N.Myaskovsky - Symphony No.6 (USSR State Symphony Orchestra - K.Kondrashin) - 1994

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N.Myaskovsky - Symphony No.6 (USSR State Symphony Orchestra - K.Kondrashin) - 1994

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After the successful premiere of Myaskovsky's Sixth Symphony, performed on May 4th, 1924 by Nikolai Golovanov & the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and 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 cumulative 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 preceding 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 and 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 embedded 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.

Kyrill Kondrashin became the first conductor to record this masterpiece (with the USSR Symphony Orchestra and the Yurlov Russian Choir) and the listening experience could not be any more stirring than it is here. He avoids much of the squareness, as a matter of fact reading that somewhat mars Stankovsky's otherwise well done account on Marco Polo. His performance, although not blessed with a more better, penetrating sound, is of utmost conviction. This great maestro never runs the risk of being cautious, but attacks this work head on with plenty of impetus. And yet he manages to be tender and poetic where warranted (could he have been more magical yet haunting in the trio section of the second movement, marked Presto tenebroso - Andante moderato - Tempo I?). His orchestra, the USSR Symphony is astonishing in its responsiveness and the Yurlov Russian Choir is nothing but impressive. Incidentally, Kondrashin made another recording of the work in 1978 with Moscow State Philharmonic and State Academic Russian Choir (this time, live). But this issue is the more special, with that sense of occasion that sticks to memory more readily and stubbornly to my delight (even though Kondrashin's second recording is better). Dudarova's Olympia's recording has a lot going for it (the solidity in the performance earns it respect). But it left me largely unmoved in the final analysis.

No need to "actively" recommend this album, for it will be simply superfluous. This disc speaks for itself.