Works by Myaskovsky. Symphonic and chamber music of N.Ya
this is a historically key figure all our music. An artistic personality who saved for everyone who entered the new post-revolutionary era of Russia the best, enduring things. According to the time of birth, Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky was destined connect two eras. Not just different times - the eras of Tsarist and Soviet Russia. " Our history took such a leap that between yesterday and today there was some kind of emptiness, psychologically painful, like an open wound.“,” wrote V. Khodasevich about the events of the revolution and the Civil War. This wound could be healed in different ways: to overthrow the art of the “counts”, nobles and “philistine whiners”, to create “art for the proletariat”. But it was possible to preserve spiritual values and increase them. This, without a doubt, is Myaskovsky’s purpose. Save for us, the descendants of October, something, coming from previous life, from pre-revolutionary ideas and values (values eternal), thus bridging the gap between past and present.
Nikolai Yakovlevich had a great (though not loud) influence on the atmosphere of Russian music. However, Nikolai Yakovlevich’s student B. Tchaikovsky said that it seemed to be hanging in the air: “Beat him!” The first Komsomol members of the Moscow Conservatory declared Myaskovsky the head of the “bourgeois trend in music”, catching internally free, independent spirit inherent in great art.
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky, a nobleman with liberal-democratic views, entered revolutionary Russia as a fully developed 36-year-old man (born April 8, 1881 - died August 8, 1950). At the beginning of the First World War, Myaskovsky was mobilized into the sapper troops and ended up on the Austrian front. I experienced the “treat” of artillery fire, the death of friends, and captivity. Will Nikolai Yakovlevich's descendants understand when they learn that he had the right to be exempt from mobilization... Will they believe that, never achieving anything for himself, he always willingly worked for others and tried to help.
Recognition of great artists, if it did not happen during their lifetime, follows their earthly life. But it happens differently...
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky (a student of Lyadov and) received recognition during his lifetime and entered the history of music of the 20th century as the largest Russian symphonist. There are probably several reasons for the discrepancy between the merits of Myaskovsky’s music and the very modest place it occupies. Well, at least the fact that the composer’s work lacks such genres as opera, ballet, film music, which make the composer more accessible and famous. A wide audience is deprived of the opportunity to know the composer's music.
Myaskovsky’s works have deep restraint and a high degree of intimacy of expression. They are devoid of everything outwardly spectacular and, perhaps, are incomprehensible to that part of the public who, according to the apt remark of B. Asafiev (an enthusiastic connoisseur of Myaskovsky’s work), is accustomed “to having pills sweetened for them.” And the musicians... The same Asafiev wrote about them: “... who are busy with themselves, who are not interested in complex concepts, preferring the fleeting... and who are mired in conventions and do not feel anything alive.”
Among professionals (who are largely aimed at external novelty) one can encounter indifference or even disdain: old-fashioned, boring! In addition, the composer’s musical language sometimes gives rise to the false feeling that something like this has already happened, because Myaskovsky’s style does not break or reject tradition, but develops it in an original form.
Perhaps the reason for our distance and indifference from Myaskovsky’s muse is also that she does not argue, fight, teach, entertain, or exert aggressive mental pressure (as happens in the 20th century). It, as Asafiev defined its essence, “stands out for its extremely keen desire to find out to yourself the secrets of your mental life...”
WITH draft the end of the twentieth century pushed away from us the intimately fragile and pure creativity of Nikolai Myaskovsky with something “more relevant” (sometimes rude and vulgar). An artistic phenomenon called " Myaskovsky" turned out to be hidden. It is extremely rare to see the composer’s name in concert programs, but previously every major performer’s repertoire included his works without fail. Nowadays you are more likely to find recordings from musicians of the older generation. All the composer’s symphonies were recorded in England by Evgeniy Svetlanov, but we don’t have them in our country. Most radio programs, especially television, will not risk turning to an unfashionable artist who does not have a rush of demand (except when a major performer addresses his works - G. Rozhdestvensky, V. Gergiev).
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky(April 20, 1881 – August 8, 1950), composer, teacher and music critic.
Myaskovsky's creativity developed throughout the first half of the twentieth century. He played a special role in the development of the Soviet symphony. The development of chamber music, especially instrumental music, is also associated with his name. Largely thanks to Myaskovsky, the traditions of the symphony genre, developed by European and Russian classics, were preserved at the junction of two eras and received a powerful impetus for development in the future.
Myaskovsky was born on April 20, 1881 in the Novo-Georgievsk fortress, now Modlin (Old Polish name) in the Warsaw province in the family of a military engineer. The mother died shortly after the birth of the fifth child, and her sister replaced the children's mother.
Recalling his childhood years, Myaskovsky said that the family followed the established home traditions for years. An atmosphere of mutual love and respect reigned. The children lived well and freely. Little Nikolai did not like noisy fun; he was very fond of cardboard puppet theater. For him, he carved figures, composed all kinds of plays, learned roles and even improvised music by playing the comb. However, the boy was not destined to stay in the comfort of home for long. The father received a modest salary and, burdened with a large family, was forced, according to family tradition, to place his children in a boarding school at public expense.
After graduating from two classes of a real school in Kazan, Nikolai, like his older brother Sergei, was sent to the Nizhny Novgorod Cadet Corps, where he studied from 1893 to 1895, and from Nizhny Novgorod he was transferred to St. Petersburg to the second cadet corps, where he graduated in 1899 According to the composer's recollections, training was given to him as a joke, although he disliked the military educational institution.
His musical abilities manifested themselves very early. This pleased the parents, but they did not attach any importance to the boy’s talent. He did not receive any special education, even at home, so we can say that he owed himself mastery of the profession.
Music gradually became an attractive force for him. “I heard something about the existence of the opera from my aunt, who was very musical, had a good voice and sang in the choir of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. A rental piano appeared in the house. My aunt began to teach me, although, being a nervous patient, she did not put sufficient consistency into this matter, relying on my great receptivity. At the same time, my musical impressions were enriched from the outside: in the operetta that performed at the opera house, and in the opera that toured in the winter,” the composer recalled.
In Nizhny Novgorod, in addition to piano lessons with Madame Latour, who predicted great success for the young man, participation in the cadet corps choir was added, which gave Myaskovsky great pleasure.
In St. Petersburg, he gets the opportunity to expand his horizons: he participates in a student orchestra, regularly plays four-hand symphonies and overtures by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, Schumann, Schubert, and attends concerts of the Russian Musical Society and an amateur German orchestra.
At the age of 15 he began composing. By the age of 18, the first collection of piano preludes had appeared.
Graduation from the cadet corps and an almost automatic transfer to the Military Engineering School determined the further stage in Myaskovsky’s military career. Nikolai tried to instill in his father his confidence that his calling was music, but Yakov Konstantinovich persuaded his son not to give up his military education, citing the example of Borodin, Cui and many others who combined serving music with activities far from it, and promised to help in every possible way to develop his inclination son.
In 1902, Myaskovsky completed the course and received a diploma as a military engineer. After a short stay in service in a sapper unit in Zaraysk, he was transferred to Moscow. Before leaving for his destination, Myaskovsky turned to Rimsky-Korsakov with a request to recommend someone in Moscow for composition classes. He, well remembering his difficult path to his beloved art, immediately responded to the young engineer’s letter, recommending that he contact S.I. Taneyev. However, Myaskovsky was embarrassed to show his works to Taneev, calling them “nonsense.” Unable to determine the level of preparation of the young man, Taneyev decided that he needed to start with the basics, and sent him to study harmony with R.M. Glier. From January to May 1903, Myaskovsky studied with Gliere and completed the entire course of harmony. This was a period of intense work: after devoting several hours to music during the day, Myaskovsky then sat at night on official assignments. On May 6, 1903, for the last lesson in harmony, Myaskovsky finally brought his compositions to Gliere.
The efforts of General Ya. K. Myaskovsky to transfer his son closer to home were crowned with success: at the beginning of 1904, Nikolai Yakovlevich was assigned to the 19th engineer battalion near St. Petersburg. But the decision to prepare to enter the conservatory, at least as a volunteer, was firmly made by him, and this determined the entire way of life of the young engineer.
Myaskovsky, on the advice of Gliere, continued his studies in theory under the guidance of I. I. Kryzhanovsky, a student of Rimsky-Korsakov. Thus, already at an early stage, Nikolai drew experience from both schools of composition - Moscow and St. Petersburg. For three years Myaskovsky studied counterpoint, fugue, form and orchestration from Kryzhanovsky.
Finally, in the summer of 1906, already a twenty-five-year-old young man, Myaskovsky decided to take exams at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in secret from the military authorities. As an examination essay, he submitted the C minor Sonata. His examiners were Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazunov and Lyadov - they later became his teachers.
In the very first year of study at the conservatory, Myaskovsky began a friendship with young Sergei Prokofiev (he was 10 years younger), who captivated him with his ability to quickly sight read. Their regular music playing together began. Soon Prokofiev began showing Myaskovsky all his new works, asking him to express his opinion on tempos and various other subtleties, and also to come up with titles for the plays. Their friendship, which began during their years of study at the conservatory, lasted more than 40 years - until the last days of Nikolai Yakovlevich.
