Russian Symphony Concerts

Last updated
Portrait of M.P. Belyayev, founder of the Russian Symphony Concerts, by Ilya Repin Belyayev by Repin.jpg
Portrait of M.P. Belyayev, founder of the Russian Symphony Concerts, by Ilya Repin

The Russian Symphony Concerts were a series of Russian classical music concerts hosted by timber magnate and musical philanthropist Mitrofan Belyayev in St. Petersburg as a forum for young Russian composers to have their orchestral works performed. While a number of works by these composers were performed, pieces written by composers of the previous generation such as Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Mily Balakirev were also played there.

Mitrofan Belyayev Russian publisher, philanthropist, violist and businessman

Mitrofan Petrovich Belyayev was an Imperial Russian music publisher, outstanding philanthropist, and the owner of a large wood dealership enterprise in Russia. He was also the founder of the Belyayev circle, a society of musicians in Russia whose members included Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov and Anatoly Lyadov. His surname is often transliterated as Belaieff or Belayev. In 1886 the important Russian painter Ilya Repin made a portrait of Belyayev.

Saint Petersburg Federal city in Northwestern, Russia

Saint Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with 5 million inhabitants in 2012, part of the Saint Petersburg agglomeration with a population of 6.2 million (2015). An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal subject.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Russian composer

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five. He was a master of orchestration. His best-known orchestral compositions—Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade—are staples of the classical music repertoire, along with suites and excerpts from some of his 15 operas. Scheherazade is an example of his frequent use of fairy tale and folk subjects.

Contents

History

The idea for the Russian Symphony Concerts was Rimsky-Korsakov's. He had become acquainted with Belyayev at the weekly "quartet Fridays" ("Les Vendredis") held at Belayev's home. Belayev had already taken a keen interest in the musical future of the teenage Alexander Glazunov, [1] who had been one of Rimsky-Korsakov's composition students. In 1884, Belayev rented out a hall and hired an orchestra to play Glazunov's First Symphony plus an orchestral suite Glazunov had just composed. [2] Glazunov was to conduct part of this concert. [2] Seeing he was not ready to do this, Rimsky-Korsakov volunteered to take his place. [2] This "rehearsal," as Rimsky-Korsakov called it, went well and pleased both Belayev and the invited audience. [3] Buoyed by the success of the rehearsal, Belayev decided the following season to give a public concert of works by Glazunov and other composers. [4] Rimsky-Korsakov's piano concerto was played, along with Glazunov's symphonic poem Stenka Razin . [4]

Alexander Glazunov Russian composer, music teacher and conductor

Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He served as director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was instrumental in the reorganization of the institute into the Petrograd Conservatory, then the Leningrad Conservatory, following the Bolshevik Revolution. He continued heading the Conservatory until 1930, though he had left the Soviet Union in 1928 and did not return. The best-known student under his tenure during the early Soviet years was Dmitri Shostakovich.

Alexander Glazunov wrote his Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 5, in 1881, when he was 16 years old. It was premiered the following year in St. Petersburg. It is known as his Slavonian Symphony.

Piano Concerto (Rimsky-Korsakov) concerto by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov composed his Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor, Op. 30, between 1882 and 1883. It was first performed in March 1884 at one of Mily Balakirev's Free Music School concerts in St. Petersburg.

Both the rehearsal the previous year and this concert gave Rimsky-Korsakov the idea of offering several concerts per year featuring Russian compositions. [5] The number of orchestral compositions was growing, and there were always difficulties in having the Russian Musical Society and other organizations program them. [5] Rimsky-Korsakov mentioned the idea to Belayev. Belayev liked it, [5] inaugurating the Russian Symphony Concerts during the 1886-1887 season. [6] Rimsky-Korsakov shared conducting duties for these concerts. [5]

Russian Musical Society organization

The Russian Musical Society (RMS) was an organization founded in 1859 by the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna and her protégé, pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein, with the intent of raising the standard of music in the country and disseminating musical education.

In 1889 Belyayev engaged Rimsky-Korsakov to conduct two such concerts at the Paris Exposition. Rimsky-Korsakov recalled that although the performances, held at the Trocadéro on 22 and 29 June involving the Concerts Colonne orchestra, had gone well, the audiences had been meagre due to Belyayev's reluctance to advertise the concerts. [7] Nonetheless, the programmes of works by Glinka, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky and Lyadov, as well as works by "the mighty handful" made a profound impression on Maurice Ravel and Ricardo Viñes, who made a point of obtaining a piano duet arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's Antar Symphony. So started what was to be an important influence on Ravel's own work. [8]

The Colonne Orchestra is a French symphony orchestra, founded in 1873 by the violinist and conductor Édouard Colonne.

Maurice Ravel French composer

Joseph Maurice Ravel was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer.

Ricardo Viñes Spanish pianist

Ricardo Viñes y Roda was a Spanish pianist. He gave the premieres of works by Ravel, Debussy, Satie, Falla and Albéniz. He was the piano teacher of the composer Francis Poulenc and the pianists Marcelle Meyer, Joaquín Nin-Culmell and Léo-Pol Morin.

