# Favorite Compositions by Russian Composer(s) Per Genre(s)



## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Following up from Eclectic Al's recent thread regarding British Composers (thank you Eclectic Al), what are your favorite works of Russian Composers per genre(s)? This one is tough, for there are many great works to choose from (how talented and gifted these Russians were). But I'll start.


Symphony I: Tchaikovsky (Symphony no. V)
Symphony II: Glazunov (Symphony no. VI)
Symphony III: Myaskovsky (Symphony no. XVI or XXVII)
Symphony IV: Popov (Symphony no. I)
Symphonic Poem I: Tchaikovsky (Francesca da Rimini)
Symphonic Poem II: Glazunov (The Sea)
Symphonic Poem III: Rachmaninoff (The Isle of the Dead)
Symphonic Poem IV: Boris Tchaikovsky (The Wind of Siberia)
Solo Keyboard I: Glazunov (Theme et Variations)
Solo Keyboard II: Rebikov (Esclavage et Liberte)
Solo Keyboard III: Rubinstein (Deux Melodies, Opus 3)
Solo Keyboard cycle: Rachmaninoff (Twenty-Four Preludes)
Chamber I: Glazunov (String Quartet III)
Chamber II: Shebalin (String Quartet VI)
Chamber III: Tchaikovsky (Souvenir de Florence)
Symphonic Suite I: Tchaikovsky (Suite III)
Symphonic Suite II: Glazunov (From the Middle Ages)
Choral: Rachmaninoff (Vespers)
Rhapsody: Myaskovsky (Rhapsody on Ancient Russian Themes)
Piano Concerto: Tchaikovsky (Piano Concerto II)
Violin Concerto: Nikolai Rakov
Cello Concerto: Kabalevsky (no. II)
Ballet I: Tchaikovsky (The Sleeping Beauty)
Ballet II: Glazunov (The Seasons)
Ballet III: Khachaturian (Spartacus)
Ballet IV: Murad Kazhlayev (Gorianka)
Opera I: Anton Rubinstein (The Demon)
Opera II: Tchaikovsky (Mazeppa)
Opera III: Prokofiev (The Fiery Angel)
Opera IV: Shostakovich (Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District)
Opera V: Dargomyzhsky (Rusalka)
Incidental: Glazunov (Tsar Iudeyskiy)
Overture: Balakirev (Overture on Spanish Themes)
Symphonic Fantasy I: Glinka (Kamarinskaya)
Symphonic Fantasy II: Svetlanov (Siberian Fantasy)
Concert work/misc.: Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (Tableaux "Songs of Ossian")
Music for film: Prokofiev (Ivan the Terrible)
Like I said, this one here is tough. But please, what say you.
:tiphat:


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## aioriacont (Jul 23, 2018)

On Russia, the composition composes the composer!


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Favorite Compositions by Russian Composer(s) Per Genre(s) _from an American_:

Symphony: Shostakovich #5
Violin Concerto: Prokofiev #1
Piano Concerto: Tchaikovsky#1
Cello Concerto: Shostakovich #1
Ballet: (Tie) Tchaikovsky: _Swan Lake_; Stravinsky: _Rite of Spring_
Opera: Mussorgsky: _Boris Godounov_
Overture: Rimsky-Korsakov: _Russian Easter_
Choral: Rachmaninoff: _Vespers/All Night Vigil_
Orchestral, Not Otherwise Specified: Borodin: _In the Steppes of Central Asia _
Piano: Mussorgsky: _Pictures at an Exhibition_
Chamber Work: Rachmaninoff: Sonata for Cello and Piano


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Symphony - Shostakovich 10th
Violin Concerto - Weinberg
Cello Concerto - Myaskovsky
Solo Piano - Shostakovich op. 87 preludes and fugues.
Overture - Tchaikovsky 1812
Ballet - Stravinsky's Rite of Spring


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Symphony: Prokofiev 5; Tchaikovsky 4, 5

