# How many Russian composers do you KNOW?



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

I have a list of 30 here...

How many do you know from this list?

Tchaikovsky
Taneyev
Rachmaninov
Prokofiev
Medtner
Shostakovich
Rimsky-Korsakov
Moussorgsky
Arensky
Balakirev
Cui
Borodin
Myaskovsky
Glazounov
Glière
Glinka
Gretchaninov
Ippolitov-Ivanov
Kabalevsky
Khachaturian
Kancheli
Kasparov
Liadov
Lyatoshynsky
Stravinsky
Rubinstein
Schnittke
Scriabin
Tcherepnin
Catoire


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

this was supposed to be a poll.....0 to 5; 6-10; 11-15 or 16 to 30 composers...

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

This was a mistake, I'll try again to make a poll...LOL

Thank you, spaciba


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Of these, I'm not familiar with Gretchaninov, Cui, Lyatoshinsky, Tcherepnin, and Catoire. 
I've never even heard about Catroire, who I suppose was of French origin.
I may have heart a few bits of their works, but not enough to get familiar.
Actually, Kancheli is not a Russian, but a Georgian, and the Georgians are not related to the Russians at all, or even a Slavic people, but one of the many indigenous peoples of the Caucasus. Their language is as different from Russian as Basque is from Spanish, and even has its own strange-looking non-cyrillic alphabet. In fact, linguistic research has shown that Georgian might even be distantly related to Basque , a language which supposedly has no relatives . 
I have a CD of two symphonies by Kancheli on Sony Classical . His music is distinctive and rather quirky . It's sort of minimalistic in its own way, and features contrasts of extreme quiet with jarring sudden outbursts of extreme loudness .


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I know one. Her name is Olga. But she's not on the list.

From your list I know pieces by 20 with fair familiarity, but I can't say I know all their works. If I heard a Gliere piece I had never heard before I might not recognize the style other than to say, "Man, that's epic." So I'm not sure that's what you mean.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

I was wondering why this thread was so empty...A guy said Russian musicians were very well known...I really don't think so. I am disappointed.

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

superhorn said:


> Of these, I'm not familiar with Gretchaninov, Cui, Lyatoshinsky, Tcherepnin, and Catoire.
> I've never even heard about Catroire, who I suppose was of French origin.
> I may have heart a few bits of their works, but not enough to get familiar.
> Actually, Kancheli is not a Russian, but a Georgian, and the Georgians are not related to the Russians at all, or even a Slavic people, but one of the many indigenous peoples of the Caucasus. Their language is as different from Russian as Basque is from Spanish, and even has its own strange-looking non-cyrillic alphabet. In fact, linguistic research has shown that Georgian might even be distantly related to Basque , a language which supposedly has no relatives .
> I have a CD of two symphonies by Kancheli on Sony Classical . His music is distinctive and rather quirky . It's sort of minimalistic in its own way, and features contrasts of extreme quiet with jarring sudden outbursts of extreme loudness .


Thank you! Very interesting article.

Martin


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## Shostakovichiana (Nov 7, 2011)

Oh, great! Finally some new composers to explore.. But where is Vasily Kalinnikov? Isn't he just a little bit over being mediocre well-known? At least he is one of the most Russian composers I can think of 
But I see the purpose of your poll: maybe the reason as to why many of these names are unknown to the rest of the "mortal", general public, is because these Russians have so long and difficult names


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Shostakovichiana said:


> Oh, great! Finally some new composers to explore.. But where is Vasily Kalinnikov? Isn't he just a little bit over being mediocre well-known? At least he is one of the most Russian composers I can think of
> But I see the purpose of your poll: maybe the reason as to why many of these names are unknown to the rest of the "mortal", general public, is because these Russians have so long and difficult names


Kalinnikov...died very young....He didn't composed a lot. About difficult names...LOL I won't say that are difficult to remember.
The word awkward in English is awkward but not difficult to remember

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/awkward By the way, many words in Russian are hard to pronounce...It is better when you already can speak French and Spanish....You have the sound Kha (x) like in Spanish (joroba)...The sound Zh (ж) like in French (jaune).

I've been speaking French and Spanish for more than half a century...

Martin...learning Russian quite well


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

Martin - are you sure you didn't start a similar/duplicate thread about the same time? I ask because I namechecked what I thought were a couple of omissions compared to some you mentioned on your original list and I vaguely remember your amusingly prickly reply!


