Boris Lyatoshynsky - Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 (Theodore Kuchar)

Information

Composer: Boris Lyatoshynsky

• (01) Symphony No. 2, Op. 26
• (04) Symphony No. 3 in B minor, Op. 50

Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra

Theodore Kuchar, conductor

Date: 1993 / 2014

Label: Marco Polo / Naxos

https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.555579

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Review

[...]

There was a gap of seventeen years before Lyatoshynsky wrote his splendid Symphony 2, Op. 26 in 1935/36 - later revised in 1940. The work was condemned to remain unperformed until 1964 on account of Soviet censorship. Described in the booklet notes as “turbulent” the three movement symphony in some ways reflects the unsettling nature of the times under Soviet control. A touch sinuous the opening movement is edgy and unsettling in character with several blasts of aggression. Everything seems to combine for a curiously heavy, near stifling sensation. Coming as a welcome relief the middle movement with its feel of wide-open spaces serves as a soothing balm. With writing of excitement, drama and adventure the Finale ends in dramatic fashion.

Following on fifteen years later is the four movement Symphony 3 in B minor, Op. 50. Evidently this is Lyatoshynsky’s most played work, much commended by Ukraine audiences and musicians alike. The Third Symphony is sometimes titled ‘To the 25th Anniversary of the October Revolution’ although there is no mention of this in the booklet notes. A blend of traditional and impressionist styles, the symphony was written in 1951 and premièred at the Composers' Congress in Kiev to public acclaim. That said, the Soviet authorities demanded the last movement be rewritten, hence the revisions in 1954 and the removal of Lyatoshynsky’s title for the fourth movement ‘Peace will defeat war’. The revised version was introduced in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) under Yevgeny Mravinsky. The necessity for Soviet censorship to the score damaged Lyatoshynsky’s reputation in official circles and it was some years before he was able to compose with any “creative freedom”. A powerful and assured work the Third Symphony is packed with drama and incident. When a number of calmer passages are introduced they soon swell and become powerfully energised. The slow movement Andante con moto evokes one of the composer’s characteristic magical atmospheric sound-worlds. It's mesmerising, colourful and tinged with the exotic. Episodes of intense drama soon disappear back to magical contentment. Relatively short in duration the Scherzo is bold and brisk, overflowing with high spirits. The closing movement has a jubilant Nationalistic feel and at times reminds me of a soundtrack to accompany a victory procession or a prestigious state occasion. With regard to similarities, at times I was reminded slightly of the music of Prokofiev.

[..]

-- Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Dec14/Lyatoshynsky_sys_8555578.htm

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/n/nxs55578a.php

http://www.classicalmusicsentinel.com/KEEP/keep-lyatoshynsky.html

https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.555579&languageid=EN

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Boris Lyatoshinsky, or Lyatoshynsky (January 3, 1895 – April 15, 1968) was a Ukrainian composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a student of Reinhold Glière and a leading member of the new generation of twentieth-century Ukrainian composers. He wrote a variety of works, including five symphonies, symphonic poems, and several shorter orchestral and vocal works, two operas, chamber music, and a number of works for solo piano. His early compositions were greatly influenced by Scriabin and Rachmaninov, while his later musical style developed in a direction similar to Shostakovich.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Lyatoshinsky

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Theodore Kuchar (born May 31, 1963 in New York City) is a Ukrainian American conductor of classical music and a violist. He graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and was principal violist in Cleveland, Helsinki and Cape Town. Kuchar was Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine from 1994 to 2000, recording over 60 compact discs for Naxos Records and its Marco Polo label. Kuchar has been Chief Conductor of the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra since 2005, and Artistic Director of the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra since 2011.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Kuchar

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