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Messages - Christopher

#31
Composers & Music / Re: A Myaskovsky Clarinet Concerto?
Wednesday 17 January 2024, 10:26
Maybe ask Point Classics what they know?  (Low chances probably but still... - https://www.pointclassics.com/)
#32
Composers & Music / Re: A Myaskovsky Clarinet Concerto?
Monday 15 January 2024, 14:29
Quote from: tuatara442442 on Monday 15 January 2024, 11:09There's a release that mentions the soloist as Vladimir Sokolov, while the nonsensical "MOOVE T" is absent. Other digital re-releases (or reposts at best) mindlessly copied these meaningless  words

Interesting:  the Russian version of Apple Music mentions Sokolov, Ponkin and Miaskovsky in the context of a clarinet concerto... (their names spelt differently as you will see) -

https://music.apple.com/ru/song/concerto-for-clarinet-and-string-orchestra-i-allegro/1039512717

https://music.apple.com/ru/song/concerto-for-clarinet-and-string-orchestra-ii-adagio/1039513480

https://music.apple.com/ru/song/concerto-for-clarinet-and-string-orchestra-iii-rondo/1039513482

#33
Composers & Music / Re: A Myaskovsky Clarinet Concerto?
Monday 15 January 2024, 10:30
Interesting.  Re the clarinet concerto, the soloist seems only to be listed as "Moove T."...or am I misreading that? I can't find any further information.

#34
I don't have the scores I am afraid.  I used to have Ms. Rapita's email address.  I should be able to find it in case you'd like me to ask?
#35
Any comments on the music @pianoconcerto? Happy to fill in with further details.
#36
Another attractive (and short - under 3 minutes!) piece by Barvinsky:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyA4G2b0-Xk

Melody

Petro Bodnar - cello
Lviv Ensemble of Soloists

#37
A new recorded performance of Barvinsky's cello concerto has been uploaded to youtube.  This is, in my view, a far superior rendition of this attractive piece by comparison with the only other (to my knowledge) available version (also on youtube), which has been mentioned in another thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XE_yOCIyWA

Vasyl Barvinskyi - Concerto for cello and orchestra (orchestration by Viktor Kaminskyi)

Denys Lytvynenko - cello
Luhansk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Ivan Ostapovych - conductor
duration - 23 minutes

Live recording from the concert in Lviv Organ Hall (31.08.2023)

(For more on the concert at which this took place, please see the following thread on Skorulskyi's piano concerto - https://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,9315.0.html)

(Note - the other recording which I mentioned is here - https://youtu.be/tR4vNb_Qj9U?si=_nCsJy7A5YydUB6s)
#38
Thanks Mark.

Quote from: Christopher on Tuesday 09 January 2024, 10:01The date of the concert was set for 31st August 2023, and I had the great pleasure of travelling by train from the Polish border and attending the performance, which was played to a packed and enthusiastic hall. The first half consisted of Vasyl Barvinsky's cello concerto (a very good performance which UkrainianLive will also soon release), followed by Skorulskyi's piano concerto.

I mentioned that the first half of the concert consisted of Barvinsky's cello concerto.  That has been uploaded here - https://youtu.be/_XE_yOCIyWA?
si=1_dg4o5mjwVcMyw1


Vasyl Barvinskyi - Concerto for cello and orchestra (orchestration by Viktor Kaminskyi)
Denys Lytvynenko - cello
Luhansk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Ivan Ostapovych - conductor
duration - 23 minutes

#39
Mykhaylo Skorulskyi's 1933 piano concerto has been recorded for the first time, in a live concert, and released today on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHp3VyEuVM8

Andriy Makarevych - piano
Luhansk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Ivan Ostapovych - conductor
Live recording from the concert in Lviv Organ Hall (31.08.2023)
duration - 17 minutes, in one continuous movement.

Mykhaylo Skorulskyi's Piano concerto is an important but forgotten page of Ukrainian music. A friend of Viktor Kosenko, a supporter of professional musical education in Ukraine, Skorulskyi still remains unknown to the general public, and his music is still waiting for its "star time".

This is the culmination of a project by the guys at Ukrainian Live Classics, with input from two external sponsors, of which I am one:

https://ukrainianlive.org/skorulskyi-piano-concerto

Concerto for Piano by Mykhailo Skorulskyi is an underrated page of the Ukrainian artistic heritage. A contemporary of Viktor Kosenko, a promoter of professional music education in Ukraine, Skorulskyi remains largely unknown to the general public, and his music still awaits its "high time". The piano concerto was performed in the 1950s and 1960s. Since then, the piece has not been performed on the stages, and its scores existed only in manuscript form, never published. Perhaps that's why so few musicians are familiar with the Concerto.

