Search - Nikolai Myaskovsky, Evgeny Svetlanov :: Myaskovsky: Complete Symphonic Works, Volume 6: Symphony No. 6 / Pathetique Overture

Powerful, moving performance of Myaskovsky's momentous work.

David A. Hollingsworth | Washington, DC USA | 11/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After the successful premiere of Myaskovsky's Sixth Symphony, performed on May 4th, 1924 by Nikolai Golovanov & the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra & Chorus, critics and the audience had essentially two types of reactions toward this ultimately moving score. On the one hand, many deemed the work as the end of the musical era developed & cherished by among Russia's foremost composers: Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Rubinstein, the Russian Five (Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, & Cui) and, Tchaikovsky. And that tradition was carried on by the likes of Glazunov, Tanayev, Lyadov, Arensky. However, by the time Myaskovsky composed the Sixth, many of the composers either passed-on, emigrated, or stopped writing prolifically, especially in symphonic genres.



On the other hand, many deemed the piece as the first symphony of Socialist Realism. It was not the first symphony written on Soviet soil, but the first symphony to convey the aspirations, the yearnings of Revolution. Whether that alone was on Myaskovsky's mind is hard to fathom, for the music is more on the personal level than what many deemed it to be after the premiere. And if one is to look at the circumstances and events affecting the composer, say around the time the Russian Revolution, then the Sixth, very much like Suk's Asreal Symphony completed eighteen years previous-in 1905, is a culminative essay of the composer's reflections of the harsh realities especially coming out of the war (the deaths of his father, his close friend-Dr. Redivtsev, his sisters, and his aunt, who raised him after the death of his mother). And while the finale contains French revolutionary themes, namely Ca Ira & the Carmagnole, the preceeding three movements maintain the traditional aspects of symphonic writing, with the language having a certain cosmopolitanism particularly in the middle section of the second movement (magical and haunting not too distant from Bax). So, the music the end of such an era? Not entirely, for in Myaskovsky's case, the tradition is evolutionary, never ending but grows: modernistic, but maintained, especially in the height of the enforcement Socialist Realist policies of the mid-1930s which nearly destroyed it.



And what a moving, ultimately monumental work it is. Completed in 1923 (begun in 1919), the Sixth is that of profound anguish & melancholy, fierce condemnation of what went on before. Its tragic, dramatic nature is never in doubt (especially in the First movement) and while the quiet melancholy became among Myaskovsky's hallmarks, the melancholy here is more of profundity, soul searching, but in the end peaceful yet contemplative. Even the middle of the ABA-type second movement, with all of its magic and lyrical warmth, still has embitted within the feeling of sadness, of nostalgia. Although the contrasting finale starts off in its uplifting mood, the dies irae motif wasted little time in reminding us the anguish state of this composer (and subconsciously I think of Mahler and Tchaikovsky in the mood bleak, somewhat morbid in temperament). The theme of the Russian sacred chant "On the Soul Leaving the Body" announces itself quietly by the clarinet supported by muted strings. The contrast remains between the hope and the despair, with the dies irae motif more fierce. But in the end, the atmosphere becomes radiant and tranquil, with the chant in fuller intonation (with the optional use of a chorus) expressing life as never-ending no matter where it ends up.



Kryll Kondrashin was the first conductor to record the work on February 7th, 1959 with his same USSR Symphony (now the Russian Federation Symphony) under the original Melodiya (and re-issued by Russian Disc in 1994). For decades, this recording has been deemed as the benchmark recording against which all others had been measured. Needless to say, the two recordings since Kondrashin & before Svetlanov and Jarvi did not quite measure up. Stankovsky with his Slovak forces were too much "as a matter of fact" in their approach & Dudarova's structuralism was anything but compelling, though her reading hardly dutiful & plain. But Svetlanov matches Kondrashin's dramatic edge & sweep, with attack & dramatic impetus. And how mesmerizing is Svetlanov approach to the Scherzo's middle section, well subdued but magical & with upmost flair. And the Andante appassionato third movement is convincingly nostalgic & mournful under his hands. But Svetlanov's approach to the finale is extremely well done too; with the anguish character of the work admirably maintained. And although he omitted the chorus part of the finale (though the text is provided by Olympia), the closing is anything but bland. So, with all appeals, this disc is a must get, especially since it's coupled with the Pathetique Overture, a rather dignified piece of 1947 written around the same time as his highly inventive Divertissement-the latter which to me is more attractive.



But Neemi Jarvi's recording with the Gothenburg Symphony (under DG) is by all accounts self recommending, for it too set new standards in performing Myaskovsky's momentous work. The Gothenburg Symphony is likewise excellent, with details as well articulated but marginally with more clarity (DG recording sound is the state of the art). Jarvi's timing is about the same as Svetlanov's at sixty-four minutes. But where Svetlanov evokes Mahler's psychological world (and in slow passages the Mussorgskian sense of mournfulness), Jarvi opts for subtlety in some of the music making, allowing every details to have more of their own voices. Kondrashin falls in-between, with the results equally as impressive for different yet compelling reasons. The trio of the Second movement sounds spellbinding in Svetlanov's and Kondrashin's hand, while Jarvi is not far behind (who comes up huge in the andante appassionato third movement-if not as overwhelming as Svetlanov). The Gothenburg Symphony Chorus, though not overwhelmingly compelling as the Yurlov Russian Choir for Kondrashin, is admirably clear & precise, with the enunciation rather flawless.



So, a rather easy choice then. Just acquire those three recordings, for their approaches are arresting indeed. A Myaskovsky revival is underway, which, though way overdue, is even more the welcome!"