Modeste Petrovich Mussorgsky’s (1839-1881) Songs and Dances of Death was his final composition, composed in 1877, in years of artistic confidence that followed the success of his masterpiece, the opera Boris Godunov. Boris Godunov encapsulates many of Mussorgsky’s innovations including those towards his approach to the setting of the Russian language: his biographer, Robert W. Oldani observes, Mussorgsky’s “quest to find a musical equivalent for the patterns, inflections, pace and cadence of spoken Russian, to fix in music the paralexical aspects of speech that give it plasticity and nuance.” Indeed, Mussorgsky was one of a group of Russian composers known as the "Mighty Five,"- so dubbed by the influential contemporaneous critic V. V. Stasov. …show more content…
Stasov, who suggested that he set Arseny Golenishchev Kutuzov’s text to music. Each of the four songs in the Songs and Dances of Death has a different dedication, the first to the singer Anna Vorobyeva Petrova, the second to Mikhail Glinka’s sister Lyudmila Shestakova, the third to the bass Osip Petrova and lastly, the fourth to the General Kutuzov. The songs are poetic in their construction of narrative: in each song a narrator sets the scene, before the personification of death appears and a dialogue begins between death and another character; a dying child’s pleading mother, a consumptive young girl dreaming of love, a drunken old serf lost in a blizzard, and finally a battle field strewn with the dead. Throughout these songs Mussorgsky’s talent for characterisation is not only evident in its precision, but also in its universality; all classes, genders and spheres of Russian society are subject to his dramatic perception. While these songs’ construction might be poetic, the themes are all too poignant and familiar to everyday Russian life at the …show more content…
Mussorgsky’s approach to language inspires the melodic line, creating a distinct lyrical idiom, but also this approach creates moments of dramatic priority over vocal elegance – this is most evidently in the agitato sections of the first song, Lullaby, but also the declamatory finale of The Field Marshall. Dramatic realism also influences the chose of form: the binary nature of the dialogue in Lullaby, but also the two distinct sections that make up the Serenade are clear examples of this. However, it is perhaps in the Trepak that Mussorgsky is at his most structurally inventive: the song starts with a simple melody for the narrator, which slowly transforms into the melody of Death’s Cossack inspired dance (which features a subtle quote of the Dies Irae), before morphing into a new closing melody which derives from both themes. This creates a seamless form, with no distinct moments of structural change, while also certainly not lacking musical contrasts. This blurring of structural boundaries has the effect of mirroring the songs setting within the environment of a blizzard, where ones own senses of sight, and indeed hearing would be blurred
Conductors are seen as the leader of an orchestra or band and are given most if not all the credit for the music played. For such a simple task that consists of counting the beats, showing the mood for the music, and giving people cues to enter, conductors are as good as their orchestra or band, not by their talent. In this passage by Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky discusses that the work the conductor puts in is negligible to the work the orchestra it self and that concerts should be about the complex qualities of the music played instead of how the conductor impacts the performance.
Mussorgsky’s importance to and influence on later composers are quite out of proportion to his relatively small output. The 65 songs he composed, many to his own texts, describe scenes of Russian life with great vividness and insight and realistically reproduce the inflections of the spoken Russian language. "Mussorgsky was recognized by both the Kuchka and Tchaikovsky as a powerful musical force." Rimsky-Korsakoff, for example, regarded some of his friend's boldest strokes as "mistakes, particularly in his harmonies."
In this concert, featuring Lola Astanova and Gerard Schwarz, complex understanding of the music was shown. The first piece, ‘the Tsar’s Bride’ by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, was a historically influenced opera talking about the tsar’s third wife dying almost immediately after her wedding in fifteen-seventy one. The opera was more dramatic than others Rimsky-Korsakov wrote because the main character, the tsar, never sang. He is only known through the orchestra’s music. The opera first premiered in Moscow on November 3, 1899.
Russian composers of Prokofiev’s time were generally restrained and classical in their approach. (In class) Prokofiev on the other hand was known for his romantic tendencies for which he was scorned. However, his Symphony no.1 is known as his “classical” symphony as it is extremely classical in form and was written according to classical design attempting to emulate the style of Haydn. Similarities between Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony no.1 and Haydn include its orchestrion size and use of the sonata allegro form, of which is classical. Although Prokofiev's symphony is classical in many aspects, elements of Prokofiev's unique voice are clearly heard. (Ferris)
It was a freezing January day in the city of Archangelsk, Russia. A man by the name of Dmitri Shostakovich picked up the newest issue of Pravda from the newsstands, which were unusually busy today. “Wow, this is really harsh!” “Are Pravda’s expectations THAT high?” people whispered to one another. After reading it briefly, Shostakovich flew into a fit of frustration and rage. This paper called his music “degenerate and decadent” (Stevens)! There is no way that Pravda would trash his music as badly as this. In fact, the article was written under orders by an upset Josef Stalin. These two Russian titans impacted Russia’s culture between 1930 and 1950. They absolutely hated each other! The tension between the two radiated throughout Shostakovich’s music and Stalin’s iron-fisted attitude towards his symphonies. Stalin manipulated composers to the point of suicide for defying his wishes, and he was not afraid to do that to Shostakovich. Somehow, Shostakovich dared to resist Stalin’s evil ways and went on to become a “brilliant and internationally famous composer.