Glazunov was appointed conductor for the series in 1896. The following year, he led the disastrous premiere of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No 1. While Glazunov's conducting skills were not especially strong and he used his rehearsal time poorly, his alcoholism may have contributed to the debacle. [9]

Sergei Rachmaninoff Russian composer, pianist, and conductor

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist and conductor of the late Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular in the Romantic repertoire.

Symphony No. 1 (Rachmaninoff) symphony by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1 in D minor, his Op. 13, was composed between January and October 1895 at his Ivanovka estate near Tambov, Russia. Despite its poor initial reception the symphony is now seen as a dynamic representation of the Russian symphonic tradition, with British composer Robert Simpson calling it "a powerful work in its own right, stemming from Borodin and Tchaikovsky, but convinced, individual, finely constructed, and achieving a genuinely tragic and heroic expression that stands far above the pathos of his later music."

Alcoholism broad term for problems with alcohol

Alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder (AUD), is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in mental or physical health problems. The disorder was previously divided into two types: alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. In a medical context, alcoholism is said to exist when two or more of the following conditions are present: a person drinks large amounts over a long time period, has difficulty cutting down, acquiring and drinking alcohol takes up a great deal of time, alcohol is strongly desired, usage results in not fulfilling responsibilities, usage results in social problems, usage results in health problems, usage results in risky situations, withdrawal occurs when stopping, and alcohol tolerance has occurred with use. Risky situations include drinking and driving or having unsafe sex, among other things. Alcohol use can affect all parts of the body, but it particularly affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas and immune system. This can result in mental illness, Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome, irregular heartbeat, liver cirrhosis and increased cancer risk, among other diseases. Drinking during pregnancy can cause damage to the baby resulting in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Women are generally more sensitive than men to the harmful physical and mental effects of alcohol.

Works premiered

Some of the works currently best known as "Russian music" were first presented at the Russian Symphony Concerts. Rimsky-Korsakov finished his revision of Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain and conducted it at the opening concert. [10] He also wrote Scheherazade , Capriccio espagnol and the Russian Easter Festival Overture specifically for them. [11] Revisions of earlier works were also featured. One concert included the first complete performance of the final version of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's First Symphony; another featured the premiere of the revised version of Rimsky-Korsakov's Third Symphony. [12] Sergei Rachmaninoff's tone poem The Rock was premiered at a Russian Symphony Concert in 1896 under the direction of Glazunov; this was followed a year later by the premiere of Rachmaninoff's First Symphony, also under Glazunov. [13]

Modest Mussorgsky Russian composer (1839-1881)

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five". He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period. He strove to achieve a uniquely Russian musical identity, often in deliberate defiance of the established conventions of Western music.

<i>Night on Bald Mountain</i> composition by Modest Mussorgsky

Night on Bald Mountain, also known as Night on the Bare Mountain, is a series of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). Inspired by Russian literary works and legend, Mussorgsky composed a "musical picture", St. John's Eve on Bald Mountain on the theme of a witches' sabbath occurring on St. John's Eve, which he completed on that very night, 23 June 1867. Together with Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov's Sadko (1867), it is one of the first tone poems by a Russian composer.

<i>Scheherazade</i> (Rimsky-Korsakov) symphonic poem by Rimsky-Korsakov

Scheherazade, also commonly Sheherazade, Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888 and based on One Thousand and One Nights.

Related Research Articles

Mily Balakirev 18th and 19th-century Russian composer, pianist, and conductor

Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known today primarily for his work promoting musical nationalism and his encouragement of more famous Russian composers, notably Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He began his career as a pivotal figure, extending the fusion of traditional folk music and experimental classical music practices begun by composer Mikhail Glinka. In the process, Balakirev developed musical patterns that could express overt nationalistic feeling. After a nervous breakdown and consequent sabbatical, he returned to classical music but did not wield the same level of influence as before.

Anatoly Lyadov Russian composer, teacher and conductor

Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov or Liadov was a Russian composer, teacher and conductor.

Sergei Taneyev Russian composer, pianist, music theorist and teacher

Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author.

Symphony No. 3 (Tchaikovsky) symphony by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 29, was written in 1875. He began it at Vladimir Shilovsky's estate at Ussovo on 5 June and finished on 1 August at Verbovka. Dedicated to Shilovsky, the work is unique in Tchaikovsky's symphonic output in two ways: it is the only one of his seven symphonies in a major key ; and it is the only one to contain five movements.

Nikolai Semyonovich Golovanov, PAU, was a Soviet conductor and composer, who was married to the soprano Antonina Nezhdanova.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Five

In mid- to late-19th-century Russia, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and a group of composers known as The Five had differing opinions as to whether Russian classical music should be composed following Western or native practices. Tchaikovsky wanted to write professional compositions of such quality that they would stand up to Western scrutiny and thus transcend national barriers, yet remain distinctively Russian in melody, rhythm and other compositional characteristics. The Five, made up of composers Mily Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, sought to produce a specifically Russian kind of art music, rather than one that imitated older European music or relied on European-style conservatory training. While Tchaikovsky himself used folk songs in some of his works, for the most part he tried to follow Western practices of composition, especially in terms of tonality and tonal progression. Also, unlike Tchaikovsky, none of The Five were academically trained in composition; in fact, their leader, Balakirev, considered academicism a threat to musical imagination. Along with critic Vladimir Stasov, who supported The Five, Balakirev attacked relentlessly both the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, from which Tchaikovsky had graduated, and its founder Anton Rubinstein, orally and in print.

