1970
"Old Russian Painting". Symphony-Suite No. 1





To Vladimir Fedoseyev
40m
Not published
Premiere (without vocal number):
All-Union House of Composers 02/15/1972 "Symphonic Assembly". Introduction by L. Gorokhova. Performed by: State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography. Conductor E. Khachaturian
Premiere (without symphony number):
BZK. 21.12.1972
BSO, G. Rozhdestvensky.
Soloist Yuri Veshnyakov
BZK. 12.05.1978
BSO. V. Fedoseyev
Soloist Yuri Veshnyakov
In seven parts
Large symphony orchestra and bass solo
In 1989, responding to a questionnaire from the German publishing house Hans Sikorski, the composer wrote:
"[One of the] directions [of my work] is folklore, connected with the motives of different genres and forms of folk art. This includes vocal and choral works, and instrumental music (in particular, all three symphony suites). Here are presented both completely original compositions and arrangements of genuine folklore samples. In this direction, ideas are often popularized that are presented in a more complex form in instrumental compositions of other types, so I consider the "folklore direction" to be democratic, designed for a wide audience that knows its own domestic art."
In the end, there were six symphony suites, and the author's description applies to all of them. It can only be added that all the symphony suites use, in one way or another, musical ideas that initially arose when working on scores intended for films. In the symphony suites, they often receive a different treatment and are always developed more widely. In any case, each symphony suite is a completely independent work. The author slightly outlines the program of each with the titles of the parts, as well as the introduction of vocal - solo and choral fragments.
The first symphony suite is connected with the author’s work on the music for the documentary film “Old Russian Painting”.
"The thematic material of the symphony "Old Russian Painting" is entirely based on quotations of authentic chants of the Znamenny chant. <…> The composer shows the beauty of these chants, emphasizing the unusualness of each chant. At the same time, the thematic presentation and development of the material in each part is so inventive and at the same time extremely natural, the orchestration is so bright and colorful, that the symphony could be called "Old Russian Musical Painting". An interesting paradox - the composer invades the old, very specific and closed style, transforms it, gives it a new bright color, lively and warm materiality, without hiding his admiration for the chosen material. And all this is done so convincingly, talentedly - as if the author shows us from the inside what this style was for his contemporaries - lively, colorful, diverse, but not detached and ascetic."