In the spring of 1907, Myaskovsky submitted his resignation, but only a year later he was transferred to the reserve. However, already in the summer, having received leave for the necessary treatment, for the first time in his life he felt almost like a professional musician. The first published works were romances based on poems by Gippius. During the conservatory years, Myaskovsky made his creative debut as a symphonist: his First Symphony was written in 1908 for a small orchestra. It was first heard on June 2, 1914.
The symphony was followed by the orchestral fairy tale “Silence” (1909) after Edgar Allan Poe. Beginning the work, Myaskovsky wrote to Prokofiev: “There will not be a single bright note in the entire play - Darkness and Horror.” The symphonic poem “Alastor”, created three years after “Silence”, is also very close to it in mood. The composer Asafiev considered the fairy tale “Silence” to be Myaskovsky’s first mature work, and in “Alastor” he noted the bright musical characteristics of the hero, the skill of development and the exceptional expressiveness of the orchestra in episodes of storm and death.
Myaskovsky was thirty years old when, in 1911, he “quietly,” by his own definition, graduated from the conservatory, showing Lyadov two quartets. In the spring of the same year, Nikolai Yakovlevich met conductor K. S. Saradzhev, who became the first performer of many of his works and played a big role in the composer’s life. On June 12, 1911, the first performance of “Silence” took place on the summer stage in Sokolniki.
In August 1911, the composer’s musical and critical activity began. Myaskovsky took an active part in the Moscow magazine “Music”, published under the editorship of V.V. Derzhanovsky. Over the course of three years, the magazine published 114 of his articles and notes devoted to the musical life of St. Petersburg, as well as new releases in Russian and Western European music. V.V. Derzhanovsky himself and his wife, singer E.V. Koposova-Derzhanovskaya - an excellent performer of Myaskovsky's romances - became his very close friends.
The First World War, which began in 1914, distracted Myaskovsky from his creative plans for a long time. In the very first months, he was drafted into the army and spent two years with the rank of lieutenant of a sapper company at the forefront of the Austrian front. He survived both offensive operations, and a “rapid flight back through Galicia to Poland,” and a “terrible advance through Polesie.” In 1916, after a shell shock near Przemysl, Myaskovsky was transferred from the active army to the construction of a fortress in Revel (now Tallia). Being at the front, communicating with people with whom he went through the war and met the October Revolution, gave Myaskovsky new artistic impressions, which he reflected in the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, composed in three and a half months - from December 20, 1917 to April 5, 1918 .
In 1918, Myaskovsky was transferred to Moscow, where he has lived permanently since then. Nikolai Yakovlevich served in the army until the end of the Civil War (1921). In 1919, he was elected to the bureau of the “Collective of Moscow Composers” and at the same time worked in the Music Sector of the State Publishing House, and in 1921 he became a professor of composition class at the Moscow Conservatory, where he worked until the end of his life.
Myaskovsky's circle of Moscow acquaintances quickly expanded. Since 1919, he became a regular participant in the “musical vigils” of P. A. Lamm. Even in the most difficult years, home concerts were organized at his home, for which Pavel Alexandrovich masterfully made piano arrangements of a wide variety of works. In Lamm's house, almost all of Myaskovsky's symphonies and other works were performed for the first time in his arrangement.
Myaskovsky never nurtured a single idea as painfully and for as long as the Sixth Symphony. At the beginning of 1921 he made sketches. By the summer of 1922, they were finally finalized, and in Klin, in the house-museum of P. I. Tchaikovsky, where Myaskovsky was invited in the summer of 1922 along with P. A. Lamm and his family, the composer began orchestrating the symphony. The score was completed only in 1923. The sixth symphony is Myaskovsky's most complex, multifaceted and monumental work. Its first performance took place on May 4, 1924 at the Bolshoi Theater under the direction of N. S. Golovanov. The composition made a colossal impression on the musical community. Critics of those years praised him highly, noting the significance and mastery of the implementation of the plan.
In the second half of the 1920s, Myaskovsky was more than once subjected to sharp criticism from the propagandists of “Proletarian Culture”. This was the case, for example, in 1926, when in their open letter supporters of “propaganda music” accused Nikolai Yakovlevich and his colleagues of an alien ideology. It was during these years that Myaskovsky’s works gained popularity abroad. Leopold Stokowski, who performed the Fifth Symphony in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York in January 1926, undertakes to play the Sixth. Pianist Walter Gieseking announced the Fourth Sonata in the program of his Zurich concerts. Koussevitzky, through Prokofiev, asked Myaskovsky for the musical material of the not yet published Seventh Symphony, since he wanted to perform it in Paris.
On January 24, 1926, at the first symphony concert of modern Russian music in Prague, Myaskovsky's Sixth and Seventh Symphonies were performed, the latter being the premiere. Conductor Sarajev was then called seven times, and the Sixth Symphony made such an impression that the public did not want to let him leave the stage at all. Prokofiev tried to persuade Myaskovsky himself to stand at the conductor’s stand to perform his works, but he, although he began taking lessons from Saradzhev in 1924, on the one hand, was too demanding of himself, and on the other, due to his modest character, preferred to remain in the shadow.
In the 1930s, Myaskovsky’s social and musical activities unfolded. The Moscow school of Soviet composers is inextricably linked with his name. More than 80 composers passed through the class of N. Ya. Myaskovsky at the Moscow Conservatory, among whom were: G. G. Galynin, D. B. Kabalevsky, A. F. Kozlovsky, A. V. Mosolov, V. I. Muradeli, N. I. Peiko, L. A. Polovinkin, A. I. and K. S. Khachaturyan, B. A. Tchaikovsky, V. Ya. Shebalin, A. Ya. Eshpay and many others. Myaskovsky also continues to work on the editorial board of academic publications of Russian classical composers and actively participates in conservatory affairs.
In the years after the Tenth Symphony (1927), inspired by Pushkin’s “The Bronze Horseman,” Myaskovsky sought “some enlightenment of style” and, under the influence of the surrounding environment, tried to work in the genre of mass song, which was not easy for him. The Eleventh and Twelfth Symphonies were published in 1932. At the end of 1934, almost simultaneously - in Moscow (L. Ginzburg) and in Chicago (F. Stock) - the new Thirteenth Symphony was performed. In the fall of 1935, G. Scherchen performed it in Winterthur (Switzerland). Myaskovsky tried to make the fourteenth symphony lighter and more dynamic. The composer himself called it “a rather reckless little thing,” but noted that it has a “modern vital pulse.” Critics noted the leading importance of the folk song principle in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth symphonies, although the latter does not contain a single genuine folk theme. Here we were talking about “the translation of Russian songwriting into the original themes of the author, about the national soil character of music as a whole” (A. Ikonnikov).
Myaskovsky's Sixteenth Symphony is one of the brightest pages in the history of Soviet symphonic music. Prokofiev, who was present in the Great Hall of the Conservatory at the opening of the concert season of the Moscow Philharmonic on October 24, 1936, when this symphony was first performed under the baton of the Hungarian conductor Eugen Senkar, wrote in a review published in the newspaper “Soviet Art”: “By the beauty of the material, the skill of presentation and overall harmony of mood, this is truly great art, without looking for external effects and without winking at the audience.”
An unusually fruitful period began in Myaskovsky’s work. During the four pre-war years, five symphonies, two String Quartets, a Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, as well as piano pieces, romances and songs were created. Myaskovsky was the first Soviet composer to create a symphony for wind orchestra (No. 19; 1939). Work on it took place in constant creative communication with General I.V. Petrov. Acquaintance with this wonderful musician (later the head of the Higher School of Military Conductors and the Chief Conductor of the Soviet Army) very soon grew into a great cordial friendship, the bonds of which did not weaken until the last days of the composer’s life.
The Twenty-First Symphony-elegy received the greatest recognition, “which, according to S. Shlifshtein, absorbed almost the most characteristic features inherent in the author’s individuality.” In 1941, Myaskovsky was awarded the 1st degree Stalin Prize for this work. The symphony gained wide popularity not only in the composer’s homeland, but throughout the world.
Myaskovsky's first compositions during the war were two marches for brass band. In August 1941, Nikolai Yakovlevich had to leave Moscow. With a group of composers and professors of the Moscow Conservatory, among whom were An. N. Alexandrov, A. B. Goldenweiser, P. A. Lamm, S. S. Prokofiev, Yu. A. Shaporin with their families and others, Myaskovsky was evacuated to the North Caucasus. The Twenty-Second Symphony and the Seventh Quartet were written in Nalchik. The Twenty-Third Symphony (on Kabardian and Balkar themes) was also begun here. Myaskovsky completed the orchestration of this work in Tbilisi, where cultural figures were evacuated after the front line approached.
