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Russian Overture
''Russian Overture'', Op. 72, ( rus, Русская увертюра, Russkaya yvertyura, p=rˈuskəjə ʊvʲɪrtʲˈʉrə) is an overture composed in 1936 by Sergei Prokofiev. In 1936 Prokofiev returned permanently to the USSR. He showed sketches of the overture to Eugen Szenkar, who accepted it for his orchestra. Prokofiev used a large orchestra, as he had previously in the '' Scythian Suite'' and ''Seven, They are Seven''. The overture was completed on 25 September 1936 and premiered on 29 October in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory by Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Szenkar, who subsequently performed it in Paris and elsewhere in Europe. After the premiere, Prokofiev reorchestrated the piece on the advice of Szenkar, reducing the number of brass, woodwind and percussion players. On 15 October 1937, it was given its American premiere by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Serge Koussevitzky Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were independent, self-existing instrumental, programmatic works that foreshadowed genres such as the symphonic poem. These were "at first undoubtedly intended to be played at the head of a programme". History 17th century The idea of an instrumental opening to opera existed during the 17th century. Peri's '' Euridice'' opens with a brief instrumental ritornello, and Monteverdi's ''L'Orfeo'' (1607) opens with a toccata, in this case a fanfare for muted trumpets. More important, however, was the prologue, which comprised sung dialogue between allegorical characters which introduced the overarching themes of the stories depicted. French overture As a musical form, however, the French overture first appears in the court balle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who later worked in the Soviet Union. As the creator of acknowledged masterpieces across numerous music genres, he is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century. His works include such widely heard pieces as the March from ''The Love for Three Oranges,'' the suite ''Lieutenant Kijé'', the ballet ''Romeo and Juliet''—from which "Dance of the Knights" is taken—and ''Peter and the Wolf.'' Of the established forms and genres in which he worked, he created—excluding juvenilia—seven completed operas, seven symphonies, eight ballets, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, a cello concerto, a symphony-concerto for cello and orchestra, and nine completed piano sonatas. A graduate of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opus Number
In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositions with similar titles; the word is abbreviated as "Op." for a single work, or "Opp." when referring to more than one work. To indicate the specific place of a given work within a music catalogue, the opus number is paired with a cardinal number; for example, Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor (1801, nicknamed ''Moonlight Sonata'') is "Opus 27, No. 2", whose work-number identifies it as a companion piece to "Opus 27, No. 1" ( Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, 1800–01), paired in same opus number, with both being subtitled ''Sonata quasi una Fantasia'', the only two of the kind in all of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas. Furthermore, the ''Piano Sonata, Op. 27 No. 2, in C-sharp minor'' is also catalogued as "Sonata No. 14", ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were independent, self-existing instrumental, programmatic works that foreshadowed genres such as the symphonic poem. These were "at first undoubtedly intended to be played at the head of a programme". History 17th century The idea of an instrumental opening to opera existed during the 17th century. Peri's '' Euridice'' opens with a brief instrumental ritornello, and Monteverdi's ''L'Orfeo'' (1607) opens with a toccata, in this case a fanfare for muted trumpets. More important, however, was the prologue, which comprised sung dialogue between allegorical characters which introduced the overarching themes of the stories depicted. French overture As a musical form, however, the French overture first appears in the court balle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics; in practice, both its government and its economy were highly centralized until its final years. It was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the city of Moscow serving as its capital as well as that of its largest and most populous republic: the Russian SFSR. Other major cities included Leningrad (Russian SFSR), Kiev ( Ukrainian SSR), Minsk ( Byelorussian SSR), Tashkent (Uzbek SSR), Alma-Ata (Kazakh SSR), and Novosibirsk (Russian SFSR). It was the largest country in the world, covering over and spanning eleven time zones. The country's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917, when the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Russian Provisional Gove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugen Szenkar
Eugen Szenkar (Hungarian: Szenkár Jenő; 9 April 189125 March 1977) was a Hungarian-born German-Brazilian conductor who made an international career in Austria, Germany, Russia, and Brazil. He promoted the stage works of Bela Bartók and other contemporary music at the Oper Frankfurt, the Cologne Opera, where he conducted the world premiere of ''The Miraculous Mandarin'', and in Berlin. He conducted all of the symphonies by Gustav Mahler. Szenkar escaped the Nazi regime in 1933 to Vienna, Paris, and Moscow, from where he was expelled in a Stalinist purge. He tried to build musical life in Rio de Janeiro from 1939 but returned to Germany after World War II. He remained faithful to his intentions for life, although he was often restricted as a Jew, a foreigner, a perceived leftist, and a non-conformist. As he preferred live performances to recording, few sound documents of his work are extant. Life Szenkar was born in Budapest, the son of the conductor, organist and composer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scythian Suite
