Russia's Most Influential Composer...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ค. 2024
- A look at one of Russia's most influential composers - a teacher of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and many others, and composer of such great works as Scheherazade, Antar, and Flight of the Bumblebee.
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Script by Simon Gijbels
Narrated by Oscar Osicki
0:00 - Introduction
1:09 - Early Life
2:37 - The Mighty Handful
4:56 - Master of Orchestration and Storytelling
6:38 - Antar
10:34 - Legacy
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Another underappreciated Russian composer is Scriabin. Hearing his Symphony number 4 made me realize how much Stravinsky owes to him.
Scriabin was definitely one of the pioneers in his field of atonality. Like Debussy, his musical style grew more and more unique as time went on
@@laiyinquan8355 Scriabin wasn't an atonal composer though. You gotta learn your music theory a little better
@@composaboi Oh he wasn't? I heard here and there the Scriabin was quite known for his atonality. I must have mistaken him for someone else. My bad
@@laiyinquan8355 his music is certainly dissonant though
@@laiyinquan8355 people say scriabin is "atonal" but some of his later pieces sound like they're atonal because they're based on the whole tone scale. Music nerds will absolutely shit on you if you say scriabin was atonal so be careful.
I have always considered Scheherazade one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed.
Agreed
So did my mom
Had the privilage to hear it live last week, wonderful piece
I listened to it the other day. I never really gave Rimsky a chance because I considered him the "Flight of the Bumble bee guy". My ears were not ready for the epicness that is his Scheherazade. It's a fantastic piece!
Agree the piece has an unusual power...
however,
that piece has always made me feel an eerie malaise ...as some primordial pagan emotional distress...
It boils down to taste. I admire ALL the Russian composers but Tchaikovsky was the whole package. Along with being one of the top melody kings in music history, he wrote timeless beautiful world-popular masterpieces in all genres (opera, symphony, concerto, chamber, choral) and he single-handedly elevated and evolved ballet music into a sophisticated symphonic storytelling medium.
Yes.
"all genres" is pushing it but he good
Tchaikovsky is great. He is my inspiration for my Symphonic Ballet Fantasias.
Don't forget ballet. The Nutcracker and Swan Lake are not only among the most popular but among the most beautiful things he wrote.
Although I know about all the members of the 5, I don't know much about Cui's music. I definitely need to correct that!
Being russian myself, its wonderful for me to hear about Rimski-Korsakov from a foreigner. This composer is not that popular in Russia either. Only few operas, such as Sadko, are widely known. Thank you for telling about "the five" who contributed so greatly into russian culture.
I'm English and I love him!
Can you find anybody older than 10 year who don't know The Flight Of the Bumblebee? I doubt it. They may not know who is the author and what is it from (The Tsar Saltan Suite), yet everybody knows the music.
I'd rather expect they not know any music of Mussorgsky, Glinka or Borodin than Rimsky-Korsakov.
And, to summarize, yes he is known in the west. If you ever saw Yellow Submarine, you may know he is mentioned even there (by Max the blue meanie)!
That's strange to read. You would think that would be the one place Russian ballet is popular.
I really love Scherazade. One of my favorite pieces. I'm Canadian.
That's intetesting! I'm from Poland and I was taught about the Mighty handful (Potężna gromadka in Polish) in a primary music school. It's considered a basic musical knowledge here.
Symphony musician here....
Totally hooked on Russian composers.
Magnificent
Borodin is one of the few people in history to have notable accomplishments in two totally different fields : classical music composition and organic chemistry
Also the flight of the bumblebee comes from the opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan and honestly it's worth a full listening/watching
Rimsky-Korsakov is definitely an inspiring man for sure
And he wrote what was ultimately to become the music for the film 'Kismet' (1955).
fun fact: Rimsky-Korsakoff was known to be a synesthete. The rich colors of his orchestrations were literally colors in his mind.
Rimsky-Korsakov's music captured my imagination in college. He still remains one of my most favorite composers.
For me, the difference is Tchaikovsky worked in so many different styles while also being a master of melody. That's why so many of his works (Nutcracker, Swan Lake, 6th Symphony, Violin Concerto) are played all the time all around the world.
Tchaikovsky has one of (if not) my favorite passages in all musical history in the opening movement of his 4th Symphony. I don't know the measure numbers, but a little past half way, the violins begin rising to a most epic build up, climbing slowly and intensely, until finally the horns break out their iconic opening fanfare, with the basses rushing up behind them, and then back down. At the end of the phrase, the entire string ensemble does a chordal climb and descend until the horns pick back up with their fanfare again. This continuously repeats and builds with the horns getting higher and higher and tensions escalating further than even death metal is able to replicate.
The entire passage last about 2 minutes of continuous tension and drama, with so many moving parts overlapping each other, and yet easy to follow each part, with the horns playing fanfares, the basses running up and down modulating scales, the violins soaring with shrill descants, until finally all tensions come to a climatic break down as all the parts come together with some slower chords descending through the chaos until eventually all the tensions burn out. Its like the strings and brass have declared war on each other throughout the passage, and after some time of relentlessly opposing each other, they collectively go down into destruction, still trying to contrast each other and oppose each other, while coming to the same fate.
This or Beethoven's Double Fugue in the finale of his 9th Symphony is my favorite passage in all music history, -or is it a triple fugue? I've heard it described as a double fugue, but then the string basses fugue the violin runs in addition to the vocal tenors and basses fugueing the sopranos and altos. Either way, again, so many movie parts that leave the audience in awe and wonder.