Myaskovsky continued to work actively. At the beginning of 1942, Sonatina, Song and Rhapsody for piano were written, as well as the Eighth Quartet and Dramatic Overture. Submitting to a new government decision, according to which cultural figures evacuated from Moscow were to move inland - to the city of Frunze (now Bishkek),
On August 31, Myaskovsky leaves Tbilisi. The journey to Frunze took three weeks. Despite very difficult living conditions, including the lack of tools, Myaskovsky continued to work. In Frunze, he wrote the heroic-patriotic cantata poem “Kirov is with us.” Here he received the news of the death of V.V. Derzhanovsky, who died in September 1942 near Moscow.
Returning to Moscow at the end of December 1942, Myaskovsky never left it again. The cultural life of the capital was gradually restored. Classes at the conservatory resumed, and V. Ya. Shebalin was entrusted to head it. In the first year after returning from evacuation, the Ninth Quartet, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Beethoven Quartet, and the Twenty-Fourth Symphony in memory of V.V. Derzhanovsky were written.
The war undermined Myaskovsky's health. He began to get sick often. During these years, the composer began to turn to his old works, revising and editing them; composed two piano sonatas (the Fifth and the Sixth) based on old sketches. The extensive list of wartime compositions, including, among other things, three symphonies and the cantata “Kirov with Us,” closes with the Cello Concerto, written in the fall of 1944. This concerto, superbly performed by the wonderful cellist S. N. Knushevitsky, has firmly entered the repertoire of many performers.
After the end of the war, the opportunity again arose to spend the summer months at P. A. Lamm’s dacha near Moscow (on Nikolina Gora): here Myaskovsky worked most fruitfully. The intensity of the composer's creative work can be judged by the list of works written in the post-war years.
The end of N. Ya. Myaskovsky’s life occurred during one of the most terrible periods in the history of Russian music. The resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On V. I. Muradeli’s opera “The Great Friendship” dated February 10, 1948, which accused Prokofiev, Myaskovsky, Shostakovich and several other composers of formalism, and the subsequent actions of the authorities dealt a crushing blow to the symphony and others instrumental genres. Myaskovsky met the blow with dignity: he did not repent, did not admit his mistakes, but responded with silence and continued to compose.
For the last two years of his life, he worked alone and intensely in his apartment in Moscow (on Sivtsev Brazhka) and at his dacha (on Nikolina Gora). During these years he wrote several piano sonatas, the Twenty-Seventh Symphony and the Thirteenth Quartet. Returning to his early works, Myaskovsky compiled a collection of vocal works “From Different Years”.
At the end of 1949, Myaskovsky was already very ill, but postponed the operation, which the doctors insisted on, as he sought to put his latest works and archive in order. The operation was finally performed in May, but it was already too late. Nikolai Yakovlevich died at home on the evening of August 8, 1950 at the age of 69. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery not far from the graves of Scriabin and Taneyev.
Composer, teacher, music critic, public figure.
Born on April 8, 1881 in Novogeorgievsk, Warsaw province.
He received his first music lessons from his father’s sister, Elikonida Konstantinovna, who replaced his mother. He continued his studies in playing the piano and violin at the St. Petersburg Cadet Corps (since 1895). According to Myaskovsky, the last impetus for musical and creative aspirations was the stunning impression of the Sixth Symphony and the opera “The Voevoda” by P. I. Tchaikovsky. The composer’s general and musical development was facilitated by communication with the famous St. Petersburg Pushkinists M. L. Hoffman, B. L. Modzalevsky and their circle.
According to family tradition (his father was a major military specialist), from 1899 he studied at the Military Engineering School, while simultaneously studying music. Served in military units of Zaraysk and Moscow. In 1903 he took lessons from P.M. Glizra in Moscow, in 1903-06 - with I. M. Kryzhanovsky (polyphony, fugue, instrumentation) in St. Petersburg. Attended “Evenings of Contemporary Music”, where he met S. M. Gorodetsky, Vyach. I. Ivanov, M. A. Kuzmin, but, by his own admission, did not become “one of us” in this circle, because he did not strive for the “last word” in musical technology. In 1911, he became friends with B.V. Asafiev and S.S. Prokofiev (the friendship with Prokofiev lasted until the end of his life). According to Prokofiev, correspondence with Myaskovsky gave him more than “dry lessons from A. Lyadova."
After graduating from the conservatory, he collaborated with the Moscow magazine “Music” (he proved himself to be a brilliant critic). Myaskovsky’s article “Tchaikovsky and Beethoven” (1912), directed against underestimating the importance of the great Russian composer, had a fundamental role for the musical culture of that time. In the 1920s he contributed articles and reviews to magazines. “To new shores”, “Musical culture”, “Modern music”.
He took part in combat operations in the First World War (1914-16) as an officer in the sapper troops. An appointment to the Naval Headquarters (1918-21) brought Myaskovsky from Petrograd to Moscow. By the time of mobilization, he was already the author of 3 symphonies, 2 symphonic poems, etc. He was actively involved in the construction of a new musical culture and in Moscow musical life. I always tried to be an “artist of our days.” One of the organizers of the State Music Publishing House (jury member, editor, consultant, 1919-30). In 1919 - a member of the board of the "Collective of Moscow Composers", at the same time - deputy head of the MUZO of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR, a member of the Art Section of the State University of Culture. He attended musical evenings with the Derzhanovskys and P. A. Lamm, who became his friend. In 1932 he was elected to the organizing committee of the USSR Investigative Committee. In 1933-39 he carried out multifaceted musical and social activities in the artistic councils of the radio and philharmonic, from 1939 - the Committee for Arts under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and on the jury of various competitions. Since 1940 - member of the editorial board of the magazine "SM" (until 1948).
Since 1921 he taught at the Moscow Conservatory. The creator of a major school of composition. Among the students: I. Belorusets, V. Bely, Yu. Biryukov, N. Budashkin, A. Veprik, F. Vitochek, V. Gaigerova, G. Hamburg, G. Galynin, E. Golubev, G. Egiazaryan, D. Kabalevsky , G. Kirkor, V. Kryukov, 3. Levina, A. Lokshin, N. Makarova, K. Makarov-Rakitin, E. Messner, B. Mokrousov, A. Mosolov, V. Muradeli, N. Peiko, L. Polovinkin , S. Razorenov, M. Starokadomsky, V. Fere, A. Khachaturyan, K. Khachaturyan, B. Tchaikovsky, V. Shebalin, B. Shekhter, V. Shirinsky, A. Eshpai, M. Yurovsky and others (total about 80). He saw the main pedagogical task in developing the student’s individual traits, teaching him to think in large layers, to perceive form as a process, to see the perspective and outcome of this process. Member of the ASM (until 1931). He was well acquainted with foreign works of the 20th century and generously shared his information, as well as his unique library, with his students.
He entered the history of music as one of the largest symphonists of the 1st half of the 20th century. Over 4 decades (1908-49) he created 27 symphonies. Among domestic composers, he came closest to the idea of musically exploring the theme “Russia of the 20th century in the context of world wars.” Like many Russian masters of the 1st half of the 20th century, Myaskovsky created his compositions (symphonic and chamber) based on their stylistic contrast: after the psychologically in-depth, often tragic fresco, a more optimistic composition arose (the Fifth and Sixth, Twelfth and Thirteenth Symphonies and etc.). The composer's contribution to the genre of chamber music is enormous: 13 string quartets, 9 piano sonatas, over 100 plays grouped into small cycles and collections, over 100 romances and songs based on words by M. Yu. Lermontov, F. I. Tyutchev, E. A. Baratynsky, K. D. Balmont, Z. N. Gippius, A. A. Blok and others.
Myaskovsky's literary heritage is great and still awaits full publication. Among those published: Autobiographical notes on the creative path // SM. 1936. No. 6; N. Ya. Myaskovsky. Collection of materials. T. 1-2 / Ed.-comp. S. Shlifshtein. M., 1959-60: T. 1. Articles. Letters. Memories. T. 2. Autobiography. Articles. Notes. Reviews. 2nd edition 1964: T. 1. Articles. Essays. Memories. T. 2. Literary heritage. Letters. Autobiography. Articles. Notes. Reviews.
Musical critic, .
classical music: late romanticism, modernism (1908-1927), socialist romanticism (1931-1940), late romanticism (1940-1950), Russian romance, mass song.
Misanthrope
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky(-) - Russian Soviet composer, teacher, music critic. Doctor of Art History (). People's Artist of the USSR (). Winner of five Stalin Prizes (, - twice, , - posthumously).
Biography
During the Civil War, N.Ya. Myaskovsky joined the service of the General Naval Staff of the Baltic Fleet. This was due to the fact that his relatives were under the threat of starvation and the composer took his sisters’ families to support them. . However, the myth widespread in Soviet times that Myaskovsky was an ardent supporter of communism is not fully true. From the Composer’s correspondence it follows that he accepted the convening of the Constituent Assembly with hope and for the first two years looked at Soviet power without much enthusiasm. . Nikolai’s father, Yakov Konstantinovich, did not support his son’s decision to serve in the Red Army and tried to leave for Ukraine, but died in the flames of the flaring civil war. In 1918, Myaskovsky moved to Moscow, where he lived most of his life. In 1919, Myaskovsky was elected a member of the board of the “Collective of Moscow Composers”, and at the same time was deputy head of the Music Department of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR (1921). After demobilization from military service in the Red Army, Myaskovsky was a professor in the composition class at the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky.