It's not the first time that the newly discovered score has come to life on the stage of the Lviv Organ Hall. The sheet music of Skorulskyi's Piano Concerto was discovered in Kyiv archives and handed over to the performers by the sponsors of the Ukrainian Live project. In the recording presented in the Ukrainian Live Classic mobile app, the piece was performed by the Luhansk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and soloist Andriy Makarevych under the conducting of Ivan Ostapovych.

A single-movement concerto for piano and orchestra was composed by Mykhailo Skorulskyi in 1933. At that time, the composer did not yet work on large-scale stage canvases, which he would turn to soon (operas, ballets, oratorios). Instead, he thoroughly explored chamber and symphonic genres, creating two symphonies. From 1915 to 1933, Skorulskyi conducted the Zhytomyr Symphony Orchestra, performing well-known symphonic works that stood out for their complexity and monumentality. Working with world masterpieces fueled the composer's creative ideas.

The romantic concerto for piano and orchestra is a single-movement form but has several sections, combining both lyrical and heroic episodes. The piece was written with grandiosity and effectiveness, characteristic of romantic composers such as Franz Liszt, Edvard Grieg, Frédéric Chopin, and partially Viktor Kosenko. Andriy Makarevych, the soloist at the Lviv Organ Hall, emphasizes, "Skorulskyi's concerto is different from Liszt's in its single-movement structure, presenting an extended and substantial first part of the cycle, unlike Liszt's concertos, where individual movements were united into a single form. Skorulskyi follows the traditional structure of the first part of the cycle precisely, with a clear reprisal after the solo cadenza and a preserved tonal plan".

The concerto genre implies a competition between the soloist and the orchestra. However, in Skorulskyi's concerto, it symbolizes not a struggle but mutual complementation. The composition features significant orchestral fragments, sometimes contrasting with the detailed piano part. Orchestral motifs and phrases are developed, creating a sense of unity. The orchestral part is intricately built by the composer, while the piano, in the best sense of the word, becomes its complement and ornament.

Mykhailo Skorulskyi's Concerto for Piano is profound, glorious, thrilling, and elevated – like an unexplored "fifth ocean" that every listener should discover to feel Ukrainian music's full power and beauty in the 20th century.

Backstory:

About 10 years ago I came across the Ukrainian ballet "The Song of the Forest" by Skorulskyi - while it's a staple of the repertoire in Ukraine, it's unknown in other countries.  The music blew me away and has remained one of my favourite pieces of all time. (Quite a few full recordings on youtube, including this one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=688yJ3GWs9E&t=1s – and also 3 suites made from it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFsBTJuhtsE&t=6s - and its super popular (in Ukraine) encore piece, an Adagio for violin and orchestra, is here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzgOTVGGJTE

This prompted me to research what else Skorulskyi had written.  I found his symphonic poem Mykita the Tanner on youtube (and in our downloads section here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM0SQEHN0RQ&t=31s) - but nothing else substantial.

However I did find online the score of his piano concerto, but in a version for two pianos (ie no orchestra) - that score is here - https://www.mediafire.com/file/f0la266yycnrrpy/Skorulskyi_piano_concerto_-_two_piano_version.pdf/file.

This sparked off a years long hunt for the full score.  Together with a fellow enthusiast, we last year located it in a Kyiv museum, and prevailed upon them to scan and send it to us.

Meanwhile, we had sent the 2-piano version to UkrainianLive and they agreed to play and record it. That version can be heard here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6onBdgDw7w - played by Andriy Makarevych accompanied by Melaniya Makarevych (Andriy's sister) doing the piano-version of the orchestral part.

Naturally, upon finding the full score, we shared it with UkrainianLive and they agreed to perform and record it. UkrainianLive are based in  Lviv, west Ukraine, in the beautiful Lviv Organ Hall (a former church - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lviv_Organ_Hall). There, they host the exiled Luhansk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra which left Luhansk en masse following its illegal and hostile invasion and occupation by Russia (Luhansk is in east Ukraine).

The date of the concert was set for 31st August 2023, and I had the great pleasure of travelling by train from the Polish border and attending the performance, which was played to a packed and enthusiastic hall. The first half consisted of Vasyl Barvinsky's cello concerto (a very good performance which UkrainianLive will also soon release), followed by Skorulskyi's piano concerto.

So what do I think of it? Well it's growing on me.  It is most certainly in the late romantic style, in one sweeping movement.  Initially I thought "well I can't hum it" but then I have actually found myself doing exactly that.  So yes I like it and suspect I will like it even more tomorrow.  It's beyond me to "critique" a piece, and I hope others might.

