Post by erik on Apr 22, 2023 19:53:28 GMT -5
A rare late 19th century Russian work that is not by Tchaikovsky is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov: CAUCASIAN SKETCHES
In a lifetime that extends from the early years of Tchaikovsky (1859) to the early years of Communism (1925), Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, while he was exceptionally popular in his native Russia, never found any actual acceptance beyond there, save for one singular work. This work was an orchestral suite known as “Caucasian Sketches”, which he composed in 1894. Having been taught by a master orchestrator (and composer) in Nikolai Rinsky-Korsakov, Ippolitov-Ivanov composed this work as a sort of symphonic painting of the people and the region of the Caucasus Mountains in what was then (and is today) the Republic of Georgia. The four-movement work consists of: (1) In A Mountain Pass; (2) In A Village; (3) In A Mosque; and (4) The Procession Of The Sardar. Each of these movements reflects the influence of the native folk music of Georgia, to which the composer added his own distinctly Russian touch. The movement “Procession Of The Sardar” would often be featured on American concert programs as its own standalone piece. “Caucasian Sketches” was dedicated to I. Pitoeff, who was then the President of the Music Society of Tiflis, the Georgian capital that is better known nowawdays as Tblisi.
Utah Symphony Orchestra/MAURICE ABRAVANEL (Vanguard)
Included:
Rimsky-Korsakvo: ANTAR, SYMPHONIC SUITE, OP. 9
Gliere: RUSSIAN SAILOR’S DANCE/ FROM “THE RED POPPY”
Tchaikovsky: ACT 1 WALTZ AND FINAL SCENE FROM “SWAN LAKE”
Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov: CAUCASIAN SKETCHES
In a lifetime that extends from the early years of Tchaikovsky (1859) to the early years of Communism (1925), Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, while he was exceptionally popular in his native Russia, never found any actual acceptance beyond there, save for one singular work. This work was an orchestral suite known as “Caucasian Sketches”, which he composed in 1894. Having been taught by a master orchestrator (and composer) in Nikolai Rinsky-Korsakov, Ippolitov-Ivanov composed this work as a sort of symphonic painting of the people and the region of the Caucasus Mountains in what was then (and is today) the Republic of Georgia. The four-movement work consists of: (1) In A Mountain Pass; (2) In A Village; (3) In A Mosque; and (4) The Procession Of The Sardar. Each of these movements reflects the influence of the native folk music of Georgia, to which the composer added his own distinctly Russian touch. The movement “Procession Of The Sardar” would often be featured on American concert programs as its own standalone piece. “Caucasian Sketches” was dedicated to I. Pitoeff, who was then the President of the Music Society of Tiflis, the Georgian capital that is better known nowawdays as Tblisi.
Utah Symphony Orchestra/MAURICE ABRAVANEL (Vanguard)
Included:
Rimsky-Korsakvo: ANTAR, SYMPHONIC SUITE, OP. 9
Gliere: RUSSIAN SAILOR’S DANCE/ FROM “THE RED POPPY”
Tchaikovsky: ACT 1 WALTZ AND FINAL SCENE FROM “SWAN LAKE”