N. Myaskovsky's 6th symphony is a reflection of the tragedy of the Russian people, split by the civil war. The gloomy Old Believer choir in the finale is very indicative, as a symbol of the new, social split of the 20th century in Russia. The symphony was a resounding success. Myaskovsky even received comparison with P.I. Tchaikovsky. This work was spoken of as the first symphony worthy of the name 6th, after Tchaikovsky's brilliant 6th symphony.
In 1925-1927, Myaskovsky experimented a lot. Then he created the 7th symphony, whose intonation style lies at the intersection of Russian romanticism and French impressionism by C. Debussy. And also the 8th symphony, using atonal constructions in the spirit of A. Schoenberg, as well as elements of Russian and Bashkir folklore. In those years, the composer spent a lot of time fighting supporters of simplification in music from RAPM, who recognized only pro-communist mass song as the only possible style of music in the USSR. Among the participants of RAPM, the ideas of primitivism and simplification, along with hatred of almost all classical music of the 18th - 19th centuries, dominated. (they made the only exception for the works of M. Mussorgsky and L. V. Beethoven)
In the early 30s (starting with the 11th symphony), Myaskovsky changed the style of music to a lighter one, which was a reflection of the pressure that the authorities put on him. Major keys begin to dominate in music, and polyphony becomes simpler. Yielding to pressure from the authorities, Myaskovsky writes the 12th symphony, dedicated to collectivization. Some modern critics consider it the worst in the composer's work. The simplified 14th symphony is kept in the same spirit. It is significant that he was forced to present the only dark work of that period, the 13th symphony, at a closed premiere. The 13th Symphony became a kind of farewell to modernism and the avant-garde by the composer. Which is similar to the situation that developed around the 4th symphony of D. D. Shostakovich. Although, in addition to the simplified 12th, 14th, 18th and 19th symphonies, the composer’s work in the 30s also contained high examples of symphonic art, such as, for example, the 15th and the majestic 17th symphony, dedicated to conductor A. Gauk.
Among his other works of the 30s, the 16th Symphony, dedicated to Soviet aviation, also stands out. Its drama is inspired by the crash of the huge ANT-20 Maxim Gorky aircraft that happened in May 1935.
In 1932, Myaskovsky was elected to the organizing committee of the Union of Soviet Composers. Since 1939, member of the artistic council of the Committee for Arts under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. In 1940-1951 Member of the editorial board of the magazine "Soviet Music".
In 1940, the composer composed his 21st symphony - a work of amazing power, which reflected both painful thoughts about the correctness of the country's path, and the composer's sincere faith in a bright future. The pure sonata form, the masterful combination of dark and light tones, and the philosophical depth of the composition brought this work universal recognition throughout the world. This magnificent symphony opened the last, final period of the Soviet master’s work. It is characterized by a return to the polytonal schemes of Russian classical romanticism, along with the transparent polyphony of wind instruments.
But in 1948, Nikolai Yakovlevich had already openly stood up in the musical opposition, defending his colleagues S. S. Prokofiev, D. D. Shostakovich and A. I. Khachaturian. At a meeting of the Union of Composers, he described the “Resolution on Combating Formalism” as hysterical, which led to his conflict with T. N. Khrennikov. .
Myaskovsky spent the last two years of his life at his dacha near Nikolina Gora, putting his works in order and working on his last, 27th, symphony. At the end of 1949, the composer destroyed his personal diary, part of his early piano sonatas and almost all the romances written in 1906 - 1914.
Pedagogical activity
While teaching at the Moscow Conservatory, he trained many composers, including D. B. Kabalevsky, A. L. Lokshin, B. A. Mokrousov, A. V. Mosolov, V. I. Muradeli, L. N. Oborin, N. I. Peiko, L. V. Feigin, V. Ya. Shebalin, A. I. Khachaturyan, B. A. Tchaikovsky. Despite the difference in talents and hobbies. each of Myaskovsky's students found their own style, genre and intonation.
According to the recollections of his students, Nikolai Yakovlevich was a kind, sympathetic person who never allowed himself to be rude. His grandiose erudition, amazing observation and accuracy of his comments delighted more than one generation of musicians. Myaskovsky’s talent as a teacher, his ability to hear, “grasp” the most important thing in a composition, to see both advantages and disadvantages, was appreciated not only by his students, but also by his colleagues who turned to him for advice - S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich, M. Weinberg and many others.
Composer's musical style
Myaskovsky's style of music is harsh, but at the same time, surprisingly lyrical and beautiful. It organically intertwines elements of Russian late romanticism, modernism and French impressionism, which in Russia received the name Symbolism. In addition to P. I. Tchaikovsky, the influence of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A. N. Skryabin is noticeable in his work.
Among his symphonies, the lyrical-tragic ones especially stand out: the 2nd (1912), the 3rd (1914), the 4th (1917) and the 5th (1921), the tragic-monumental 6th (1923), the heroic-dramatic 16th (1936), thoughtfully nostalgic 21st (1940) and 25th (1946), patriotic 22nd (1941), dedicated to the events of the Great Patriotic War, as well as the last 27th (1950).
The outstanding Russian conductor E. F. Svetlanov, who recorded all of his symphonic works in 1991-1993, called Myaskovsky the direct heir of the Russian classics of the 19th century. He also noted with bitterness that the work of this composer is almost forgotten today.
The reason for this situation was:
1) Lack of propaganda of his work over the past 30 years.
2) The fact that the composer, working at the intersection of several movements, was never fully recognized either among radical modernists or among songwriters. But for lovers of classical romanticism of the 19th century, his work is too heavy. Despite the fact that the lyrical component there remained in a rather archaic form. That is, it turned out that for some it is too heavy and modern, and for others it is too conservative. It is this circumstance that is pointed out by a modern researcher of the life and work of N. Ya. Myaskovsky - D. Gorbatov, as well as the largest Russian conductor of our time G. Rozhdestvensky. .
Musicians and composers about Nikolai Myaskovsky
Sergei Prokofiev wrote about Myaskovsky: “There is more of a philosopher in him - his music is wise, passionate, dark and self-absorbed. He is close to Tchaikovsky in this and I think that he is, in fact, his heir in Russian music. Myaskovsky’s music reaches true depths of expressiveness and beauty.”
Dmitry Shostakovich spoke of Myaskovsky as the greatest symphonist after G. Mahler, many of whose works are simply masterpieces of symphonic art. . In this regard, among the few fans of Myaskovsky there remains hope for the revival of the composer’s name and the performance of his works.
Memory of the composer
The Ural String Quartet, which worked for 38 years, bore the name of Myaskovsky. In 2006, the White Hall of the Moscow Conservatory was named in honor of Myaskovsky. Since Nikolai Yakovlevich lived in Sivtsev Vrazhek Lane No. 4 on Arbat, one of the nearby Arbat streets, the former Bolshoi Afanasyevsky Lane, connecting the street, was named after him. Arbat and the current Gagarinsky Lane. Unfortunately, in the 90s, in the wake of general renaming, Myaskovsky Street again turned into a lane, Bolshoi Afanasyevsky. In general, many experts agree that Myaskovsky was a very unusual person, in whose biography there are many blank spots. He does not fit into the standard ideas about a Russian symphonist or a Soviet songwriter. And his music, created at the intersection of European modernism and Russian romanticism, is only awaiting its future.
