Favourite Russian Composer(s) and Work(s)?

[thetamman]

Hi all,

This is my passionate area of interest, and I'm eager not only to publicise undeservedly neglected composers, but also to learn about what I could be missing out on. All contributions welcome, but perhaps if we keep it to just piano (+ orchestra if necessary) would be great!

Ok, here goes,
Rachmaninoff: Sonata No. 2 (mainly first movement - others a little less inspired IMHO)
Feinberg: Piano Sonata No 3
Mosolov: Piano Sonata No. 2
Eiges Sonata-Toccata No. 4
Medtner: (can't decide) Piano Concerto No. 2?
Scriabin: Sonata No. 4
Taneyev: Prelude and Fugue

Thats enough for now.

Looking forward to hear from everyone!

thetamman

[communist]

Lyapunov: variations and fugue on a Russian theme

Rachmaninoff: preludes, etude-tableaux etc...

Tchaikovsky: Dumka

Medtner: Melodies Oubliee (all books) & Skazka

Feinberg: Sonata no.4

Mosolov: Turkmenian Nights & sonatas

Bortkiewicz: Ballade

Shostakovitch: (no piano works by him I like)

Prokofiev: sonatas, etudes,

[napoleonspidgin]

Shostakovitch: (no piano works by him I like)

Not even Preludes and Fugues Op. 87? There are some beautiful gems there.  For example, no. 3 G major, no. 7 A major, no 22 G minor, no 24 D minor.   The piano quintet in G minor is great too.  Not a big fan of Preludes op. 34 or the aphorisms though.

Thanks for this thread my Russian appreciation is limited to Shosta and Prokofiev (who didn't even live in Russia).

[communist]

Not even Preludes and Fugues Op. 87? There are some beautiful gems there.  For example, no. 3 G major, no. 7 A major, no 22 G minor, no 24 D minor.   The piano quintet in G minor is great too.  Not a big fan of Preludes op. 34 or the aphorisms though.

Thanks for this thread my Russian appreciation is limited to Shosta and Prokofiev (who didn't even live in Russia).

I like a few of them. My favorite out of them is the B-minor. But I do not like them enough as a whole to say they are my favorite Russian work(s). I like his piano trios a lot but this is for solo piano (I think)

[frigo]

This is a great thread, I think russian composer's (in general) are the ones who can better catch the idea of melody and fluidity in their music.

Rachmaninov: etudes-tableaux, piano concertos 1,2,3, his songs are marvellous (Oh, don't be sad, How Peacefull, and his 3 russian songs...), four pieces, preludes, musical fantasies, Musical moments, nocturnes, ...

Tchaikovsky: Piano concerto no1, the seasons, and mainly other orchestral works, widely known.

Scriabin: sonatas (nos.1, 5, 9...), études (op2, 8, 48), piano concerto Op20...

I'm starting to find Korskakov.

Prokofiev: piano concertos 2, 3, sonatas 2, 3, 6, 7, 9...

Well, I do love russian composers... 

[argerichfan]

I know all the compositions listed above, including the Mosolov (whoopie me!), but lately I've been utterly obsessed with Scriabin's Piano Concerto. 

Not sure why.  An examination of the score puts it squarely around his first piano sonata, and the continual repetition of the arpeggios in the last movement makes for very predictable listening.

And yet... and yet... I keep coming back to this glorious concerto.  That and the Rimsky-Korsakov; such riches. 

Rachmaninov 2 is a powerful alternative, but when Argerich plays Prokofiev 3, I might suggest that it is the greatest Russian concerto ever written.     

[point of grace]

Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 1 and 2, op. 39, op. 23
Prokofieff everything
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheerezade
Scriabin, etudes, sonatas

[lau]

prok 1 made me cry!

[thetamman]

Thanks a lot guys. => communist: I enjoyed the Bortkiewicz. Yes, I would agree with the Shost Op. 87 - many are good, but not all I feel are of the same quality. The ones I enjoy more are No. 5, No. 15, 12, 24.

Also check out:

Glazunov: Theme and Variations Op. 72 in F sharp minor

[tanman]

Scriabin: I like almost all of the sonatas, some etudes, and some preludes
Stravinsky: Trois mouvements de Petrouchka

PROK 3 WHEN PLAY BY ARGERICH IS... 

[indutrial]

My favorite Russian composers are Scriabin, Feinberg, Stravinsky, Roslavets, and Edison Denisov. To a slightly lesser extent, I like Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Kabelevsky, A. Alexandrov, and Miaskovsky (the latter three I've not heard as many works from).