Piano cto: Prokofiev 2, Rachmaninoff 3

String: Tchaikovsky Serenade

Violin Cto: DMSH No. 2

Opera: Boris

Misc. Orch: Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

Ballet: Prokofiev R&J

Piano: Prokofiev 7 Sonata

Anything might change if we call Stravinsky Russian


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Symphony: Kalinninov 1st
Symphonic Poem: Balakirev Tamar
Solo Keyboard: Rubinstein Kamenniy-Ostrov
Chamber: Rimsky-Korsakov Piano Quintet
Symphonic Suite: Scheherazade
Choral: Ippolitov-Ivanov Liturgy of St. John Chrisostom
Rhapsody: Rachmaninoff Russian Rhapsody
Piano Concerto: Tchaikovsky no. 1
Violin Concerto: Tchaikovsky 
Cello Concerto: Karl Davydov concerto no. 2
Ballet: Tchaikovsky The Sleeping Beauty
Opera: Mussorgsky Boris Godunov (RK version)
Incidental: Khachaturian Masquerade Suite
Overture: Glinka Russlan and Lyudmilla
Symphonic Fantasy: Glazunov Finnish Fantasy
Concert work/misc.: N. Tcherepnin Tati-Tati
Music for film: Shostakovich The Gadfly (really Soviet, but then there were no sound films in the Russian era)


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

MarkW said:


> ...Anything might change if we call Stravinsky Russian


Though Stravinsky lived abroad most of his life, and changed citizenship status twice, (France, then America), I can't see how Stravinsky's output could ever have been composed by someone not speaking in an authentic Russian musical voice.


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## aioriacont (Jul 23, 2018)

my favorite Russian composer is Bach, since he is omnipresent across all universe, as the Godly manifestation of music in divine essnce.

That said, my favorite compositions from russian composers are:

st matthew passion
mass in b minor
st john passion
german organ mass (clavier ubung III)
violin sonatas and partitas
well tempered clavier
brandenburg concertos
orchestral suites

and a couple of Laibach's albums too, an experimental russian band


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

My selection is rather eclectic and broad-reaching...

Symphony - Tchaikovsky 6; Shostakovich 4, 5, 8; Prokofiev 5, Balakirev 1
Orchestral Work - Stravinsky Rite and Petrushka, R-K Scheherazade
Piano Concerto - Rachmaninoff 2 and 3; Prokofiev 2 and 3, Scriabin (the only work of his I’ve learned to love)
Violin Concerto - Shostakovich 1, Myaskovsky, Gubaidulina Offertorium
Cello Concerto - Shostakovich 1 and 2, Myaskovsky
Choral Work - Rachmaninoff All-Night Vigil, Stravinsky Threni and Requiem Canticles
Chamber Work - Arensky piano trios, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev Cello Sonatas, Shostakovich and Schnittke Piano Quintets
String Quartet - Borodin 2, Shostakovich 3, 4, 6, 8
Piano Works - Rachmaninoff Preludes, Prokofiev War Sonatas, Medtner Sonata Romantica and B-flat minor sonata, Balakirev Islamey

That was all really off the top of my head and thus I’m sorry if I had too many per category - but I love Russian music!


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Today they are:

Symphony: Tchaikovsky No. 6 _Pathétique_
Violin Concerto: Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto: Rachmaninoff No. 3
Solo Piano: Prokofiev War Sonatas
Opera: Mussorgsky _Boris Godunov_
Overture: Tchaikovsky 1812
Choral: Rachmaninoff _Vespers - All-Night Vigil_
Chamber Work: Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8
Ballet: Tchaikovsky _The Sleeping Beauty_
Other Orchestral: Mussorgsky/Ravel _Pictures at an Exhibition_


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Do "Soviet" composers count? Khachaturian? He'd be my favorite -- the ballets Spartacus and Gayane. He was born in Tibilisi Georgia 1903, then part of Russia. It became independent 1921 and part of USSR 1936.

Not to bollix the works but is Stravinsky Russian or French? Wikipedia lists his nationality as "American, French, Russian." He left Russia 1914 and never returned until 1962. His most famous work was written and premiered in Paris 1918.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

larold said:


> Do "Soviet" composers count? Khachaturian? He'd be my favorite -- the ballets Spartacus and Gayane. He was born in Tibilisi Georgia 1903, then part of Russia. It became independent 1921 and part of USSR 1936.
> 
> Not to bollix the works but is Stravinsky Russian or French? Wikipedia lists his nationality as "American, French, Russian." He left Russia 1914 and never returned until 1962. His most famous work was written and premiered in Paris 1918.


Stravinsky is Russian, despite the various styles of classical music he adopted. And yes, Soviet composers count, although plenty of composers of the former satellite nations may have contested that, at least through their music (like, say, Tubin, Ivanovs, Kancheli, Skulte).


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Soviet...Russian...are Georgians Russian? Ukrainians? Interesting topic. A few years back I played a concert titled Romantic Americans. We did Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini and Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms. Both became US citizens in the 1940s. Some audience members were not amused.


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