The ''Scythian Suite'', Op. 20 is an orchestral suite by Sergei Prokofiev written in 1915. Background Prokofiev originally wrote the music for the ballet ''Ala i Lolli'', the story of which takes place among the Scythians. Commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev, the ballet was written to a scenario by Russian poet Sergey Gorodetsky. But when Diaghilev rejected the score even before its completion, the composer reworked the music into a suite for concert performance. The suite was premiered on 16/29 January 1916 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, conducted by the composer. A scheduled Moscow performance of the suite that December was cancelled at the last minute due to the difficulty of finding musicians to play the piece; it called for an enlarged orchestra and, as many performers had been mobilized due to World War I, enough players could not be found. Nevertheless, the Moscow music critic Leonid Sabaneyev gave the music a scathing review.Prokofiev "Autobiography": p. 256-57 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seven, They Are Seven
''Seven, They Are Seven'' (russian: Семеро их, italic=yes) (op. 30) is a cantata by Sergei Prokofiev composed in 1917 for large orchestra, chorus, and dramatic tenor soloist. It was composed in Yessentuki and Kislovodsk, and the words are taken from the poem ''Ancient Calls'' (Зовы древности) by Konstantin Balmont. It was revised by Prokofiev in 1933. The work was composed in the year that the Russian tsar, Nicholas II of Russia, was overthrown. This was followed by the Russian Civil War, and ''Seven, They Are Seven'' was not performed until 1924 in Paris, and was directed by Serge Koussevitzky. It was first performed in Russia in 1956, after Prokofiev had died. The poem that the work was composed to is a Russian translation of a cuneiform in a Mesopotamian temple from the third millennium BC. It describes seven demonic gods who have power over the elements, and also describes the power of these gods. There is an English translation of this poem included in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. The conservatory offers various degrees including Bachelor of Music Performance, Master of Music and PhD in research. History It was co-founded in 1866 as the Moscow Imperial Conservatory by Nikolai Rubinstein and Prince Nikolai Troubetzkoy. It is the second oldest conservatory in Russia after the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was appointed professor of theory and harmony at its opening. Since 1940, the conservatory has borne his name. Choral faculty Prior to the October Revolution, the choral faculty of the conservatory was second to the Moscow Synodal School and Moscow Synodal Choir, bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, the BSO performs most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at Tanglewood. Since its founding, the orchestra has had 17 music directors, including George Henschel, Serge Koussevitzky, Henri Rabaud, Pierre Monteux, Charles Munch, Erich Leinsdorf, William Steinberg and James Levine. Andris Nelsons is the current music director of the BSO. Seiji Ozawa has the title of BSO music director laureate. Bernard Haitink had held the title of principal guest conductor of the BSO from 1995 to 2004, then conductor emeritus until his death in 2021. The orchestra has made gramophone recordings since 1917 and has occasionally played on soundtrack recordings for films, including ''Schindler's List''. History Early year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serge Koussevitzky
Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevitzky Music Foundations official web site Retrieved 5 November 2009.) His surname can be transliterated variously as "Koussevitzky", "Koussevitsky", "Kussevitzky", "Kusevitsky", or, into Polish, as "Kusewicki"; however, he himself chose to use "Koussevitzky". (russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Кусеви́цкий, links=no; ''Sergey Aleksandrovich Kusevitsky''; 4 June 1951) was a Russian-born conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949. Biography Early career Koussevitzky was born into a Jewish family of professional musicians in Vyshny Volochyok, Tver Governorate (present-day Tver Oblast), about 250 km northwest of Moscow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Morrison
Simon Morrison is a scholar and writer specializing in 20th-century music, particularly Russian, Soviet, and French music, with special interests in dance, cinema, aesthetics, and historically informed performance based on primary sources. He has conducted archival research in St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Paris, London, New York, Washington D.C., Copenhagen, and (most extensively) in Moscow. He has traveled to Tel Aviv, Beijing, Hong Kong, Montreal, Moscow, Copenhagen, and Bangkok to give invited lectures and graduate seminars, and divides his time between Princeton and Los Angeles. Morrison is the author of ''Mirror in the Sky: The Life and Music of Stevie Nicks'' (California, 2022), ''Roxy Music's Avalon'' (Bloomsbury, 2021), ''Russian Opera and the Symbolist Movement'' (California, 2002, 2019), ''Bolshoi Confidential: Secrets of the Russian Ballet from the Tsars to Today'' (W.W. Norton, 2016), '' The Love and Wars of Lina Prokofiev'' (Houghton, 2013), and ''The People’s Artist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
