Sun February 10, 2019
Maki Namekawa & Dennis Russell Davies play Shostakovich & Stravinsky
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There are many examples of major symphonies having complicated births but none are more intriguing than that to which Dmitri Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony was sentenced back in 1936.
To say his work, when the composer was 30 years old, met with official disapproval is an understatement. The stage was set with the grand success that Shostakovich experienced in 1934 with his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. The work was a proven success until it was denounced by Stalin himself in early 1936. It is generally accepted nowadays that the fear that was implanted in Shostakovich during this episode was the main reason for the withdrawal of his 4th Symphony.
In the intervening years between 1936 and 1961 the full score to Symphony No. 4 was lost. The manuscript was presumably lost during World War II along with Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6. the scores were believed to be burned for heat during the Siege of Leningrad, the most desperate period during the war. The possibility does remain that the manuscripts still exist but have yet to be rediscovered. For more than a quarter century the 4th Symphony only existed in the orchestral parts used for rehearsals, and Shostakovich's own arrangement heard here for 2 pianos. From these the piece was reconstructed and given its premiere on Dec. 30, 1961.
Shostakovich made his 4-hand piano arrangement of Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms shortly after its composition in 1930. He thought well enough of his transcription that he personally presented the manuscript to Stravinsky, during his historic 1962 visit to the Soviet Union. Shostakovich's arrangement reflects his admiration for the work in that it succeeds in preserving both the ecclesiastic ambiance and choral textures of the original. From contemporary accounts, Stravinsky's reception of the score was unenthusiastic. Shostakovich's relationship with Stravinsky could be termed as deeply ambivalent. In his own words: Stravinsky the composer I worship. Stravinsky the thinker I despise.
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To say his work, when the composer was 30 years old, met with official disapproval is an understatement. The stage was set with the grand success that Shostakovich experienced in 1934 with his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. The work was a proven success until it was denounced by Stalin himself in early 1936. It is generally accepted nowadays that the fear that was implanted in Shostakovich during this episode was the main reason for the withdrawal of his 4th Symphony.
In the intervening years between 1936 and 1961 the full score to Symphony No. 4 was lost. The manuscript was presumably lost during World War II along with Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6. the scores were believed to be burned for heat during the Siege of Leningrad, the most desperate period during the war. The possibility does remain that the manuscripts still exist but have yet to be rediscovered. For more than a quarter century the 4th Symphony only existed in the orchestral parts used for rehearsals, and Shostakovich's own arrangement heard here for 2 pianos. From these the piece was reconstructed and given its premiere on Dec. 30, 1961.
Shostakovich made his 4-hand piano arrangement of Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms shortly after its composition in 1930. He thought well enough of his transcription that he personally presented the manuscript to Stravinsky, during his historic 1962 visit to the Soviet Union. Shostakovich's arrangement reflects his admiration for the work in that it succeeds in preserving both the ecclesiastic ambiance and choral textures of the original. From contemporary accounts, Stravinsky's reception of the score was unenthusiastic. Shostakovich's relationship with Stravinsky could be termed as deeply ambivalent. In his own words: Stravinsky the composer I worship. Stravinsky the thinker I despise.
There are many examples of major symphonies having complicated births but none are more intriguing than that to which Dmitri Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony was sentenced back in 1936.
To say his work, when the composer was 30 years old, met with official disapproval is an understatement. The stage was set with the grand success that Shostakovich experienced in 1934 with his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. The work was a proven success until it was denounced by Stalin himself in early 1936. It is generally accepted nowadays that the fear that was implanted in Shostakovich during this episode was the main reason for the withdrawal of his 4th Symphony.
In the intervening years between 1936 and 1961 the full score to Symphony No. 4 was lost. The manuscript was presumably lost during World War II along with Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6. the scores were believed to be burned for heat during the Siege of Leningrad, the most desperate period during the war. The possibility does remain that the manuscripts still exist but have yet to be rediscovered. For more than a quarter century the 4th Symphony only existed in the orchestral parts used for rehearsals, and Shostakovich's own arrangement heard here for 2 pianos. From these the piece was reconstructed and given its premiere on Dec. 30, 1961.
Shostakovich made his 4-hand piano arrangement of Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms shortly after its composition in 1930. He thought well enough of his transcription that he personally presented the manuscript to Stravinsky, during his historic 1962 visit to the Soviet Union. Shostakovich's arrangement reflects his admiration for the work in that it succeeds in preserving both the ecclesiastic ambiance and choral textures of the original. From contemporary accounts, Stravinsky's reception of the score was unenthusiastic. Shostakovich's relationship with Stravinsky could be termed as deeply ambivalent. In his own words: Stravinsky the composer I worship. Stravinsky the thinker I despise.
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To say his work, when the composer was 30 years old, met with official disapproval is an understatement. The stage was set with the grand success that Shostakovich experienced in 1934 with his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. The work was a proven success until it was denounced by Stalin himself in early 1936. It is generally accepted nowadays that the fear that was implanted in Shostakovich during this episode was the main reason for the withdrawal of his 4th Symphony.
In the intervening years between 1936 and 1961 the full score to Symphony No. 4 was lost. The manuscript was presumably lost during World War II along with Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6. the scores were believed to be burned for heat during the Siege of Leningrad, the most desperate period during the war. The possibility does remain that the manuscripts still exist but have yet to be rediscovered. For more than a quarter century the 4th Symphony only existed in the orchestral parts used for rehearsals, and Shostakovich's own arrangement heard here for 2 pianos. From these the piece was reconstructed and given its premiere on Dec. 30, 1961.
Shostakovich made his 4-hand piano arrangement of Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms shortly after its composition in 1930. He thought well enough of his transcription that he personally presented the manuscript to Stravinsky, during his historic 1962 visit to the Soviet Union. Shostakovich's arrangement reflects his admiration for the work in that it succeeds in preserving both the ecclesiastic ambiance and choral textures of the original. From contemporary accounts, Stravinsky's reception of the score was unenthusiastic. Shostakovich's relationship with Stravinsky could be termed as deeply ambivalent. In his own words: Stravinsky the composer I worship. Stravinsky the thinker I despise.
show less
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401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
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