Awards and prizes
Works
List of works
Opus | Title | Genre | Year
- “Reflections” 7 poems by E. Baratynsky for voice and piano. Vocal 1907
- “From Youth” 12 romances for voice and piano, lyrics by K. Balmont. Vocals 1903-1906
- Symphony No. 1, C minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1908
- “On the Edge”, 18 romances to words by Z. Gippius for medium and low voices with piano. Vocals 1904-1908
- “From Z. Gippius”, 3 pieces for voice and piano. Vocals 1905-1908
- Sonata No. 1 for piano, D minor, in 4 movements Piano 1907-1909
- “Madrigal”, suite for voice and piano, lyrics by K. Balmont. Vocals 1908-1909
- Three sketches based on the words of Vyach. Ivanov for voice and piano. Vocal 1908
- “Silence”, symphonic parable Orchestral music 1909-1910
- Sinfonietta, A major, in 3 movements Orchestral music 1910
- Symphony No. 2, C sharp minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1910-1911
- Sonata for cello and piano, D major Instrumental music 1911
- Sonata No. 2 for piano, F sharp minor, one movement Piano 1912
- "Alastor", symphonic poem Orchestral music 1912
- Symphony No. 3, A minor, in 2 movements of the Symphony 1914
- “Premonitions”, 6 sketches to words by Z. Gippius for voice and piano. Vocals 1913-1914
- Symphony No. 4, E minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1917-1918
- Symphony No. 5, D major, in 4 movements Symphony 1918
- Sonata No. 3 for piano, C minor, one movement Piano 1920
- 6 poems by A. Blok for voice and piano. Vocals 1921
- “At the end of the day” 3 sketches to the words of F. Tyutchev for voice and piano. Vocal 1922
- “Faded Wreath”, music for 8 poems by A. Delvig - notebooks I and II for voice and piano. Vocals 1925
- Symphony No. 6, E flat minor, in 4 movements Symphony 1921-1923
- Symphony No. 7, B minor, in 2 movements Symphony 1922
- “Whims”, 6 sketches for piano 1922-1927
- Symphony No. 8, A major, in 4 movements Symphony 1924-1925
- Sonata No. 4 for piano, C minor, in 3 movements Piano 1924-1925
- Symphony No. 9, E minor, in 4 movements Symphony 1926-1927
- “Memories”, 6 pieces for piano 1927
- Symphony No. 10, F minor, in the 1st movement of the Symphony 1926-1927
- “Yellowed Pages”, 7 simple things for Piano 1928
- Serenade, E flat major, for orchestra, in 3 movements Orchestral music 1928-1929
- Sinfonietta, B minor, for string orchestra Orchestral music 1929
- Lyrical concertina No. 1, G major, for metro orchestra in 3 movements Orchestral music 1929
- String Quartet No. 1, A minor, in 4 movements Chamber music 1930
- String Quartet No. 2, C minor, in 3 movements Chamber music 1930
- String Quartet No. 3, D minor, in 2 movements Chamber music 1930
- String Quartet No. 4, F minor in 4 movements Chamber music 1909-1937
- Symphony No. 11, B flat minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1931-1932
- Symphony No. 12, G minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1931-1932
- Symphony No. 13, B flat minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1933
- Symphony No. 14, C major, in 5 Symphony movements 1933
- Symphony No. 15, D minor, in 4 movements Symphony 1935
- Symphony No. 16, F major, in 4 movements Symphony 1935-1936
- 12 romances to words by M. Lermontov, for voice and piano Vocal 1935-1936
- Symphony No. 17 in G sharp minor in four movements Symphony 1936-1937
- Symphony No. 18 in C major in three movements Symphony 1937
- 10 very easy pieces for piano 1938
- Four easy pieces in polyphonic mode for piano Piano 1938
- Simple Variations, D major, lyric suite for piano 1937
- Concerto for violin and orchestra, D minor, in 3 movements Concerts 1938
- Three sketches (to words by S. Shchipachev and L. Kvitko) for voice and piano Vocal 1938
- Symphony No. 19, E flat major for brass band Music for brass band 1939
- Two pieces (from Symphony No. 19) for string orchestra Orchestral music 1945
- String Quartet No. 5, E minor in four movements Chamber music 1938-1939
- Welcome Overture in C major for b. orchestra Orchestral music 1939
- String Quartet No. 6, G minor Chamber music 1939-1940
- Symphony No. 20, E major, in three movements Symphony 1940
- Symphony No. 21, F sharp minor Symphony 1940
- “From the lyrics of Stepan Shchipachev” 10 romances for middle voice with piano Vocal 1940
- Two marches for brass band Music for brass band 1941
- Symphony No. 22 (“Symphony-Ballad”), B minor for b. Orchestra in three movements Symphony 1941
- String Quartet No. 7, F major, in 4 movements Chamber music 1941
- Symphony-suite No. 23, in A minor (on themes of Kabardino-Balkar songs), for b. orchestra in 3 movements of the Symphony 1941
- Sonatina, E minor, for piano in 3 movements Piano 1942
- Song and Rhapsody (Prelude und Rondo-Sonate), B flat minor, for Piano 1942
- String Quartet No. 8, F sharp minor Chamber music 1942
- Dramatic Overture, G minor, for brass band Music for brass band 1942
- “Kirov is with us”, poem-cantata for minor soprano, baritone, mixed choir and symphony orchestra, lyrics by N. Tikhonov, in 4 parts Vocal 1942
- String Quartet No. 9, D minor, in 3 movements Chamber music 1943
- Symphony No. 24, F minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1943
- Sonata (No. 5) for piano, B major Piano 1944
- Sonata (No. 6) for piano, A flat major Piano 1944
- “Links”, 6 sketches for b. orchestra Orchestral music 1944
- Concerto for cello and orchestra, C minor, in 2 parts Concerts 1944
- String Quartet No. 10, F major, in 4 movements Chamber music 1945
- String Quartet No. 11 “Memories”, E flat major Chamber music 1945
- Sinfonietta No. 2 for string orchestra, A minor, in 4 movements Orchestral music 1945-1946
- Symphony No. 25, D flat major, in 3 movements Symphony 1945-1946
- Sonata for violin and piano, F major, in 2 movements Instrumental music 1947
- Slavic Rhapsody for b. symphony orchestra Orchestral music 1946
- Lyrics notebook, 6 romances for high voice and piano (with words by M. Mendelssohn and her translations from Burns) Vocal 1946
- “Stylizations”, 9 pieces in the form of old dances for piano Piano 1946
- “From the Past”, 6 improvisations for piano 1946
- “The Kremlin at Night”, cantata-nocturne (words by S. Vasiliev) for solo tenor (or soprano), mixed choir and orchestra Vocal 1947
- Pathetic Overture in C minor for symphony orchestra (for the XXX anniversary of the Soviet Army) Orchestral music 1947
- String Quartet No. 12, G major, in 4 movements Chamber music 1947
- Polyphonic sketches for piano, in 2 notebooks Piano 1947
- Symphony No. 26 (on Russian themes), C major, in 3 movements Symphony 1948
- Divertimento in E flat major, for b. symphony orchestra, in 3 parts Orchestral music 1948
- Sonata No. 2 for cello and piano, A minor, in 3 movements Instrumental music 1948-1949
- Sonata (No. 7) for piano, C major Piano 1949
- Sonata (No. 8) for piano, D minor Piano 1949
- Sonata (No. 9) for piano, F major (medium difficulty) Piano 1949
- Symphony No. 27, C minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1949
- String Quartet No. 13, A minor, in 4 movements Chamber music 1949
- “Over the Years”, a collection of romances and songs with words by various authors Vocal 1950
- F. E. Bach Andante for flute and piano. Arrangement of the second movement of the concerto for orchestra Piano 1922
- D. Melkikh “Aladina and Palomides” symphonic poem - arrangement for two pianos, eight hands Piano 1925
- M. Steinberg “Princess Malen” symphonic poem - arrangement for two pianos, eight hands Piano 1926
- S. Prokofiev Third Symphony - arrangement for two pianos, four hands Piano 1929
- M. Steinberg Third Symphony - arrangement for two pianos, four hands Piano 1930
- M. Mussorgsky “Midsummer Night on Bald Mountain” - arrangement for piano four hands Piano 1931
- S. Prokofiev “Autumn” - sketch for m. symphony orchestra - arrangement for two pianos, eight hands Piano 1935
- S. Prokofiev “Egyptian Nights” symphonic suite from music for the play - arrangement for piano four hands Vocal 1935
- S. Prokofiev “Year 1941” symphonic suite - arrangement for piano four hands Piano 1941
- A. Borodin Three romances and cavatina by Konchakovna from the opera “Prince Igor” - arrangement of accompaniments for string quartet
- Preludes for piano Piano 1896-1898
- Preludes for piano Piano 1899
- Preludes for piano Piano 1900
- Prelude for piano, C sharp minor Piano 1901
- Fantasia in F minor for piano Piano 1903
- “Silence”, romance for voice and piano with lyrics by Melshina Vocal 1904
- Idyll in F major for piano Piano 1904
- Two fantasies for piano: C sharp minor and D major Piano 1904
- Two fantasies for voice and piano Vocal 1903
- Piano Sonata in E minor Piano 1905
- Scherzando for piano Piano 1905
- Two Romances for voice and piano Vocal 1905
- "Flofion", notebook 1, six preludes for piano Piano 1899-1901
- “Flofion”, notebook 2, miniatures for piano Piano 1906
- “Flofion”, notebook 3, miniatures for piano Piano 1906-1907
- "Flofion", notebook 4, Pranks for piano Piano 1907
- "Flofion", notebook 5, Pranks for piano Piano 1907-1908
- “Flofion”, notebook 6, School experiments for piano Piano 1907-1908
- “Flofion”, notebook 7, Experiments for piano Piano 1908-1912
- "Flofion", notebook 8, Sketches and excerpts for piano Piano 1917-1919
- Piano Sonata in C minor one movement Piano 1907
- Piano Sonata in G major, one movement Piano 1907
- 26 fugues (class) for piano Piano 1907-1908
- 2 Romances for voice and piano Piano 1908
- “Feather grass” for unaccompanied choir to words by K. Balmont Vocal 1909
- Overture in G major for small orchestra Orchestral music 1909
- “Song at the Barre” to words by A. Bezymensky for voice and piano Vocal 1930
- Two military marches for brass band Orchestral music 1930
- Three songs of Soviet pilots for choir and piano Vocal 1931
- “Leninskaya” song for choir and piano, lyrics by A. Surkov Vocal 1932
- “Song about Karl Marx” for choir and piano, lyrics by S. Kirsanov Vocal 1932
- Three military Komsomol songs for choir and piano Vocal 1934
- “Glory to the Soviet pilots” four-voice mixed choir without accompaniment (words by A. Surkov) Vocal 1934
- Prelude and fuguetta named “Sarajev”, G minor. From 24 pieces for piano (1907), for symphony orchestra
- “Life has become better” for voice and piano, lyrics by V. Lebedev-Kumach Vocal 1936
- Four songs of polar explorers for voice and piano Vocal 1939
- Two mass songs for voice and piano Vocal 1941
- “Marching Song” for male two-voice choir without accompaniment, lyrics by M. Isakovsky Vocal 1941
- Two sketches for the anthem of the RSFSR Orchestral music 1946
Literature
- Barsova I. A. Nikolai Sergeevich Zhilyaev: Works, days and death. - M., 2008.