[point of grace]

how could i forgot Stravinsky! oh my god =P i love his music and revolutionary music

[thetamman]

how could i forgot Stravinsky! oh my god =P i love his music and revolutionary music

Hmm... Stravinsky is interesting. Pity he didn't write more for piano. IMHO, the Firebird Suite stands as does I believe his Petrouchka. His works unfortunately often just seem to be hard for the sake of being hard, without really adding to the music, so I generally find other composers more rewarding for the amount of time I invest into the piece. I'm open to other opinions though, and reasons behind your thinking.

Scriabin: I like almost all of the sonatas, some etudes, and some preludes
Stravinsky: Trois mouvements de Petrouchka

PROK 3 WHEN PLAY BY ARGERICH IS... 

I'll have to agree there with the Prok - its crazy. Brilliant concerto - although I can't decide between Prok 3 and Prok 2 - both are brilliant in different ways. The 3rd is more accessible in its appeal, but I find the 2nd possibly a bit deeper.

I know all the compositions listed above, including the Mosolov (whoopie me!), but lately I've been utterly obsessed with Scriabin's Piano Concerto. 

Not sure why.  An examination of the score puts it squarely around his first piano sonata, and the continual repetition of the arpeggios in the last movement makes for very predictable listening.

And yet... and yet... I keep coming back to this glorious concerto.  That and the Rimsky-Korsakov; such riches. 

Would there be a recording of the Rimsky-Korsakov you might be able to share? - it does sound pretty delicious I enjoyed Scriabin's First Concerto, but I found his other works more captivating to be honest. What recording of the scriabin did you listen to?

My favorite Russian composers are Scriabin, Feinberg, Stravinsky, Roslavets, and Edison Denisov. To a slightly lesser extent, I like Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Kabelevsky, A. Alexandrov, and Miaskovsky (the latter three I've not heard as many works from).

Ah, Alexandrov and Miaskowsky, are there any works you would recommend by them? I have all their music - except obtaining recordings is difficult - esp for Alexandrov - yet I find their scores compelling. Any specific recommendations would be brilliant

From my own research, for your own listening, I would have to endorse:
ALEXANDER ROSENBLATT: Paganini Variations and his Sonatas (The third of which I am desperate to find the score to, any information would be unbelievable, I can't seem to be able to find it (bought, or otherwise) anywhere.

Keep them coming - also, it'd be interesting to let us know why you enjoy the piece? Just putting it out there.

Peace out,
thetamman

[indutrial]

Ah, Alexandrov and Miaskowsky, are there any works you would recommend by them? I have all their music - except obtaining recordings is difficult - esp for Alexandrov - yet I find their scores compelling. Any specific recommendations would be brilliant

I'm in the same position as 90% of people who've heard of Alexandrov in that I've only heard 1-2 of his works performed. He is often regarded as being one of the many composers in the post-Scriabin boat (also a big fan of Medtner and Stanchinsky), but he simultaneously avoided the pushes into dodecaphonic music by Roslavets. I like what I've looked through by Alexandrov, including the Sonata Skazka, op. 4 and Four Passages, op. 6 (which he dedicated to Stanchinsky). Some of his recorded pieces are on Youtube:
op.1 -

op.6 -

I know Miaskovsky's a quality composer from looking at some of his string quartets (he wrote 13 of those) and hearing almost all of his works for cello/piano (including two excellent sonatas). I have to hear his Marco Polo discs of piano sonatas before I recommend any of those works.

[retrouvailles]

I know Miaskovsky's a quality composer from looking at some of his string quartets (he wrote 13 of those) and hearing almost all of his works for cello/piano (including two excellent sonatas). I have to hear his Marco Polo discs of piano sonatas before I recommend any of those works.

I would highly recommend Myaskovsky's (I like this transliteration) Piano Sonatas No. 2 and 3. They are incredibly tense and chromatic works. They are from around the time when he wrote his amazing Symphony No. 6, which is by far his best work, in my opinion. It is a shame none of his piano music can even hold a candle to that work.

[kelly_kelly]

I love what I've heard of Stravinsky (not much - Firebird suite, Rite of Spring, and Petrouchka) and of course Prokofiev (concertos 1-3, all piano sonatas, violin sonatas, etc, etc, etc.)

[scarabin]

Scriabin of course 
etudes preludes poemes sonatas and all the other pieces 
favourite piece right now is vers la flamme

[ahinton]

I would highly recommend Myaskovsky's (I like this transliteration) Piano Sonatas No. 2 and 3. They are incredibly tense and chromatic works. They are from around the time when he wrote his amazing Symphony No. 6, which is by far his best work, in my opinion. It is a shame none of his piano music can even hold a candle to that work.

Yes, indeed - 27 goes at writing symphonies and one - that 6th - stands out so head and shoulders above all the others that one cannot help but wonder why. Those two of his sonatas are also among his best works. There's an awful lot of relatively mediocre music in his rather large catalogue, though, I think.

