Russian recommendations ??

Got a chance to listen to an EMI Matrix coupling of a Taneyev piece and Miaskovsky's Cello Concerto.

Was quite taken with the Miaskovsky. any recommendations for any of numerous symphonies ???

Also any of Taneyev's work.

Neither are composers I know much about.

Cheers
Jeff

 

Sorry can't be of much help - you have now heard more Miaskovsky than me! I have also heard mention of his Cello concerto many times, so that may be his masterpiece. I was also going to say that I thought I'd seen in passing lots of reviews etc of stuff by him though, but there's nothing at all in Gramofile at the moment. The only symphonies I can find on release at present are 6 and 15. If it's any help, my old Penguin also lists a bunch of Olympia recordings under Svetlanov (3, 27, 5+11, 7), and reckons that 7 is one of the best (USSR RSO under Ginsburg) - a la Gliere and Scriabin, but shorter and better assimilated than in no 6. No 27 is supposed to be very Borodon/Brahms in influence.

I do have Taneyev's Op1 cantata - John of Damascus - which is the coupling for Pletnev's recording of Rach's The Bells (DG471029-2GH). This is quite lovely. I also heard his 2nd Str. quartet (or quintet?) on R3 last year sometime which was also really impressive. Taneyev was IIRC Prof of composition or counterpoint at Moscow conservatoire, or something like that, and puts fugues in just about anywhere he can. I've also, however, heard a few other pieces that left very little impression, as the occasions where the talent breaks through the layers of rather worthy technique are supposed to be a bit on the thin side.

You may also find it worth checking out Kabalevsky - and if you don't already have it you should get Gliere's "Ilya Mourmetz" - excellent recording from Botstein/LSO on Telarc (also available in SACD).

BTW: That EMI recording does not seem to be available at the moment.

Let us know how you get on.

 

Graham, is the Pletnev The Bells any good? Didn't I read somewhere that it was a cut or revised version they use, or something along those lines? They absolutely raved about it in Penguin, but IIRC a review I read elsewhere - Gramophone probably - wasn't so hot.

Miaskovsky's drawn a blank with me too, but I'll put in a needless plug for Balakirev's 1st Symphony in case you haven't come across it (look for the Hyperion version with Svetlanov and the Philharmonia) - the gorgeous slow movement in particular really ought to be far, far better known, very similar to the likes of Borodin 2 but even more lovely and more slushily nostalgic.

 

I know 2 works by Miaskovsky - the Cello Concerto and his 6th Symphony.
The Cello Concerto is a wonderful work, big boned expansive romatic concerto with really good big tunes, like, but much better than Elgar's. Its one of my favourites. Give it a try. Mischa Maisky/Pletnev/Russ Nat on DG, coupled with an excellent Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante.
The sixth Symphony I'm not so sure of.... its big, choral finale, but style is almost akin to very late romantic German/Austrians like Schmidt, Reger etc. There is a recording on DG, Neeme Jarvi and Gothenburg but didn't really work for me. From what I have heard Miaskovsky wrote his many symphonies in a variety of styles so the others may be different.

 

:yikes: That's fighting talk. Must look out for a recording...

 

You are having a laugh, right! The Maisky recording turned up on a 2nd hand site I use a lot so, following your comments above, I now have it and I've now listened to it three times. Granted the opening theme is lovely and is worked out pretty well in the first movement, which has some genuine touching moments. But the 2nd (last) movement is just a patchwork - and the whole thing is way overburdened with the soft dreamy stuff. The scherzo theme is fine, but he clearly can't sustain it beyond a couple of dozen bars, before having to return to the dreamworld. Even in that, he's clearly leaning towards something sub-Rachmaninov, but hasn't the confidence to do it properly. And he doesn't begin to approach Elgar's symphonic thought, consistency of invention, range of emotion, passion, skill in orchestration, deftness in dialog between orchestra and soloist.

Sorry, the Elgar may not be perfect, but it's in a completely different class (that being "higher"...before you get any sarcy ideas ). The Miaskovsky isn't a bad piece, but just not in the same league as the Elgar. About 5.5/10 I'd say.

I'm also not at all convinced by the Prokofiev either - the bits that had the most to say were all quotations from Romeo and Juliet....which would seem to sat you're better off listening to that instead!

I also got a CD of Miaskovsky's piano sonatas 1,2,3&6 (not yet heard). Maybe he can show a defter hand in these smaller scale pieces.

 

Well.... there's no accounting for taste, yours or mine. The fact is that I do not understand what all the fuss about the Elgar concerto is, I find it a bit repetitive and shallow, and of all the performances I've heard the Du Pre/Barbirolli is the only one that makes me think it might have something in it. Give me Dvorak, the Miaskovsky or best of all Walton or Shostakovich 2nd any day!

 

Well, this might be a bit off topic, but since we're talking about cello concertos(something very close to my heart as you might know) I thought I'd butt in.

Dvorak , Elgar, Bocherini, Haydn (both) are great pieces to listen to and to play (if quite demanding as you might expect), particularly if you love the sound of the cello.

I would like to bring your attention to the little known but IMHO underrated Mathias Monn cello concerto. Has anyone heard it? I quite like it. In the baroque style no doubt, but I think it should deserve more attention.

So far I only found two recordings of this concerto - one by Jacqueline du Pre (in her triple cd box "Favourite Cello Concertos" on EMI, 1989) and another on Jiang Wang's recent "The Baroque Album" (DG, 2003).

This last cd by Wang is really very good. Has a really sweet performance of the Bocherini concerto, and a number of other pieces in the baroque style (Couperin, and my favourite on the cd - well ahead of its time imho - Frescobaldi's Tocatta). Most of these smaller pieces have been transcribed for cello, having been written for other instruments, but they work really well and he plays them in a very sweet and full sounding manner. The sound in the recording is very good too.
Anyone that likes baroque music on a cello should give it a good listen.

Interested in your opinions.

:beer:
Jack