- Vlasova E. S. 1948 in Soviet music. - M.: 2010.
- Gorbatov D. The last gasp of Russian classics. Article - 2001.
- Gorbatov D. Myaskovsky problem. Article. - 2006.
- Gulinskaya Z. K. N. Ya. Myaskovsky. - M., 1985.
- Dolinskaya E. B. Piano creativity of N. Ya. Myaskovsky. M., 1980.
- Dolinskaya E. B. The style of N. Ya. Myaskovsky’s instrumental compositions and modernity. M., 1985.
- Ershova T. N. Ya. Myaskovsky: the beginning of a creative path // From the history of Russian and Soviet music / Ed.-comp. A. Kandinsky. - M., 1971. P. 29-63.
- Ikonnikov A. Artist of our days N. Ya. Myaskovsky. - M., 1982.
- Kunin F. N. Ya. Myaskovsky. - M., 1981.
- Kudryashov Yu. N. Ya. Myaskovsky. - L., 1987.
- Lamm O. Pages of the creative biography of N. Ya. Myaskovsky. - M., 1989.
- Livanova T. N. N. Ya. Myaskovsky: Creative path. - M., 1953.
- Myaskovsky N.Ya. S. S. Prokofiev and N. Ya. Myaskovsky. Correspondence. - M.: 1977.
- N. Ya. Myaskovsky: Collection of materials in two volumes. - M., 1964.
- Segelman M. Nikolai Myaskovsky - Sixth Symphony. Booklet for the CD edition. Melody - 2005.
- A reference guide to the symphonies of N. Ya. Myaskovsky / Comp. V. Vinogradov. - M., 1954.
- Tsypin G. 15 Conversations with Evgeny Svetlanov. - M., 1998.
- Patrick Zuk, "Nikolay Myaskovsky and the Events of 1948", Music and Letters, 93:1 (2012), 61-85.
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky(April 8 (20), Novogeorgievsk - August 8, Moscow) - Russian composer, teacher and music critic. Doctor of Art History (1940), People's Artist of the USSR (1946), laureate of five Stalin Prizes (1941, 1946 - twice, 1950, 1951 - posthumously).
Encyclopedic YouTube
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Nikolai Myaskovsky was born in Novogeorgievsk, Warsaw province (after the revolution - Polish Maudlin, in 1961, became part of the city of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki) in the family of Jacob Konstantinovich Myaskovsky, a hereditary military engineer, and Vera Nikolaevna Myaskovskaya (nee Petrakova), who also came from a military family, and was their second child. In 1888 the family moved to Orenburg, and a year later to Kazan. There Nikolai lost his mother (she died during childbirth). The father's sister, Elikonida Konstantinovna Myaskovskaya, took custody of the five children, and she began teaching the children music - Nikolai played the piano and violin since childhood [ ] .
In 1893, after graduating from two classes of a real school, Myaskovsky, in accordance with family tradition, was assigned to the Nizhny Novgorod Cadet Corps, where he sang in the cadet choir. In 1895, the family moved to St. Petersburg and Nikolai was transferred to the Second Cadet Corps. In 1899, after graduating from the cadet corps, he entered the Military Engineering School and in 1902 received a diploma as a military engineer.
Meanwhile, back in 1896, having heard P. I. Tchaikovsky’s Pathetic Symphony and ballad “The Voevoda” performed by Arthur Nikisch, Myaskovsky finally decided to connect his life with music. He began taking harmony lessons from Nikolai Kazanli and soon made his first attempts at composing. For some time, Myaskovsky served in a sapper unit in Zaraysk, then was transferred to Moscow, where he began studying harmony with Reinhold Gliere.
In 1904, thanks to the efforts of his father, Myaskovsky was assigned to the nineteenth engineer battalion, located near St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg, he studied with Ivan Kryzhanovsky for more than two years, studying polyphony, fugue and instrumentation. In the summer of 1906 he entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory, presenting his sonata in C minor at the exam [ ] . He studied composition with A.K. Lyadov, instrumentation with N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, and studied musical theoretical disciplines under the guidance of Jazep Vitols. Among his fellow students were Boris Asafiev and Sergei Prokofiev (Myaskovsky’s friendship with the latter bound him for more than forty years). During his studies, he met Nikish's student Konstantin Sarajev, conductor of the Evenings of Contemporary Music and concerts in Sokolniki, at which many early works of Myaskovsky and Sergei Prokofiev were performed for the first time.
After graduating from the conservatory in 1911, Myaskovsky wrote his first major works. At the same time, he began to publish as a music critic: over three years, the Moscow magazine “Music”, edited by V.V. Derzhanovsky, published 114 articles and notes by him, dedicated to the musical life of St. Petersburg and the latest in Russian and Western European music.
In 1918, with the transfer of the capital from Petrograd to Moscow, the Naval General Staff, in which the composer served, was also transferred there. Simultaneously with his work, Myaskovsky began to participate in Moscow musical life: he became a member of the jury of the State Music Publishing House and became close to one of its organizers, Professor of the Moscow Conservatory P. A. Lamm (it was in his house and in his arrangement that many of Myaskovsky’s works were first performed, in including almost all symphonies) [ ] .
In 1919, Myaskovsky was elected a member of the board of the “Collective of Moscow Composers”. The following year his Fifth Symphony was performed for the first time. In 1921, he was demobilized from military service and became deputy head of the Music Department of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR and also a professor of composition at the Moscow Conservatory.
In 1923, in memory of his father, Myaskovsky wrote the Sixth Symphony, which was such a success that they started talking about it as the first symphony after Tchaikovsky worthy of bearing the name Sixth. In 1925-1927 he composed the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies. During these years, Myaskovsky had to fight with the ideologists of the Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians, who preached the “democratization” of academic music and believed that the path to its stylistic renewal lies only through mass, primarily proletarian song
In 1932, Myaskovsky was elected to the organizing committee of the Union of Soviet Composers. After the arrest in November 1937 of musicologist and composer N. S. Zhilyaev, despite the fact that he criticized his early work, Myaskovsky wrote a letter in defense of the arrested man, which remained unanswered: Zhilyaev was accused of “creating a terrorist organization with the aim of killing Comrade Stalin " and was shot.
Since 1939, Myaskovsky was a member of the artistic council of the Committee for Arts under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, and in 1940-1951 - a member of the editorial board of the magazine "Soviet Music". In 1940 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Art History. At the beginning of the war with Germany, he was evacuated first to the Caucasus - to Georgia and Kabardino-Balkaria, and then to Frunze. While in evacuation, he continued to compose, wrote marches, which he considered as his feasible contribution to the fight against the enemy [ ] .
After the war, Myaskovsky was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR, and in 1947 he was elected to the Moscow City Council. He composed the anthem of the RSFSR based on the poems of S. Shipachev, but, like the anthem of D. Shostakovich, it was rejected [ ] .
In 1948, the composer's name was included in the list of "formalists". Myaskovsky's music was called gloomy and insufficiently optimistic. In particular, the lyrical and nostalgic Symphony No. 25 was characterized as “philosophical nonsense alien to the working class,” and the cantata “The Kremlin at Night” caused a storm of criticism for the presentation of the image of Stalin and the ambiguity of the text. The composer's works, with rare exceptions, ceased to be performed in the USSR. At the end of 1948, Myaskovsky presented Symphony No. 26 on the themes of Old Russian Znamenny chants. It was criticized and was no longer performed [ ] .
In the same year, the composer openly stood in musical opposition, defending his colleagues S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich and A. Khachaturian. At a meeting of the Union of Composers, he described the “Resolution on Combating Formalism” as hysterical, which led to his conflict with T. Khrennikov.
Myaskovsky spent the last two years of his life at the dacha near Nikolina Gora, putting his works in order and working on the last, 27th, symphony. At the end of 1949, he destroyed his diary, part of the early piano sonatas and almost all the romances written in 1906-1914 [ ] .