Schwartz, Boris. Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, 1917-1981. 2nd edition. Indiana University Press, 1983.
...dard of Soviet art. He revealed feelings of those suffering around him through his music. His legacy and musical styles have persevered, and Shostakovich is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential composers on twenty-first century music.
Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven. Two composers who marked the beginning and the end of the Classical Period respectively. By analysing the last piano sonata of Haydn (Piano Sonata No. 62 in E-flat major (Hob. XVI:52)) and the first and last piano sonatas of Beethoven (Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor Op. 2, No.1, Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor Op. 111), this essay will study the development of Beethoven’s composition style and how this conformed or didn’t conform to the Classical style. The concepts of pitch and expressive techniques will be focused on, with a broader breakdown on how these two concepts affect many of the other concepts of music. To make things simpler, this essay will analyse only the first movements of each of the sonatas mentioned.
In the Cellist of Sarajevo, written by Steven Galloway, the story is told through the eyes of the three unforgettable characters. Each of the characters are different so that the reader can see the war from different standpoints. Each character makes decisions that they believe will preserve their city and the people in it. Arrow, Keran, and Dragon show that it is not easy to make the right decisions. Through their actions these characters help to show how people are responsible for the perseveration of mankind.
The Russian Period was largely influenced by the Russian folk music. Sergei Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write scores for three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets have overtly Russian scenarios and focus on Russian folk lore. The Firebird was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 25 June 1910 by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Like Stravinsky's earlier student works, The Firebird is similar in style to works by Rimsky-Korsakov. It has similar orchestration, structure, harmonic organization and melodic content. Petrushka was also performed in Paris. This piece set in stone Stravinsky’s new reputation. The Rite of Spring is a very popular ballet performed in Paris originally. The piece reflects on the tribal roots of pagan Russian and examines the rituals which dealt with spring. Even though The Rite, like its predecessors, is comprised of a large amount of Russian folk elements, Stravinsky changes them...
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev is considered one of the greatest composers of the twentieth century. Not only was Sergeyevich an accomplished pianist, but he was an outstanding and famous conductor as well. He was infinitely skilled at a wide range of musical genres, including symphonies, concerti, operas, program pieces, film music, and ballets. His works were considered both ultra-modern and innovative for their time. Ironically, Prokofiev died on the same day as Stalin - 05 March 1953.
Horton , Andrew J. . "The Forgotten Avant Garde: Soviet Composers Crushed by Stalin." Central Europe Review 1.1 (28 June 1999): n. pag. Web. 19 Mar 2011. .
Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840 in Vokinsk, Russia. His childhood and teen years are not very well documented and, where he obtained his first musical knowledge is all but a mystery to us. All we know is that he aspired in school to be a lawyer, but Mozart had different plans for him. Reaching out from the grave and through the phonograph by means of his Don Giovani, Mozart captivated young Peter and this is what motivated him to devote his life solely to music. At the age of 23, he entered the Conservatory at St. Petersburg where he became the first Russian to receive systematic training in music fundamentals, which he completed in three years. Following his completion of the course, he began to teach h...
Tchaikovsky is one of the most popular of all composers. The reasons are several and understandable. His music is extremely tuneful, opulently and colourfully scored, and filled with emotional passion. Undoubtedly the emotional temperature of the music reflected the composer's nature. He was afflicted by both repressed homosexuality and by the tendency to extreme fluctuations between ecstasy and depression. Tchaikovsky was neurotic and deeply sensitive, and his life was often painful, but through the agony shone a genius that created some of the most beautiful of all romantic melodies. With his rich gifts for melody and special flair for writing memorable dance tunes, with his ready response to the atmosphere of a theatrical situation and his masterly orchestration, Tchaikovsky was ideally equipped as a ballet composer. His delightful fairy-tale ballets, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker are performed more than any other ballets. Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky's first ballet, was commissioned by the Imperial Theatres in Moscow in 1875. He used some music from a little domestic ballet of the same title, composed for his sister Alexandra's children in 1871.
“No law of nature, however general, has been established all at once; its recognition has always been preceded by many presentiments”,said Dmitri Mendeleev. This quote inspired me, and told me to slow down not to rush, to do things in sections. This made me want to pick Dmitri Mendeleev. As soon as I searched him up, the other chemists were ok, I mean a little interesting, but when I read his biography and many of his famous quotes,v For Ex: “ No one nor anything can silence me,” he popped out to me and reminded me of myself,because if something isn’t right or I don’t like something I will stand up and no one can stop me, I am my own person and have my own voice. What really interested me, about him, was his work on the periodic table, but I will tell you about that later.