The full orchestral score (handwritten!) is here - https://www.mediafire.com/file/by55mh41991kq67/Skorulskyi+-+Piano+Concerto+-+Manuscript+Score+-+full+orchestra.pdf/file

More about Skorulskyi here:  https://musical-world.com.ua/en/artists/skorulskyi-mykhaylo/

#40
Recordings & Broadcasts / Re: Catoire Mtsyri
Monday 08 January 2024, 14:02
Quote from: Theodore S. on Monday 08 January 2024, 00:05
Quote from: Mark Thomas on Sunday 07 January 2024, 07:23Interesting news, and welcome Theodore.

Quote from: Christopher on Sunday 07 January 2024, 23:29Thank you Theodore and welcome!  Kondrashev and the Radio Orfei Orchestra also recorded Catoire's cantata "Rusalka" at the same time.  Unfortunately, though, it seems that it hasn't been released.  Might you have any idea of how to obtain it?!

Thank you both for your warm welcoming! Unfortunately, I don't currently know where to find a recording of Catoire's cantata "Rusalka"; the only piece by Catoire with "rusalka" in the name that seems to have been recorded so far (online anyway) is the song "Pesna Rusalki" for voice and piano. Actually, until yesterday, I wasn't even aware that the symphonic poem "Mtsyri" had a complete recording, though I'm glad one has been made and located (if only I could download it, though...). Perhaps the best thing is to keep an eye on Kondrashev and the Radio Orfei orchestra like before, they still might make the recording after all. But who knows, it's possible there is a Soviet vinyl with the cantata recorded on it, though I'm not aware of its existence...

Hi Theodore - I could have sworn I had previously put the recording of Mtsyri in our downloads section.  But it seems I hadn't, anyway it's there now.  Enjoy! 

Re Rusalka - yes the song for voice and piano that you mention is a different work of about 3 minutes in duration, and available on youtube with at least 2 recordings - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TYuWc-5YJQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLKYLCUlTVQ - whereas the cantata is for women's chorus and full orchestra and presumably rather longer. I'd love to get that 2020 Kondrashev recording!
#41
Recordings & Broadcasts / Re: Catoire Mtsyri
Sunday 07 January 2024, 23:29
Quote from: Theodore S. on Sunday 07 January 2024, 06:35Good evening everyone, I hope it's not too late to add to this post (almost 2 years after the last comment), but I have something I think relates to the post.

I found a copyist's manuscript of the 2-piano arrangement of Georgy Catoire's Symphonic Poem "Mtsyri", Op. 13: https://glinka-iss.kamiscloud.ru/entity/OBJECT/75373?query=%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%83%D0%B0%D1%80&index=7. The score comes from the online archive of the Glinka Museum in Moscow (aka the Russian State Museum of Music named after Glinka), which has a lot of great manuscripts, including those by Rachmaninoff (though most of those are hidden). I figured I'd leave a comment with the score since I saw user eschiss1 mentioned how the scores location is mysterious:

Quote from: eschiss1 on Friday 12 February 2021, 02:34Not sure where a score of Mtsyri even is. The symphony at least is at Russian State Library - 213 pp.

I might make a new post with some of the manuscripts I've saved in an account on that archive, if it's all right with the admins. Anyways, Happy New Year everyone!

Thank you Theodore and welcome!  Kondrashev and the Radio Orfei Orchestra also recorded Catoire's cantata "Rusalka" at the same time.  Unfortunately, though, it seems that it hasn't been released.  Might you have any idea of how to obtain it?!
#42
Quote from: Christopher on Monday 08 February 2016, 01:10Myhaylo Verbytsky (1815-1870)

I have put in the downloads section 12 of his works which I found on youtube, all recordings of live concerts.  His symphonies are very short and (according to his wikipedia entry) "are more like overtures".  Personally I think they are quite "Schubert-esque" and would love to hear if others think so too.  Highly melodic.

I have put in the downloads section:

Overture
Cantata - The Gathering of My Countrymen in Ukraine (this track includes the National Anthem at the end) (cantata arranged for orchestra by Frantsishok Fridrikh)
Testament ("Zapovit"), after Taras Shevchenko
Orchestral suite (Kolomiyka + mazurka)
Polonaise No.1 in D major
Symphony No.1 (arranged by Stanyslav Lyudkevych)
Symphony No.2 in C major
Symphony No.4 in G major (from 1864)
Symphony No.5
Symphony No.6 (version for solo piano)
Symphony No.7 in A major (my favourite - urgent opening theme, as in Schubert's Unfinished 8th)
Symphony No.10 in D major (dedicated to Orest Sinkevich) ( - I know that the wikipedia says he wrote 9 symphonies so I can't explain this one....)