Nikolai Myaskovsky died of stomach cancer on August 8, 1950 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery (site No. 3) next to the graves of A. N. Scriabin and S. I. Taneyev.
Creation
Myaskovsky's style of music is harsh and at the same time beautiful and lyrical. In his work, the composer's own musical ideas are organically interconnected with elements of the late romanticism of P. I. Tchaikovsky, the modernism of J. F. Stravinsky and S. S. Prokofiev, and the impressionism of Debussy. The influence of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A. N. Scriabin is also noticeable [ ] .
Among Myaskovsky's symphonies, the lyrical-tragic Second (1912), Third (1914), Fourth (1917) and Fifth (1921), the monumental-tragic Sixth (1923), the heroic-dramatic Sixteenth (1936), and the thoughtful and nostalgic Twenty-First ( 1940) and Twenty-fifth (1946), the patriotic Twenty-second (1941), dedicated to the events of the Great Patriotic War, as well as the last Twenty-seventh (1950) [ ] .
His early works are characterized by dark, even sinister tones, which are intertwined with the lyrical, soulful intonations of Russian romanticism. The first 10 symphonies (1908-1927) are distinguished by viscous, heavy polyphony with an abundance of low-end and powerful sound.
The monumental and tragic Sixth Symphony, written in memory of his father (1923), reflected the tragedy of the Russian people, divided by the civil war. As a symbol of the new, social split of the 20th century in Russia, a gloomy Old Believer choir sounds in its finale.
In 1925-1927, Myaskovsky experimented a lot: the intonation style of the Seventh Symphony lies at the intersection of Russian romanticism and French impressionism; for the Eighth Symphony, atonal structures in the spirit of A. Schoenberg and elements of Russian and Bashkir folklore were used
In the early 1930s, starting with Symphony No. 11, due to pressure exerted by the authorities, Myaskovsky's style changed to a lighter one, major keys began to dominate in his music, and polyphony was simplified. He wrote the Twelfth Symphony, dedicated to collectivization, - according to modern critics, it became the worst in his work. The simplified 14th Symphony is in the same spirit. The only dark work of this period is Symphony No. 13, a kind of farewell to modernism and the avant-garde by the composer. Myaskovsky was forced to present it at a closed premiere, which is similar to the situation that developed around Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony [ ] .
In the 30s, along with simplified symphonies No. 12, 14, 18 and 19, the composer’s work also included such high examples of symphonic art as Symphony No. 15, built on Russian-Ukrainian folk intonation, and the majestic Symphony No. 17, dedicated to the conductor Alexander Gauk [ ] .
Among other works of this period, Symphony No. 16, dedicated to Soviet aviation, stands out. Its drama is inspired by the crash of the Maxim Gorky plane that happened in May 1935.
Of particular strength is Symphony No. 21 (1940), which opened the last, final period of Myaskovsky’s work. It reflected both painful thoughts about the correct path of the country, and sincere faith in a bright future. The work combines pure sonata form, a masterful combination of dark and light tones and the philosophical depth of the composition. With this work, the composer returns to the polytonal schemes of Russian classical romanticism and the transparent polyphony of wind instruments [ ] .
During the war, he created several string quartets and three patriotic symphonies: No. 22, 23 (on Kabardino-Balkar themes) and 24. In Symphony No. 25 (in 3 parts, 1946), which became the highest example of thoughtful classical romanticism, Myaskovsky achieved the pinnacle of polyphonic mastery [ ] .
Sergei Prokofiev wrote about the composer: “He has more of a philosopher in him - his music is wise, passionate, dark and self-absorbed. He is close to Tchaikovsky in this and I think that he is, in fact, his heir in Russian music. Myaskovsky’s music reaches true depths of expressiveness and beauty.” Shostakovich spoke of Myaskovsky as the greatest symphonist after Mahler, many of whose works are simply masterpieces of symphonic art.
However, at present, Myaskovsky’s musical heritage is not particularly well known. Working at the intersection of various movements, the composer was not fully recognized either by radical modernists or by supporters of classical romanticism of the 19th century. His works are somewhat heavy, and the lyrical component remained there in a rather archaic form. Researcher of Myaskovsky’s life and work D. Gorbatov and conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky pointed out that the reason for the composer’s low popularity lies in the fact that for some he is too heavy and avant-garde, and for others he is too conservative.
Pedagogical activity
During his teaching at the Moscow Conservatory, Myaskovsky trained many composers, including D. Kabalevsky, A. Kozlovsky, A. Lokshin, B. Mokrousov, A. Mosolov, V. Muradeli, L. Oborin, N. Peiko, L. Feigin, V. . Shebalin, A. Khachaturian, B. Tchaikovsky, Fere. Despite the difference in talents and hobbies, each of Myaskovsky’s students found their own style, genre and intonation [ ] .
According to the recollections of his students, Nikolai Yakovlevich was a kind, sympathetic person who never allowed himself to be rude. The erudition, observation and accuracy of his comments delighted more than one generation of musicians. Myaskovsky’s talent as a teacher, his ability to hear, “grasp” the most important thing in a composition, to see both advantages and disadvantages, was appreciated not only by his students, but also by his colleagues who turned to him for advice - Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Weinberg and many others [ ] .
Awards and prizes
Memory
Works
List of works
Opus | Title | Genre | Year
- “Reflections” 7 poems by E. Baratynsky for voice and piano. Vocal 1907
- “From Youth” 12 romances for voice and piano, lyrics by K. Balmont. Vocals 1903-1906
- Symphony No. 1, C minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1908
- “On the Edge”, 18 romances to words by Z. Gippius for medium and low voices with piano. Vocals 1904-1908
- “From Z. Gippius”, 3 pieces for voice and piano. Vocals 1905-1908
- Sonata No. 1 for piano, D minor, in 4 movements Piano 1907-1909
- “Madrigal”, suite for voice and piano, lyrics by K. Balmont. Vocals 1908-1909
- Three sketches based on the words of Vyach. Ivanov for voice and piano. Vocal 1908
- “Silence”, symphonic parable Orchestral music 1909-1910
- Sinfonietta, A major, in 3 movements Orchestral music 1910
- Symphony No. 2, C sharp minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1910-1911
- Sonata for cello and piano, D major Instrumental music 1911
- Sonata No. 2 for piano, F sharp minor, one movement Piano 1912
- "Alastor", symphonic poem Orchestral music 1912
- Symphony No. 3, A minor, in 2 movements of the Symphony 1914
- “Premonitions”, 6 sketches to words by Z. Gippius for voice and piano. Vocals 1913-1914
- Symphony No. 4, E minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1917-1918
- Symphony No. 5, D major, in 4 movements Symphony 1918
- Sonata No. 3 for piano, C minor, one movement Piano 1920
- 6 poems by A. Blok for voice and piano. Vocals 1921
- “At the end of the day” 3 sketches to the words of F. Tyutchev for voice and piano. Vocal 1922
- “Faded Wreath”, music for 8 poems by A. Delvig - notebooks I and II for voice and piano. Vocals 1925
- Symphony No. 6, E flat minor, in 4 movements Symphony 1921-1923
- Symphony No. 7, B minor, in 2 movements Symphony 1922
- “Whims”, 6 sketches for piano 1922-1927
- Symphony No. 8, A major, in 4 movements Symphony 1924-1925
- Sonata No. 4 for piano, C minor, in 3 movements Piano 1924-1925
- Symphony No. 9, E minor, in 4 movements Symphony 1926-1927
- “Memories”, 6 pieces for piano 1927
- Symphony No. 10, F minor, in the 1st movement of the Symphony 1926-1927
- “Yellowed Pages”, 7 simple things for Piano 1928
- Serenade, E flat major, for orchestra, in 3 movements Orchestral music 1928-1929
- Sinfonietta, B minor, for string orchestra Orchestral music 1929
- Lyrical concertina No. 1, G major, for metro orchestra in 3 movements Orchestral music 1929
- String Quartet No. 1, A minor, in 4 movements Chamber music 1930
- String Quartet No. 2, C minor, in 3 movements Chamber music 1930
- String Quartet No. 3, D minor, in 2 movements Chamber music 1930
- String Quartet No. 4, F minor in 4 movements Chamber music 1909-1937
- Symphony No. 11, B flat minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1931-1932
