For the first time in its history, the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic hosts a festival entirely dedicated to the personality and work of Nikolay Myaskovsky (1881-1950). [For an essay on ‘Nikolay Myaskovsky – the Conscience of Russian Music’ by Seen and Heard International‘s Gregor Tassie click here.] Despite his great creative heritage, the composer, cared for and shunned by the Soviet regime, is one of the least known, understood and recognized figures of Russian music of the 20th century. The Festival has a form of dialogues – with the epoch, fate, counterparts – shedding light on the humble personality of Nikolay Yakovlevich Myaskovsky, whom his contemporaries called ‘the artistic conscience of music.’

Raised on the ideals of Russian Romanticism, Myaskovsky worked in the realities of the Soviet era. He was a close friend of Sergei Prokofiev, and in the opinion of Dmitry Shostakovich, was the greatest symphonist of the twentieth century. A professor at the Moscow Conservatory, five times winner of the highest national award of the time, the State Stalin Prize, a member of several art councils, one of the founders of the Contemporary Music Association, he promoted the work of his colleagues and advocated for them, himself remaining among the ‘politically unreliable’ figures.

Myaskovsky. Dialogues is an attempt to have a greater focus on Myskovsky and his legacy and get closer to the objective, true and multi-dimensional portrait of one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century. The Festival will take place during the 85th season of the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic, which performing history includes a number of memorable pages associated with the name of Nikolay Myaskovsky.

AVAILABLE IN THE SVERDLOVSK PHILHARMONIC’S VIRTUAL CONCERT HALL CLICK HERE

9 March 2021 – 19:00, Philharmonic Great Hall, Yekaterinburg

A DIALOGUE WITH EPOCH

Concert in two parts with intermission (140 min)

Performers:

Ural Youth Symphony Orchestra

Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Choir

Conductor — Alexander Rudin

Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Quartet

Klavdia Bashkirtseva (soprano)

Alexander Trofimov (tenor)

Myaskovsky – Quartet No.13 in A minor for Strings, Op.86 (1949)

Myaskovsky – Kremlin by Night, Cantata-Nocturne, Op.75 (1947)

Myaskovsky – Symphony No.17 in G sharp minor, Op.41 (1937)

11 March 2021 –  19:00, Philharmonic Great Hall, Yekaterinburg

NIKOLAY MYASKOVSKY & SERGEI PROKOFIEV: A LIFELONG DIALOGUE

Music and Correspondence: Concert in two parts with intermission (150 min)

Performers:

Maria Ostroukhova (soprano)

Yuri Favorin (piano)

Konstantin Tyulkin (piano)

Nikolay Rotov (elocution)

Boris Zyryanov (elocution)

Myaskovsky and Prokofiev – correspondence and chamber works of two friends and composers

13 March 2021 – 17:00, Chamber Hall of the Philharmonic, Yekaterinburg

Lecture by Irina Vinkevich – ‘Sixth Symphony by N.Ya. Myaskovsky’

13 March 2021 – 18:00, Philharmonic Great Hall, Yekaterinburg

A DIALOGUE WITH FATE

Concert in two parts with intermission (120 min)

Performers:

Ural Philarmonic Orchestra

Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Choir

Conductor — Dmitry Liss

Alexander Ramm (cello)

Myaskovsky – Cello Concerto in C minor, Op.66 (1944-45)

Myaskovsky – Symphony No.6 in E-flat minor, Op.23 (1923)