Soviet Music @ Lewes U3A

Soviet Music @ Lewes U3A

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Soviet Music @ Lewes U3A Previous seasons


Spring 2021 Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (introduction + five sessions) For two years this opera was a phenomenal hit in the USSR. In January 1936, Stalin went to see it. He wasn’t impressed: “Love is smeared all over the opera in the most vulgar manner”. The opera fell into a memory hole until the 1960s. Today it is a standard repertoire work. Sessions one to four work though the opera, act by act. Along the way we examine the Soviet context of issues raised by the opera: gender, sexuality, class war and how and why Shostakovich transformed a fictional nineteenth century cold-blooded murderer into a “talented, clever, and exceptional woman”. Session five explores Shostakovich’s response to the criticism in 1936, particularly in terms of his Fourth Symphony and Fifth Symphony.

Autumn 2020 Exiles from Revolution (five sessions) An exploration of how Soviet music reacted to Russian composers living abroad. 1: Stravinsky the nationalist. How his ballet Petrushka echoed in Prokofiev Russian Overture, Popov Second Symphony “Motherland”, Shchedrin Concerto for Orchestra “Naughty Limericks” 2: Prokofiev and machine music. Covering Honegger Pacific 231, Prokofiev Second Symphony, Le Pas d’Acier and Fifth Symphony, Mosolov Zavod / Iron Foundry 3: Middle period Stravinsky. Echoes of Les Noces and Symphony of Psalms in Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky, Shostakovich Leningrad Symphony, Ustvolskaya Octet 4: Rakhmaninov reclaimed. How Rakhmaninov’s music was greeted while he was living abroad, and how he was acclaimed as a flawed hero after his death. Three Russian Songs, All-Night Vigil (part 9 Blessed Art Thou, O Lord), Symphonic Dances, First Symphony 5: Stravinsky the modernist’s homecoming. Footage of Stravinsky conducting in Moscow and Leningrad in 1962, plus influence of his late music Surge, aquilo (Canticum Sacrum), and Requiem Canticles. Soviet examples: Volkonsky Musica Stricta, Khrennikov Second Piano Concerto



Spring 2020 Socialist Realism 1932-41 (five sessions) Sessions entitled: Revolution from above, Socialist Realism – attempts at a definition, Revolutionary Nationalism, Epigone Russian Nationalism, Zenith of Socialist Realism. Works featured: Myaskovsky Symphony 12, Kabalevsky Symphony 1, Knipper Symphony 4, Lyatoshynsky Symphony 2, Popov Symphony 1,Myaskovsky Symphony 18, Glière Gyulsara, Holiday at Fergana, Overture on Slavonic Themes, Steinberg Symphony 4 (Turksib), Prokofiev Russian Overture, Alexander Nevsky, Zdravitsa, Shostakovich Piano Quintet, Khachaturian Piano Concerto

Autumn 2019 Shostakovich after Stalin (five sessions) Sessions entitled: Political Engagement, Jewish Folk Themes, Shostakovich and Britten, String Quartets, Quotation and Self-quotation. Works featured: Symphonies 10, 13, 14, & 15; Execution of Stepan Razin; Michelangelo Suite; From Jewish Folk Poetry; Quartets 4, 7, 8, 12, & 14; Viola Sonata

Spring 2019 Soviet Music at the Opera (five sessions) Perspective of Soviet Opera 1917-91, drawing main examples from: Love for Three Oranges, The Nose, Shakh-Senem, Boris Godunov, Lady Macbeth, Fiery Angel, Semyon Kotko, War and Peace, Story of a Real Man, Till Eulenspiegel, Life with an Idiot, Left-Hander

Autumn 2018 Exploring the Music of Alfred Schnittke (five sessions) Sessions entitled: Soviet Heritage, Introducing Polystylism, Mahler as an Influence, Cryptic Works, Influence of Thomas Mann’s Dr Faustus

Spring 2018 Prize winning Socialist Realism (five sessions) Exploring music which won the Stalin Prize between 1941 and 1951 – does this help us understand Socialist Realism and the inner workings of the Soviet musical establishment? Included works by Myaskovsky, Khachaturian, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Glière, Kabalevsky, Dvarionas



Autumn 2017 Celebrating the October Revolution (five sessions) Eyewitness diary account from Prokofiev, and music written in 1917, followed by music written for various anniversary events and an exploration of how the orthodox view of the Great October Socialist Revolution evolved. Key musical works: Prokofiev Seven, They Are Seven; Symphony 1, Cantata for 20th Anniversary, Thirty Years; Shostakovich Symphonies 2, 11, & 12, Assault on Krasnaya Gorka, October op 131; Myaskovsky Symphony 6

Spring 2017 Development of the Great Soviet Symphony (five sessions) Evolution of musical aesthetics in the first two decades of the USSR. Main focus on symphonies: Shostakovich 3, 4, & 5; Prokofiev 2; Shebalin Lenin; Popov 1; Myaskovsky 10 & 16; Stravinsky in C

Autumn 2016 Soviet Music: The Final Decades (five sessions) Music from Khrushchev’s Thaw to the dissolution of the USSR. Composers featured: Volkonsky, Schnittke, Tishchenko, Weinberg, Pärt, Silvestrov, Karetnikov, Gubaidulina, Denisov (and as guests Stravinsky, Nono and JS Bach)

Autumn 2015 – Spring 2016

Soviet Music: Exploring Prokofiev and Shostakovich (ten sessions) The development of Soviet Music from 1917-75 illustrated primarily with examples from Prokofiev and Shostakovich

Documents

Soviet Music @ Lewes U3A