- Symphony No. 12, G minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1931-1932
- Symphony No. 13, B flat minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1933
- Symphony No. 14, C major, in 5 Symphony movements 1933
- Symphony No. 15, D minor, in 4 movements Symphony 1935
- Symphony No. 16, F major, in 4 movements Symphony 1935-1936
- 12 romances to words by M. Lermontov, for voice and piano Vocal 1935-1936
- Symphony No. 17 in G sharp minor in four movements Symphony 1936-1937
- Symphony No. 18 in C major in three movements Symphony 1937
- 10 very easy pieces for piano 1938
- Four easy pieces in polyphonic mode for piano Piano 1938
- Simple Variations, D major, lyric suite for piano 1937
- Concerto for violin and orchestra, D minor, in 3 movements Concerts 1938
- Three sketches (to words by S. Shchipachev and L. Kvitko) for voice and piano Vocal 1938
- Symphony No. 19, E flat major for brass band Music for brass band 1939
- Two pieces (from Symphony No. 19) for string orchestra Orchestral music 1945
- String Quartet No. 5, E minor in four movements Chamber music 1938-1939
- Welcome Overture in C major for b. orchestra Orchestral music 1939
- String Quartet No. 6, G minor Chamber music 1939-1940
- Symphony No. 20, E major, in three movements Symphony 1940
- Symphony No. 21, F sharp minor Symphony 1940
- “From the lyrics of Stepan Shchipachev” 10 romances for middle voice with piano Vocal 1940
- Two marches for brass band Music for brass band 1941
- Symphony No. 22 (“Symphony-Ballad”), B minor for b. Orchestra in three movements Symphony 1941
- String Quartet No. 7, F major, in 4 movements Chamber music 1941
- Symphony-suite No. 23, in A minor (on themes of Kabardino-Balkar songs), for b. orchestra in 3 movements of the Symphony 1941
- Sonatina, E minor, for piano in 3 movements Piano 1942
- Song and Rhapsody (Prelude und Rondo-Sonate), B flat minor, for Piano 1942
- String Quartet No. 8, F sharp minor Chamber music 1942
- Dramatic Overture, G minor, for brass band Music for brass band 1942
- “Kirov is with us”, poem-cantata for minor soprano, baritone, mixed choir and symphony orchestra, lyrics by N. Tikhonov, in 4 parts Vocal 1942
- String Quartet No. 9, D minor, in 3 movements Chamber music 1943
- Symphony No. 24, F minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1943
- Sonata (No. 5) for piano, B major Piano 1944
- Sonata (No. 6) for piano, A flat major Piano 1944
- “Links”, 6 sketches for b. orchestra Orchestral music 1944
- Concerto for cello and orchestra, C minor, in 2 parts Concerts 1944
- String Quartet No. 10, F major, in 4 movements Chamber music 1945
- String Quartet No. 11 “Memories”, E flat major Chamber music 1945
- Sinfonietta No. 2 for string orchestra, A minor, in 4 movements Orchestral music 1945-1946
- Symphony No. 25, D flat major, in 3 movements Symphony 1945-1946
- Sonata for violin and piano, F major, in 2 movements Instrumental music 1947
- Slavic Rhapsody for b. symphony orchestra Orchestral music 1946
- Lyrics notebook, 6 romances for high voice and piano (with words by M. Mendelssohn and her translations from Burns) Vocal 1946
- “Stylizations”, 9 pieces in the form of old dances for piano Piano 1946
- “From the Past”, 6 improvisations for piano 1946
- “The Kremlin at Night”, cantata-nocturne (words by S. Vasiliev) for solo tenor (or soprano), mixed choir and orchestra Vocal 1947
- Pathetic Overture in C minor for symphony orchestra (for the XXX anniversary of the Soviet Army) Orchestral music 1947
- String Quartet No. 12, G major, in 4 movements Chamber music 1947
- Polyphonic sketches for piano, in 2 notebooks Piano 1947
- Symphony No. 26 (on Russian themes), C major, in 3 movements Symphony 1948
- Divertimento in E flat major, for b. symphony orchestra, in 3 parts Orchestral music 1948
- Sonata No. 2 for cello and piano, A minor, in 3 movements Instrumental music 1948-1949
- Sonata (No. 7) for piano, C major Piano 1949
- Sonata (No. 8) for piano, D minor Piano 1949
- Sonata (No. 9) for piano, F major (medium difficulty) Piano 1949
- Symphony No. 27, C minor, in 3 movements Symphony 1949
- String Quartet No. 13, A minor, in 4 movements Chamber music 1949
- “Over the Years”, a collection of romances and songs with words by various authors Vocal 1950
- F. E. Bach Andante for flute and piano. Arrangement of the second movement of the concerto for orchestra Piano 1922
- D. Melkikh “Aladina and Palomides” symphonic poem - arrangement for two pianos, eight hands Piano 1925
- M. Steinberg “Princess Malen” symphonic poem - arrangement for two pianos, eight hands Piano 1926
- S. Prokofiev Third Symphony - arrangement for two pianos, four hands Piano 1929
- M. Steinberg Third Symphony - arrangement for two pianos, four hands Piano 1930
- M. Mussorgsky “Midsummer Night on Bald Mountain” - arrangement for piano four hands Piano 1931
- S. Prokofiev “Autumn” - sketch for m. symphony orchestra - arrangement for two pianos, eight hands Piano 1935
- S. Prokofiev “Egyptian Nights” symphonic suite from music for the play - arrangement for piano four hands Vocal 1935
- S. Prokofiev “Year 1941” symphonic suite - arrangement for piano four hands Piano 1941
- A. Borodin Three romances and cavatina by Konchakovna from the opera “Prince Igor” - arrangement of accompaniments for string quartet
- Preludes for piano Piano 1896-1898
- Preludes for piano Piano 1899
- Preludes for piano Piano 1900
- Prelude for piano, C sharp minor Piano 1901
- Fantasia in F minor for piano Piano 1903
- “Silence”, romance for voice and piano with lyrics by Melshina Vocal 1904
- Idyll in F major for piano Piano 1904
- Two fantasies for piano: C sharp minor and D major Piano 1904
- Two fantasies for voice and piano Vocal 1903
- Piano Sonata in E minor Piano 1905
- Scherzando for piano Piano 1905
- Two Romances for voice and piano Vocal 1905
- "Flofion", notebook 1, six preludes for piano Piano 1899-1901
- “Flofion”, notebook 2, miniatures for piano Piano 1906
- “Flofion”, notebook 3, miniatures for piano Piano 1906-1907
- "Flofion", notebook 4, Pranks for piano Piano 1907
- "Flofion", notebook 5, Pranks for piano Piano 1907-1908
- “Flofion”, notebook 6, School experiments for piano Piano 1907-1908
- “Flofion”, notebook 7, Experiments for piano Piano 1908-1912
- "Flofion", notebook 8, Sketches and excerpts for piano Piano 1917-1919
- Piano Sonata in C minor one movement Piano 1907
- Piano Sonata in G major, one movement Piano 1907
- 26 fugues (class) for piano Piano 1907-1908
- 2 Romances for voice and piano Piano 1908
- “Feather grass” for unaccompanied choir to words by K. Balmont Vocal 1909
- Overture in G major for small orchestra Orchestral music 1909
- “Song at the Barre” to words by A. Bezymensky for voice and piano Vocal 1930
- Two military marches for brass band Orchestral music 1930
- Three songs of Soviet pilots for choir and piano Vocal 1931
- “Leninskaya” song for choir and piano, lyrics by A. Surkov Vocal 1932
- “Song about Karl Marx” for choir and piano, lyrics by S. Kirsanov Vocal 1932
- Three military Komsomol songs for choir and piano Vocal 1934
- “Glory to the Soviet pilots” four-voice mixed choir without accompaniment (words by A. Surkov) Vocal 1934
- Prelude and fuguetta named “Sarajev”, G minor. From 24 pieces for piano (1907), for symphony orchestra
- “Life has become better” for voice and piano, lyrics by V. Lebedev-Kumach Vocal 1936
- Four songs of polar explorers for voice and piano Vocal 1939
- Two mass songs for voice and piano Vocal 1941
- “Marching Song” for male two-voice choir without accompaniment, lyrics by M. Isakovsky Vocal 1941
- Two sketches for the anthem of the RSFSR Orchestral music 1946
Notes
- Ikonnikov A. Artist of our days N. Ya. Myaskovsky. - M., 1982.
- Kunin F. N. Ya. Myaskovsky. - M., 1981.
- Kudryashov Yu. N. Ya. Myaskovsky. - L., 1987.
- Lamm O. Pages of the creative biography of N. Ya. Myaskovsky. - M., 1989.
- Livanova T. N. N. Ya. Myaskovsky: Creative path. - M., 1953.
- Myaskovsky N.Ya. S. S. Prokofiev and N. Ya. Myaskovsky. Correspondence. - M.: 1977.
- N. Ya. Myaskovsky: Collection of materials in two volumes. - M., 1964.
- Segelman M. Nikolai Myaskovsky - Sixth Symphony. Booklet for the CD edition. Melody - 2005.
- A reference guide to the symphonies of N. Ya. Myaskovsky / Comp. V. Vinogradov. - M., 1954.
- Tsypin G. 15 Conversations with Evgeny Svetlanov. - M., 1998.
- Patrick Zuk, "Nikolay Myaskovsky and the Events of 1948", Music and Letters, 93:1 (2012), 61-85.
- Gregor Tassie, "The recordings of Nikolay Myaskovsky", "Classical Records Quarterly", summer 2012
- Gregor Tassie, "Nikolay Myaskovsky", "Musical Opinion", July/August 2012
- Gregor Tassie, Myaskovsky: the conscience of Russian music, Rowman and Littlefield, Maryland, Summer, 2014.