For the sake of completeness I'm listing here the full Verbytsky symphonies that have been recorded since my last post of a few years ago (mindful that people weren't overly impressed! But I'm a completist so what can I do...?). Plus a few other orchestral works. All performed by the Academic Symphonic Orchestra of the Chernivtsy Oblast "Gnatyuk" Philharmonia, conducted by Iosip Sozansky.


Symphony No.1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqEMp6p3lhc

Symphony No.2 in C major - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZABte_2eNpg

Symphony No.3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fjSmM9BSDU

Symphony No.4 in G major(from 1864) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtQP4DN8FP8

Symphony No.5 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMhfrLTHQSk

Symphony No.6  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TLLeuuSxE4

Symphony No.6 (version for solo piano) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7_nA5_4H1I

Symphony No.7 in A major - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFAdkkLGrEU

Symphony No.8 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHs0_EpcpaQ

Symphony No.9 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y0ImQcsLHc

Symphony No.10 in D major (dedicated to Orest Sinkevich) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3FY1-v8v7k

Orchestral Suite (Kolomyka + Mazurka) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soGjvLqvhNY

Polonaise No.1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnMA_yexFaY

Testament ("Zapovit") cantata - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGu9Gl3Ncm0

Cantata - The Gathering of My Countrymen in Ukraine (plus the National Anthem of Ukraine) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zutFcXzSYPE

Overture - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du8D1yVUORg

Orchestral suite - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKsAbo1U7Zk
#43
The guys at Ukrainian Live Classics (https://ukrainianlive.org/) have made a premiere recording of the music for the play "Pidhiriany" ("The Highlanders") by Ukrainian composer Mykhailo Verbytskyi (1815-1870), whose best known composition is the Ukrainian National Anthem that many now will be familiar with for tragic and outrageous reasons (aka russia's aggression and unprovoked invasion).

In their words:
Let's immerse ourselves in the magic of the theater and the magical music of Mykhailo Verbytskyi.  The melodrama PIDHIRIANY "The Highlanders" impressed Ukrainians more than a hundred years ago. The play to the libretto by Ivan Gushalevych became one of the most famous musical works of Mykhailo Verbytskyi.
In total, the author of the music of the National Anthem of Ukraine wrote musical accompaniment for more than 20 performances. He actively collaborated with the "Ruska Besida" theater, where the premiere of "Highlanders" took place.
The second life of this piece today was given by Volodymyr Bohatyrov's orchestration, specially commissioned by the Lviv Organ Hall.


Luhansk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Lviv Municipal Choir "Homin"
Soloists - Alina Didenko, Liliya Nikitchuk, Matviy Melnyk, Oleksiy Kuvitanov, Ivan Lykhach, Oleksandra Kunitsyna, Anastasia Kulinich
Ivan Ostapovych - conductor
Project director - Taras Demko


It should be pointed out that the Luhansk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra is now in exile from its home city (Luhansk), which is now illegally occupied by russia. The orchestra and its members individually and collectively accepted the invitation by Ukrainian Live Classics to make their new home in the Lviv Organ Hall. As you can imagine under the current circumstances, funding is on a shoestring. 

https://youtu.be/EIqDMvmxhFA?si=mqzhr6iT9n9wqYNA


More about Verbytskyi here - https://ukrainianlive.org/verbytskyi-mykhaylo#read-in-english and here -  https://musical-world.com.ua/en/artists/verbytskyi-mykhailo-mykhailovych/

More about the piece here - https://ukrainianlive.org/verbytskyi-pidhiryany
#44
Just noticed that the second movement of the Grande sinfonie héroïque is subtitled "Dominum salvum face' Alexandrum II um Imperatorum toti Russiae" (Make Safe [our] Master Alexander II Emperor of All Russia"...oh dear! Probably not the most popular sentiment in Poland then or now.

(And his Piano Trio, Op. 201, on the same disk is subtitled "à Sa Majesté Leopold le Roi de Belges" - I do hope this is Leopold I not II!)

I do love the music though...

#45
The full recording has arrived, most importantly (for me) including the Ecce Sacerdos/Bruckner. Am now very satisfied. 4 CDs! Just as well it's a dreary Saturday outside...

https://coronation.decca.com/products/the-coronation-of-their-majesties-king-charles-iii-queen-camilla-4cd