What with all the to-ing and fro-ing today because this board was not available and then it is, I fear I will have somewhat overdone the flagging up of Tim Shuker's programmes this week about Khrennikov's piano concertos!!
Milly Jones has very kindly said she will mention them on another new board. The fact is that I am sure these programmes cannot be listened again' to, nor can they be downloaded, so this week is the time to listen.
The following is a comment on a course at Urchfont given by Tim and I wrote this particularly for this forum, also posting a copy to Tim Shuker.
Written Sunday afternoon (7th October)
I strongly recommend listening to this on line at 9:0 a.m. 10th Oct or 4:0p.m. Saturday 13th, as you will hear music by Khrennikov of whom more later. (I think it should be very good.)
www.glastonburyradio.net'Unknown Muse' - the radio show.
This last weekend I have been with a friend, Ruth, at Urchfont Manor College near Divizes on a course given by Tim Shuker. The subject was 'The Romantic Russian composers between Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov', hut in fact ranged much more widely and included 20th century music by Khatchaturian, Myaskovsky and Khrennikov. Tim was an excellent tutor, confident, enthusiastic, well organised and extremely knowledgeable about the Russian composers, particularly Rachmaninov, whom he places as superior in importance to God! (Well, I'm in agreement there, especially as the latter simply is not!)
The format was similar to that of the course I attended at Dillington House in June, with dinner Friday night followed by the first talk. Two 1.1/2 sessions on Saturday morning followed by lunch (the food there is very good!) and in the afternoon he played a video (on large screen) of 'Sleeping Beauty'. Ruth watched some of this, but I would not have been able to see it, so I listened to my radio. Then we both went out for a stroll up and down the drive! After dinner, there was a recording of the South Bank Show of nineteen ninety-something on the life of Rachmaninov. Very interesting. This morning, two more sessions, lunch and home.
He talked about 'The Five', Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov and told the story of how Tchaikovsky was the sixth; also about why Glazunov was one of them although he had had a Conservatoire education. He played movements from symphonies and piano concertos, talked about Borodin's interests in chemistry and about the fact that he was playing through a new symphony to Balakirev when, half-way through the fourth movement, he remembered about a science experiment he had forgotten about upstairs, stopped playing and ... oh dear, I've forgotten the details of what happened then! I know Glazunov was able to remember and write down the first three movements, but the fourth was lost.
Ruth made a few notes here and there, but we did not try to take everything in, this course not being subject to a test at the end!
Balakirev's first symphony was influenced by Chopin and we could hear this from the movement he played.
He told us about Lyapunov, who was Balakirev's assistant, very shy, but whose first piano concerto won equal first place with Rachmaninov's second in the 190? competition.
He spoke of the disastrous first performance of Rachmaninov's first symphony, conducted by Glazunov (whose drunkenness I had heard of before) and told us about the question that was raised - how would music composition have developed if that first symphony had become renowned at that time? Pre- and post-revolution ideas; formalism, and the Soviet views on what music should and should not be.
We found the information about Khrennikov very interesting and we were immediately captured by the vivacity of the 2nd piano concerto Tim played us. He was telling us that no orchestra in the West will play Khrennikov's work because of his political views and his criticism of Shostakovich etc. Tim runs a programme on Glastonbury radio and I asked immediately whether he himself was able to play Khrennikov's work on his show. The answer was yes, definitely, and this week's programme (today at 4.0 and repeated on Wednesdays and anothr time - details on his website) is about Khrennikov. I shall not be able to listen on line on Wednesday morning, but I shall certainly try to catch it on the second repeat. Apart from anything else, Tim speaks with such enthusiasm and expertise.
Khrennikov died earlier this year, so perhaps it would be a good time to hear his music.
Myaskovsky was Khatchaturian's teacher and we heard part of his 17th symphony. He wrote 27 so I wondered whether perhaps there were many similarities?! However, Tim, who has a whole set - again bought in Russia - said that they are all individual, very good and he loves them.
He ended the weekend with the Khatchaturian symphony which involves 16 extra trumpets, a large church organ and goodness knows what else besides! This, like quite a few of the works he played, I had never heard before and wow, what a finish! He said he was at the Leeds live performance of this with BBC Symphony Orchestra (I think) in early 1990s and says that that live performance is most definitely the best CD to buy.
He referred to formalism but I shall need to read a bit more about that.
Lyupanov set up the school in Paris in 1924 for Russian émigrés, but died just a few months later.
We have a hand-out with information on, but I have not read that yet. I shall not have time for a week or so, because it is tomorrow that I go (with another friend) to a recital by Dmitri Hvorostovsky at the Barbican.
I can see that Chris at HMV in Southampton is going to be pleased the next time I go in for more music!
