Gavriil Popov - Symphony No. 6; Chamber Symphony (Edvard Chivzhel; Alexander Korneyev)

Information

Composer: Gavriil Popov

• (01) Symphony No. 6, Op. 99 'Festive'
• (04) Chamber Symphony in C major for 7 Instruments, Op. 2

USSR Radio Symphony Orchestra

Edvard Chivzhel, conductor (1-3)

Moscow Chamber Ensemble

Alexander Korneyev, conductor (4-7)

Date: 1996

Label: Olympia

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Review

Gavriil Popov’s first two symphonies, which appeared in February on Olympia, are disconcertingly contrasted works, and they certainly disconcerted the Soviet authorities who had to puzzle out whether the music should be condemned or rewarded with a Stalin prize. The safest option was to do both. No. 6, here, did not help them much. It is subtitled Festive, though the Russian word, prazdnichnaya, could also make it mean ‘Holiday Symphony’. How could this do for what happened to be the centenary of Lenin’s birth? How could a work that begins with a long and complicated unison fanfare on horns, leading into rather a ramshackle movement succeeded by a weirdly introspective Largo section, with a jokey finale that tucks in a bit of Petrushka, produce a sense of either holiday-making or the festal salutations appropriate to Lenin?

The Chamber Symphony, or Septet, is another matter again. Written as his Op. 2 in 1926, it comes fairly close to the world of Hindemith in spirit but not in letter: that is to say, the manner relates to the kind of serenade works written for use and immediate pleasure in those years, but has its own idiom – or idioms, since Popov was at this stage confusingly eclectic. There are some delightful inventions, witness of a bright, alert mind. One of the most haunting comes in the Largo, when strange, almost bluesy phrases evolve over slouching chords. Some of the music is boisterously enjoyable; some of it is just boisterous. But there is something sympathetic about it all, and if it does not serve to give deeper insight into Popov’s creative nature, its enigma stays in the mind. The performances sound bright and well judged, and Olympia can be congratulated on accompanying the record with a very helpful insert-note by Per Skans.

-- John Warrack, Gramophone

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Gavriil Popov (12 September 1904 – 17 February 1972) was a Soviet Russian composer. He studied at the Leningrad Conservatory from 1922 until 1930, and was considered to have the raw talent of his contemporary Dmitri Shostakovich. His early works were impressively powerful and forward-looking. Not surprisingly, he ran afoul of the authorities in 1936 and began writing in a more conservative idiom in order to avoid charges of formalism. Despite his alcoholism, Popov produced many works for orchestra, including six completed symphonies and several film scores. He was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1946.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavriil_Popov_(composer)

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