Best,

Alistair

[weissenberg2]

I would highly recommend Myaskovsky's (I like this transliteration) Piano Sonatas No. 2 and 3. They are incredibly tense and chromatic works. They are from around the time when he wrote his amazing Symphony No. 6, which is by far his best work, in my opinion. It is a shame none of his piano music can even hold a candle to that work.

He has a famous cello sonata, correct? I have listened to the mentioned third piano sonata in C minor and it was very good.

[edwardweiss]

 Liapunov-12 Transcendental Studies, especially 'Carillon'. Medtner-Sonata in E minor Op.5. Tchaikowsky-Sonata in G major Op.37, Piano pieces Op.19. Rachmaninov-Variations on a Theme of Chopin Op.22.

[indutrial]

I've recently been enjoying the piano music Sergei Protopopov wrote in the early Soviet years. A very rare recording of his third piano sonata recently surfaced on Youtube. The first of four parts can be found at:

 

The score for this can be found at IMSLP.org and, if I'm not mistaken, the composer included editorial notes that outline the tonal concerns of the work. However, without even concerning one's self with that, Protopopov's work is still an intense and engulfing listen.

[sissco]

I like almost everything of Bortkiewicz.
Rachmaninoff is of course brillant, I love his concertos, etudes, preludes, his elegie and a gem 'romance'.
Scriabin's second sonata is wonderful. Also a lot of his preludes and etude Op. 42 No. 5 (played by horowitz ). And some more etudes.
And lyadov has some nice pieces...

[tanman]

I like almost everything of Bortkiewicz.

OMG. I can't believe I forgot about Bortkeiwicz 

[chopin1993]

I absolutely love  Prokofiev: piano concerto no.2
and Rachmaninoff: Almost everything!

[retrouvailles]

I love a lot of the aforementioned composers. However, I recently developed a softspot for Alfred Schnittke. Works like his 1st symphony (check out the Segerstam recording for a mind blowing performance, complete with jazz improvisation) and his Gogol Suite are absolute genius, in terms of how they fuse various styles seamlessly). He also has some great works for piano, such as his Concerto for Piano and Strings and his Concerto for Piano 4 Hands and Chamber Orchestra, both of which show his darker side as a composer. Some of his early Shostakovich-like pieces, such as his Symphony No. 0 and his Piano Concerto No. 1, are also great, especially if you don't like his mature styles. All in all, a composer I highly recommend.

[mlbbaseball]

Work: This is tough (Russian composers are so good), how about The Lark by Mikhail Glinka?

How about Tchaikovsky for my favourite (one of my favourite works isSwan Lake)

[artsyalchemist]

Russian classical music are some of my absolute favorites!!!

Tchaikovsky: last movement of Piano Concerto in b-flat, The Nutcracker, Marche Slave
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini
Scriabin: Sonata no. 5
Shostakovitch: Symphony no. 5
Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
Prokofiev: Sonata no. 7, Piano Concerto no. 3

I know some of these aren't piano works, but for some reason, I love the orchestral sounds in this music

[thetamman]

How could I forget to mention Alexei Stanchinsky - it is SUCH A SHAME that he died so young:'(...
His works have this extremely... how to put it... sparse, yet highly tensile emotion - he's like bach with . Extreme mastery of counterpoint. Check out his 2 piano sonatas, 12 sketches and preludes:) - they're an absolute treat. I feel that his style was not fully matured yet when he died - alas, we will have to be content with the shadow of what might have been...

thetamman

[imbetter]

Moussorgsky-Pictures at an Exhibition
Stravinsky-3 Movements from Petrouchka
Prokofiev-Sonatas 2,3,6,7,8, Toccata, Romeo and Juliet
Scriabin-Pretty much everything I just love the style
Rachmaninoff-Fantasy Pieces, Moment Musicals, Chopin variations, Corelli Variations, Preludes and Etudes, Sonatas 1 and 2, Nocturnes
Medtner-Sonata Elegia, Tragica, Reminiscenza, and Nightwind
Tanayev-Prelude and Fugue
Bortkiewicz-Ballade

[indutrial]

How could I forget to mention Alexei Stanchinsky - it is SUCH A SHAME that he died so young

Agreed on this. The loss of Stanchinsky and Scriabin at such young ages make me wonder how much potentially-stunning music we missed out on from that era. But then again, I can't help but feel like Russia's harsh and noxiously-unhealthy environment played a lucrative role in the creation of the great works that were created. As with the literature of the Silver Age and early Soviet periods, I absolutely cannot absorb enough artistic material from this period.

He's not of the same period, but I've been getting more and more interested in Vainberg's composing, and can't help but express wonder and frustration at why his music is so obscure. I hope to track down the series of Olympia discs that feature his chamber works in the next few months.