Nadezhda Rimskaya-Korsakova Russian musician

Nadezhda Nikolayevna Rimskaya-Korsakova (Russian: Надежда Николаевна Римская-Корсакова née Purgold was a Russian pianist and composer as well as the wife of composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. She was also the mother of Russian musicologist Andrey Rimsky-Korsakov.

Symphony No. 1 (Rimsky-Korsakov) symphony by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov composed his Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 1, between 1861 and 1865 under the guidance of Mily Balakirev. Balakirev also premiered the work at a concert of the Free Music School in December 1865. Rimsky-Korsakov revised the work in 1884.

Alexander Glazunov composed his Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 33, in 1890, and it was published by 1892 by the Leipzig firm owned by Mitrofan Belyayev. The symphony is dedicated to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and was first performed in St. Petersburg in December 1890 under the baton of Anatoly Lyadov. The symphony is considered a transitional work, with Glazunov largely eschewing the influences of Balakirev, Borodin, and Rimsky-Korsakov inherent in his earlier symphonies for the newer influences of Tchaikovsky and Wagner. Because of this change, the Third has been called the "anti-kuchkist" symphony in Glazunov's output. He would tone down these new influences in his subsequent symphonies as he strove for an eclectic mature style. The Third also shows a greater depth of expression, most evident in the chromatic turns of its third movement, reminiscent of Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde.

Alexander Vyacheslavovich Ossovsky was a renowned Russian musical writer, critic and musicologist, professor at Saint Petersburg Conservatory, pupil of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and friend of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Siloti and Nikolai Tcherepnin.

The Belyayev circle was a society of Russian musicians who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia between 1885 and 1908, and whose members included Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov, Vladimir Stasov, Anatoly Lyadov, Alexander Ossovsky, Witold Maliszewski, Nikolai Tcherepnin, Nikolay Sokolov, Alexander Winkler among others. The circle was named after Mitrofan Belyayev, a timber merchant and amateur musician who became a music philanthropist and publisher after hearing the music of the teenage Glazunov.

<i>Stenka Razin</i> (Glazunov)

Stenka Razin, Op. 13, is a symphonic poem composed by Alexander Glazunov in 1885. Dedicated to the memory of Alexander Borodin, it is one of the few compositions written by Glazunov on a nationalist subject and is composed in a style reminiscent of Borodin and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and the Belyayev circle

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's relations with the group of composers known as the Belyayev circle, which lasted from 1887 until Tchaikovsky's death in 1893, influenced all of their music and briefly helped shape the next generation of Russian composers. This group was named after timber merchant Mitrofan Belyayev, an amateur musician who became an influential music patron and publisher after he had taken an interest in Alexander Glazunov's work. By 1887, Tchaikovsky was firmly established as one of the leading composers in Russia. A favorite of Tsar Alexander III, he was widely regarded as a national treasure. He was in demand as a guest conductor in Russia and Western Europe, and in 1890 visited the United States in the same capacity. By contrast, the fortunes of the nationalistic group of composers known as The Five, which preceded the Belyayev circle, had waned, and the group had long since dispersed; of its members, only Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov remained fully active as a composer. Now a professor of musical composition and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Rimsky-Korsakov had become a firm believer in the Western-based compositional training that had been once frowned upon by the group.

The Symphony in E-flat, Op. 1, is the first published work composed by Igor Stravinsky during his apprenticeship with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It is also his first composition for orchestra. Of classical structure, it is broadly influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky and Wagner. It was composed in 1905–1907 and revised in 1913. It lasts for about forty minutes.

Nikolai Vasilievich Artsybushev was a Russian jurist, music publisher and promoter, and minor composer. His name is sometimes seen as Artsibushev, Artsybuchev, Artzibushev, Artzybushev, Artchibousheff, Arcybusev, etc.

References

  1. ↑ Rimsky-Korsakov, 274.
  2. 1 2 3 Rimsky-Korsakov, 275.
  3. ↑ Rimsky-Korsakov, 276.
  4. 1 2 Rimsky-Korsakov, 278.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Rimsky-Korsakov, 279.
  6. ↑ Rimsky-Korsakov, 279, 281.
  7. ↑ Rimsky-Korsakov. My Musical Life: pp. 301-02
  8. ↑ Nichols, Roger. Ravel: pp. 10-11
  9. ↑ Norris, New Grove, 709.
  10. ↑ Rimsky-Korsakov, 281.
  11. ↑ Maes, 171.
  12. ↑ Brown, Final Years, 91.
  13. ↑ Harrison, 77.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.