Many consider Dmitri Shostakovich the greatest composer of the 20th century. Born September 25, 1906, he might not have lived past his teens if he hadn't been talented. During the famines of the Revolutionary period in Russia, Alexander Glazunov, director of the Petrograd (later Leningrad) Conservatory, arranged for the poor and malnourished Shostakovich's food ration to be increased. Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1, his graduation exercise for Maximilian Steinberg's composition course at the Conservatory, was completed in 1925 at age 19 and was an immediate success worldwide. He was The Party's poster boy; his Second and Third Symphonies unabashedly subtitled, respectively, "To October". (celebrating the Revolution) and "The First of May". (International Workers' Day).
His highly emotional harmonic language is simultaneously tough yet communicative, but his expansion of Mahlerian symphonic structure, dissonances, sardonic irony, and dark moods eventually clashed with the conservative edicts of Communist Party officials. In 1936 he was viciously denounced by Pravda...
His highly emotional harmonic language is simultaneously tough yet communicative, but his expansion of Mahlerian symphonic structure, dissonances, sardonic irony, and dark moods eventually clashed with the conservative edicts of Communist Party officials. In 1936 he was viciously denounced by Pravda...
- 9/26/2016
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Having given the history of the "New World" in Part I, it seems wise to preface Part II with some words about how the symphony is constructed. The movements are:
I. Adagio; Allegro molto II. Largo III. Scherzo: Molto vivace IV. Allegro con fuoco
Unusually, every movement starts with an introduction. The first movement's is the most famous: starts with a striking slow introduction that establishes the current of nostalgia for, or homesickness for, the composer's native Bohemia. Another reminder of this comes with the famotus flute solo -- or does it? Some have remarked on its similarity to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," but this is not so much a quote as a paraphrase, so to speak; small bits of "Chariot" are elided into something new that mingles many flavors: African-America spiritual, yes, but also Native American music and Bohemian folk music, which share a pentatonic flavor.
Note that the...
I. Adagio; Allegro molto II. Largo III. Scherzo: Molto vivace IV. Allegro con fuoco
Unusually, every movement starts with an introduction. The first movement's is the most famous: starts with a striking slow introduction that establishes the current of nostalgia for, or homesickness for, the composer's native Bohemia. Another reminder of this comes with the famotus flute solo -- or does it? Some have remarked on its similarity to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," but this is not so much a quote as a paraphrase, so to speak; small bits of "Chariot" are elided into something new that mingles many flavors: African-America spiritual, yes, but also Native American music and Bohemian folk music, which share a pentatonic flavor.
Note that the...
- 12/7/2014
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
This cleverly edited collection of letters reveals an attractive and energetic man. But Bernstein now has a mixed musical reputation – even if West Side Story will live forever
Like many figures eminent in their time through a grasp of the zeitgeist and a powerful personality, Leonard Bernstein's reputation has not worn well. Future generations may wonder why it was Bernstein who conducted the Berlin concerts in December 1989 to celebrate the fall of the Berlin wall. He had no connection with Berlin, and had conducted the Berlin Philharmonic only once, in 1979. There was, too, a very obvious candidate in Kurt Masur, the great conductor who had been involved in the Leipzig uprising. But the job fell to Bernstein, who had never even lived in the continent whose unification he was celebrating. No one seemed puzzled: it was a case of the triumph of the overwhelming personality.
That personality is apparent...
Like many figures eminent in their time through a grasp of the zeitgeist and a powerful personality, Leonard Bernstein's reputation has not worn well. Future generations may wonder why it was Bernstein who conducted the Berlin concerts in December 1989 to celebrate the fall of the Berlin wall. He had no connection with Berlin, and had conducted the Berlin Philharmonic only once, in 1979. There was, too, a very obvious candidate in Kurt Masur, the great conductor who had been involved in the Leipzig uprising. But the job fell to Bernstein, who had never even lived in the continent whose unification he was celebrating. No one seemed puzzled: it was a case of the triumph of the overwhelming personality.
That personality is apparent...
- 11/28/2013
- by Philip Hensher
- The Guardian - Film News
Andy Barclay from the London Philharmonic Orchestra describes crafting a film score using only natural instruments – and spoons
"I always go to see films I've played on thinking, 'I'll listen out for that bit'; and then I get to the end and realise that I haven't listened to the music, which is a compliment because you shouldn't be. If you don't notice it, then it's probably been good," says the London Philharmonic Orchestra's Andy Barclay.
Barclay is a percussionist, and I'm meeting him at one of the final 20 or so sessions the orchestra did this autumn to record Howard Shore's Hobbit soundtrack – and that was just for part one. "If you feel like you've been pulled through a mangle backwards then the music's good and it's done its job," he says. In hindsight, it's a slightly unfortunate choice of words given the nausea-inducing quality of Peter Jackson's 48 frames-per-second film.
"I always go to see films I've played on thinking, 'I'll listen out for that bit'; and then I get to the end and realise that I haven't listened to the music, which is a compliment because you shouldn't be. If you don't notice it, then it's probably been good," says the London Philharmonic Orchestra's Andy Barclay.
Barclay is a percussionist, and I'm meeting him at one of the final 20 or so sessions the orchestra did this autumn to record Howard Shore's Hobbit soundtrack – and that was just for part one. "If you feel like you've been pulled through a mangle backwards then the music's good and it's done its job," he says. In hindsight, it's a slightly unfortunate choice of words given the nausea-inducing quality of Peter Jackson's 48 frames-per-second film.
- 12/17/2012
- by Imogen Tilden
- The Guardian - Film News
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