[communist]

He's not of the same period, but I've been getting more and more interested in Vainberg's composing, and can't help but express wonder and frustration at why his music is so obscure. I hope to track down the series of Olympia discs that feature his chamber works in the next few months.

It is actually spelled "Weinberg". I to am interesting in his compositions. Would you happen to know who publishes his sheet music?

[nanabush]

Prokofiev - Toccata
Rachmaninoff - Etudes Op 33 #7 (Eb major); Op 39 #3, #6, #7
Eiges - Sonata-Toccata; I heard this on Hexameron's page on youtube; this is crazy!
Scriabin - Sonata #2 Mvmt 1

[indutrial]

It is actually spelled "Weinberg". I to am interesting in his compositions. Would you happen to know who publishes his sheet music?

It's spelled both ways when I'm looking it up in library databases. Almost all of the works I've gone looking for were published in Moscow, but it appears that Peer Music Classical is issuing some of his scores:

https://www.peermusicclassical.com/composer/composerdetail.cfm?detail=weinberg

[point of grace]

PROK 3 WHEN PLAY BY ARGERICH IS... 

well, im not a big fan of Argerich (though we are from the same country) but i really second that.

[horowitzian]

Rachmaninoff's works for piano and orchestra, as well as his Op. 32 Préludes, Ops. 33 and 39 Études-Tableau.

Bortkiewicz — The Op. 42 Ballade in particular, as well as his Études Op. 15

Lyadov — The Préludes Ops. 39, 40.

Medtner — If I had to pick one, it would be the Sonata Reminiscenza.

Catoire — The Sonata-Elegy for violin and piano Op. 20, Chants du Crépuscule Op. 24, Préludes Op. 17 and the Op. 12 Quatre Morceaux.

And I'm just getting started. I left out the Prok I like, as well as some other stuff such as symphonies.

[orangesodaking]

From my limited knowledge  I'm going to go with these three:

Shostakovich Piano Concerto 1
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 1 (yes, not 2 or 3 although they are in many ways better works)
Balakirev Islamey!!! (If actually played like a fantasy, it's very fun!)

[remy]

Felix Blumenfeld's Impromptu in G flat, Op.13 No.2. Two minutes of heaven.

Blumenfeld's 24 Preludes Op.17. Some approach and even equal Chopin's.

Mykola Lysenko's Impromptu in the style of Chopin. (Well, he was Ukrainian)

Sergei Lyapunov's Nocturne in D flat, Op.18. Gorgeous

Most of Sergei Bortkeiwicz's music, especially the D flat Etude, Op.15 No.8

Vasily Kalinnikov's Seven Pieces for Piano, especially the Moderato in e flat minor, and the Waltz in A.

Arthur Lourié's Valse in b minor (not what you would expect from a Scriabinist)

Alexander Scriabin's Fantasie Op.28

Nikolai Medtner's Mood Pictures Op.1 No.1 Andante cantabile (so lovely, but the jumps are so difficult)

N. Vaneyev's transcription of Kreisler's "Preludium and Allegro in the Style of Pugnani" (one of the finest transcriptions ever)


jeremy

[smithreeseii]

What about Alexander Borodin?  Very nice music...string quartets, Prince Igor..etc.

[lostinidlewonder]

Nikolai Kapustin (born Ukrainian but all his learning is Russian) is in my opinion the most interesting Russian composer alive.

[point of grace]

Nikolai Kapustin (born Ukrainian but all his learning is Russian) is in my opinion the most interesting Russian composer alive.

good to know, i'lll take a look

[pianist7]

everything Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky

[forgottenbooks]

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor

[aintgotnorhythm]

Personally I would pick Shostakovich preludes/fugues and various symphonies, e.g. 8/10. However I would say Mussorgsky and in particular Tchaikovsky deserve more mentions than they are getting here.

[john11inc]

Nobody has said Ustvolskaya or Schnittke (well, one half-mention for Schnittke)?

Doesn't get any more Russian than that.

[redbaron]

Balakirev - Toccata in C#m
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Rimsky-Korsakov - Piano Concerto
Prokofiev - Toccata, Peter and the Wolf
Rachmaninov - Etude Tableaux in Dm  Op 33 (No 4 or 5?)
Scriabin - Etude in F minor, Op 42, No 7

[ch101]

tchaikovsky's piano concerto 1 is the best piano concerto ever written.
rimsky-korsakov, in my opinion, is overrated. there are a lot of russian composers out there that are more elite than him

[retrouvailles]

tchaikovsky's piano concerto 1 is the best piano concerto ever written.

No, just... no. Even Rimsky-Korsakov's concerto is better than this one, even though, according to you, he is overrated.