Nikolai Mjaskowski: Symphonie No. 13 in b-moll, op. 36 (1933)

von LePenseur

 

 

Eine einsätzige Symphonie des russischen Großmeisters der Symphonik des 20. Jahrhunderts. Umdüstert und rätselhaft – und solcherart wie geschaffen für unsere Zeit ...

 

Andante moderato - Agitato molto e tenebroso - Allegro agitato - Andante nostalgico

 

Dazu einige Anmerkungen, die ich unter einer anderen Interpretation des Werkes gefunden habe:

Myaskovsky's Symphony No.13 was conceived very quickly in the month of February 1933, orchestrated shortly after and premiered in Chicago on 15 November 1934 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Frederick Stock, the German-born conductor who had championed Myaskovsky assiduously (later commissioning his Twenty First Symphony for the orchestra’s 50th anniversary). The Soviet premiere occurred on 26 December, with Leo Ginsburg conducting the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. 

Myaskovsky described the work with the following words: “My 13th Symphony was born out of the need for a certain discharge of pent-up subjective impressions that I have all the time and that can hardly be eradicated at my age. A very pessimistic work with quite strange content. This symphony is a kind of page from my diary... " 

 

His friend Prokofiev, who at that time was working in Paris, wanted it to be performed in the French capital, but the preparations for the audition stopped when Myaskovsky discovered that the premiere would take place with the support of the French workers associations. He thought that it was not the right audience for such a serious modern work. The reception of the work in Chicago and Moscow were, at best, equivocal and further performances were not to be forthcoming. Written in a single movement, the structure of the work resembles a symphonic poem of which we do not know its meaning. 

 

According to Soviet critics, they considered it to be a personal tragedy expressed in music. At the time, Myaskovsky was finding very difficult to adjust his music to the dictates of Soviet realism. According to the musicologist Levon Hakobian, Myaskovsky was increasingly ashamed of his artistic commitment when he was composing his twelfth symphony. This could be the reason why in his next symphony he wanted to express these negative feelings, considering his artistic freedom restricted by political decisions. Possibly that would be the reason to explain the pessimistic atmosphere. 

 

The movement opens with a slow introduction marked by a timpani roll, followed by fragmentary, dejected woodwind gestures. The main theme is bitter and depressive, presented by the strings along with the wood. A more melodic second theme is presented by the clarinet, with a slight russian oriental flavor but retaining its tragic force. The bassoon close the exhibition section. The development of these topics, begins with the strong presence of the brass, which leads us later to a fugue section. The second theme is repeated in a very colorful variation. The timpani rolls serve as a separation between the sections. A trombone solo, to which the trumpet is added, leads us to the recapitulation, initiated by loud brass calls. The second theme is presented with greater expressivity when is repeated by the orchestra. The final notes denote great bitterness. The slow timpani rolls accompany the final chord.

Ein trotz mancher Härten und anfänglichen Schwierigkeiten hörenswertes Werk, hier in der Interpretation durch das Akademische Staatsorchester unter Eugen Swetlanow.