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## suffolkcoastal (Feb 28, 2012)

I'm an admirer of Popov, Shebalin & Tischenko who are not on your list. I also have works by composers such as Kopylov, Knipper, the Polish born Vainberg, Boris Tchaikovsky, Karamanov, M Steinberg, Khrennikov, Shchedrin, Muradeli, Shtoharenko, Ovchinnikov, Bunin, Karetnikov, Silvestrov, Eshpai, Ivanovs (technically Latvian I believe) and Lyapunov in my collection and maybe a few others as well as those mentioned in the first post.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Kallinikov's two symphonies are quite attractive and highly melodious . It would be nice if some enterpising conductors would program them once in a while instead of giving the unpteenth performance of Tchaikovsky 4,5 and 6.
I have the Naxos CD of both Kallinikov symphonies with Theodor Kuchar and the Ukrainian National orchestra , and recommend it highly .
The late Yevgeny Svetlanov and a few other conductors have also recorded them .


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Yes, I also remember another version of this same thread.

Anyway, I don't know as many Russian composers as the late Danny Kaye did .

I've mainly had exposure to the big names in Russian music, currently I'm getting into a good deal of Prokofiev. Him as well as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, SHostakovich, Stravinsky are the ones I listen to the most. I also like Schnittke a lot, but listen to his music less as it tends to be very dark & intense...


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## opus55 (Nov 9, 2010)

I know some of them by at least one or two works. * if I consider them among my favorites composers.

Tchaikovsky - yes*
Taneyev
Rachmaninov - yes*
Prokofiev - yes*
Medtner
Shostakovich - yes*
Rimsky-Korsakov - yes
Moussorgsky - yes
Arensky - yes
Balakirev
Cui
Borodin - yes
Myaskovsky
Glazounov - yes*
Glière - yes
Glinka
Gretchaninov
Ippolitov-Ivanov
Kabalevsky
Khachaturian
Kancheli
Kasparov
Liadov
Lyatoshynsky
Stravinsky - yes
Rubinstein
Schnittke
Scriabin - yes*
Tcherepnin
Catoire

Some of them I didn't even know they were Russians. I highly admire symphonies by Prokofiev and Shostakovich.. I also like Kalinnikov's symphonies, recommended by a TC member a while ago.


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

Sid James said:


> Yes, I also remember another version of this same thread.
> 
> Anyway, I don't know as many Russian composers as the late Danny Kaye did .
> 
> I've mainly had exposure to the big names in Russian music, currently I'm getting into a good deal of Prokofiev. Him as well as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, SHostakovich, Stravinsky are the ones I listen to the most. I also like Schnittke a lot, but listen to his music less as it tends to be very dark & intense...


I've just checked - the 'alternative' thread (I'm guessing it was accidentally duplicated) was also initiated on Nov 8th of last year - it received a healthy 66 replies so I haven't a clue why Martin has bumped this one instead.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

opus55 said:


> ...
> Some of them I didn't even know they were Russians...


It's probably obvious but some of them probably didn't consider themselves "Russian," although that can be a broad term, encompassing all the parts of the former Russian Empire. Now it's called the Russian Federation.

Khatchaturian was, judging by his music, more Armenian than Russian. There are a number of other Armenian composers, eg. Arutunian, with his _Trumpet Concerto_, who've made it into the repertoire to some degree. The Naxos label has recorded some composers from other countries in that Caucasus region.

Then there's Gubaidulina, who I think is half Tatar (a republic in Eurasian region). Prokofiev was born in what's now the Ukraine, but I don't know if he was ethnically Ukranian or Russian (or both?). Schnittke had German ancestry, like a lot of the peoples of that part of the Volga region.

It probably doesn't matter a great deal, the history of all these places were & are all linked...


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

And Shostakovich was of Polish extraction on his father's side. Original spelling - Szostakowicz. I think much of the outside world considered Russia and USSR as synonymous because of the sheer size of the Russian republic and that power was centralised in Moscow - a similar lack of distinction still happens with England and Great Britain/UK (a mistake made even by many of her own citizens, embarrassingly).


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

elgars ghost said:


> And Shostakovich was of Polish extraction on his father's side. Original spelling - Szostakowicz. I think much of the outside world considered Russia and USSR as synonymous because of the sheer size of the Russian republic and that power was centralised in Moscow - a similar lack of distinction still happens with England and Great Britain/UK (a mistake made even by many of her own citizens, embarrassingly).


Europe is small...and a part of Poland was Russian...But Shostakovich was Russian...moreover Soviet...and his music is very Soviet too. I'm not sure I enjoy all his music.

Martin


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