The Night: Classical

In five broadcasts during the night, we pay attention to Russian music. To accompany this music, we use texts that Arthur Olof wrote for almost a hundred shows of the Concertzender.

Before his death in 2014, Arthur processed the scripts of the broadcasts unto a book, which will appear in June titled The art of survival. Next to the text, the book will also have links to the site of the Concertzender, which gives you the opportunity to listen to the related music while reading. In preparation of this publication, we make these night programmes.

Welcome to Oorgetuige 94, All in commemoration of you…, our series on Russian music of the 20th century, and in particular that of Dmitri Shostakovich. Arthur devoted two broadcasts of music written in commemoration of him, and knew probably no more dignified composer to start this in memoriam programme with, then the music by Alfred Schnittke. As one of the most expressive ‘post-Shostakovich’ exponents Schnittke has had remarkably little personal contact with his great predecessor, but his music says it all. In the Prelude in memoriam Shostakovich, he adds to the musical motive D-S-C-H (which stands for the initials of Dmitri Shostakovich) the monogram B-A-C-H, with which he wishes to express that both composers are equals. The second motive, which is absorbed by the first one, points out that Bach is greater than all who came after him, and this is also valid for Shostakovich.

The violinists Oleh Krysa and Alexandr Fischer played the Prelude in memoriam Dmitri Shostakovich.

Aleksandr Lokshin’s preference for composers such as Mahler, Berg, Stravinsky and Shostakovich guaranteed that only he was tolerated in the margin of music life, under the wings of Nikolai Myaskovsky. Lokshin composed his quintet in commemoration of Shostakovich in 1978, who had always showed great appreciation to his talent.

Members of the ensemble Northern Crown played the quintet of Aleksandr Lokshin in memoriam of Dmitri Shostakovich.

Dmitri Smirnov composed in commemoration of Shostakovich his Seventh String quartet.

Also Smirnov’s daughter Alissa honours Shostakovich.

The Seattle Chamber Players played Celebration by Alissa Firsova in honour to Shostakovich.

In a former episode of the programme series Oorgetuige, alles ter nagedachtenis aan jou Arthur Olof named the fifth symphony of Boris Tishchenko a memorial of ‘monumental’  size. A similar qualification deserves the twelfth symphony which was written by the Polish composer Mieczysƚaw Weinberg in commemoration of Shostakovich in 1976.

The symphony was his first work for a complete orchestra in fourteen years and the greatest of his pure orchestral symphonies. The premiere of the work had to wait for over three years with Shostakovich’s son Maxim as conductor. Today you will hear the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra with conductor Vladimir Lande.

The St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra played the twelfth symphony of Mieczysƚaw Weinberg with conductor Vladimir Lande, in memoriam of Dmitri Shostakovich. We are now at the close of this 94th episode of Ooggetuige. ‘All in commemoration of you…’, Arthur Olof’s series on Russian music of the 20th century, which was completely dedicated to the commemoration of the greatest Russian composer of the last century: Dmitri Shostakovich.

Edison Denisov (1929-1996) started to interest himself for music relatively late. As a math student at the university in his birthplace Tomsk (Siberia) he took harmony and counterpoint lessons and he wrote his first compositions. Just before he graduated, Denisov decided he wanted to become a composer. He sent his work to Shostakovich, who didn’t only answer the sender, which was unknown to him, but also encouraged him to continue, and later on to go to Moscow to enroll to the conservatory. Eagerly Edison, indeed namen after the great American inventor, focussed himself on his new study there. Through Philip Hershkovich, a student of Anton Webern, he got acquainted with dodecaphonic music. He analysed the available scores of Western composers extensively and became acquainted with the post-war avant-garde (also by visits to the still famous new music festival Warsaw Autumn).

He received his first international recognition with the cantata Le soleil des Incas (1964), which was dedicated to the French composer Pierre Boulez and reportedly heard with consent by Stravinsky. Boulez’ serial music was then still completely unknown in the Soviet Union, just like the new music from the Soviet Union was in the West for that matter. The cantata reaped hard criticism by the Composers Association, moreover as it was played abroad succesfully.

Despite fierce opposition of the Composers Association Denisov was able to expand his international network slowly. He wrote articles about the music from his country and started to exchange scores and recordings. Thus a small and unique library of European and American music came into existence at his place. Although Denisov wasn’t allowed to give composition lessons for a long period of time, he did it for over thirty years unofficially. He was the driving force behind the new music in the last years of the Soviet Union and the key figure in the music life outside the official channels. He experimented with new techniques from the West, such as on coincidence based aleatoric music and minor tonality. He devoted himself for vilified colleagues such as Mosolov and Roslavets from the beginning of the 20th century.

Denisov loved the French culture and after a while a close connection occurred with French music life. His first opera l’Ecume des jours (1981) had its premiere in the Paris Opéra-Comique and by invitation of Boulez, Denisov worked for some time at the famous music research institute IRCAM. For the twentieth birthday of the Orchestre de Paris Denisov composed his First symphony (1987).

On the occasion of the American premiere of this symphony Denisov said in an interview: ‘Music is in its essence a deep spiritual form of art. It penetrates deeper into the secrets of existence and with more accuracy and directness than the art of words. It is no coincidence that music is connected to the church, the Catholic as well as the Russian Orthodox. Just like mathematics, music approaches the mystery we call God. (…) Music brings light and has a positive effect on human beings. It heals and touches the soul.’

In his Requiem Denisov combines parts from the Bible and the ancient Latin death mass with texts of writer Francisco Tanzer, who was born in Vienna. Words and phrases from different languages are interchangeably in use: ‘Still se pose la question Gott gut good god?’ The piece is also a musical mixture of techniques in Denisov’s striving to synthesis of composition techniques.

Nelly Lee, Alexei Martinov, Olgerts Cintins, Vitali Katajev

Conservatory choir from Moscow, State Academy choir Latvia

National Symphony orchestra Latvia

‘Beauty is a principal factor in my work. I am not only aiming at the beauty of sound, which of course has got nothing to do with external appearances. What I mean is beauty as it is understood by mathematicians. Bach or Webern. Lyric is the most important element of my work. I find serial procedures promising, but I strive in my work towards a synthesis and use tonality, modality, aleatoric and other expressive means to achieve this.’

Despite a bad health in the year of his passing, Denisov wrote another five pieces after the completion of his Second symphony. However radical Denisov tried to keep his ear to the ground with the post-war avant-garde of Boulez and Stockhausen, he remained loyal to the symphonic idiom of his teacher and great example Shostakovich, by way of long lyrical melody lines and attention to timbre.

The Moscow Philarmonic Symphony Orchestra Conductor Vladimir Ponkin

In epsiode 32 of the series Concertzender programmes Arthur tells that the young Shostakovich received an invitation by the directors Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg in 1929, to compose music with the film New Babylon. That would be the last great silent film of the Soviet era. The film commemorates the Paris Commune of 1871 as archetype of the October revolution with as its central location the department store New Babylon. There, the proletarian sales woman Louise falls in love with farmer’s son Jean, who as a soldier of the bourgeoisie fights, in which, with Marxist inevitability, his beloved also becomes a victim as communard.

The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra played the complete film music of Dmitri Shostakovich with the film New Babylon by cineasts Kozintsev and Trauberg and conducted by James Judd.

We end this programme with the Seventh String quartet of DSCH, which he composed in 1960.

Herewith we end our third night’s broadcast which is made on the occasion of the publication of the book The art of survival by Arthur Olof, which is presented in June. Goodmorning!