)

You need basically the equivalent of ten USA ballet companies to do Raymonda...


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