His operas, not so much.
@@5BBassist4Christ I know exactly the passage you’re describing and I LOVE IT TOO!!! I’ve seen the 4th Symphony performed live several times and it’s always been one of my favorite symphonies ever. The 6th is always fantastic as well but it always makes me bawl my eyes out in the 1st and 4th movements.
@@ladymacbethofmtensk896 “Queen of Spades”, “Eugene Onegin”, and “Iolanta” are among my favorite operas of all time.
@@thesilvershining Unjustly neglected masterpieces all of them.
Scheherazade is easily one of my favourite symphonies. Thank you so much for your work, a superb video (as always)! My partner and I went to a Rismky-Korsakov concert as one of our first dates. Still together, many years later. 😄
This is not a symphony...😉
Scheherazade is marvelously enjoyable. However, it is NOT a "symphony". It is what is called a 'symphonic suite'. It is also what is referred to as 'programmatic music'.
@@guerricbrunet6340 I consider it like a symphony.
@@jayschwartz3203 it is one in essence... :) Same for Harold in Italy, the Lemminkainen suite, La mer...
Спасибо, что рассказали про композитора Римского-Корсакова! Это первое видео на английском языке про этого человека, которое я видел! Многие люди старшего поколения знают музыку этого композитора в нашей стране. Особенно известна музыка из опер-сказок. К сожалению, не могу сказать, что музыка данного композитора имеет успех в России. Некоторые мои знакомые даже не слышали про такого автора. Надеюсь, когда-нибудь музыка этого композитора станет понятна большему количеству людей!
P.S. Извините, что пишу по-русски. Просто английский язык знаю не очень хорошо
Зачем извиняться? Он же не постарался ни фамилию Кюи, ни фамилию Стасова правильно произнести.
Thank you for your insight!
@@maijaz6228 боже, какой идиот, автор рассыпается в восторгах и комплиментах, а этому, блин, только чтоб фамилию произнесли правильно. сам-то хоть английские или, скажем, голландские фамилии правильно произносишь? сомневаюсь что-то...
ага, только из России на его сайт теперь не зайти.
I don't know what you're talking about. In my young years his operas "Sadko", "Snow Maiden" (Snegurochka") "Tzar's Bride", "Pskovityanka" were played in every opera house, not to mention "Sheherezade" that was played on a radio almost every day. Maybe that changed since then...
Rimski-Korsakov is the definition of "practice makes better", it surprised me to know he had not been studying in a conservatory since he was a child but much later in life. Debunks the myth that for you to be successful in something, specially music, you need to start as young as possible. A lot of time, patience and effort is needed regardless, but what makes the difference is how much your passion burns for you to do something about it.
No one can compose like Tchaikovsky. He is definitely the most tuneful one. Others are Strauss and Chopin who come up with tune after tune.
Rimsky-Korsakov (and the Five in general) had no right to write pieces so beautiful as they had close to no academic musical education. R-K has written incredible music for opera with hues of russian and oriental cultures. His style is unique and I love it.
I highly recommend from RK : Symphony 2 Antar, Capriccio Espagnol, Fantasia on Serbian Themes, Golden cockerel suite, Sadko suite, Snow Maiden suite, Mlada suite, Christmas Eve suite, Russian Easter Overture, the Tsar's bride overture, Pan Voyevoda suite, Suite from the Tale of Tsar Saltan, Overture on Russian Themes, Sinfonietta on Russian Themes, Scheherazade of course... If you have time to spend, please have a listen to those, they're great! And some are rather short. It's a shame that many of his pieces are not that well known despite their high quality.
This video is a fitting tribute to a musical genius and he deserves all the praise.
Not just suites, but also the whole operas! Sadko, Legend of Kitezh and Tsar's Bride are my favorites by him (however still prefer Onegin and Queen of Spades by Tchaik)
that sounds more like a condemnation of the academy than anything.
Agreed. Sometimes (if not often) the academic education kills not only the creativity, but the soul of man.
Rimski-Korsakov is off the chain , I adore his pieces the sheer of details in his works are just out of this world
Small correction. Cui's name is pronounced close to Kyui (certainly not "Sui"), it is written as Кюи in Cyrillic.
And Músorgskiy is not Mazóvski! MuUusorgskiy only. Му́соргский in Russian.
Alexander Borodiiin, not BoOorodin. Бороди́н in Russian.
Cesar = Tsézar' (Цэ́зарь, Цезарь)
Блядь, ну, это невозможно слушать... Какой "Страсов"?? Он Ста́сов! И как можно было под надписью "Могучая Кучка" ("The Mighty Handful") прикрепить фото Чайковского?? Что это за халатности? Вы либо делаете образовательное видео качественно, либо никак!
This all shows how *unknown* those people are for the typical non-russian public. Nobody knows how to pronounce their names correctly!
And, I believe, they forgot about Alexander Glazunov who once became a rector of St. Petersbourg Conservatory and essentially he made it to reach its heights, he certainly influenced many young musicians. He examined students himself (hundreds of them each year!). I believe there would have been no Shostakovitch without him. Also he failed Rachmaninov's first piano concerto premiere being a conductor, which influenced Rachmaninov too, in certain special sense. In any case Glazunov was important figure in Russian music of the early 20 century.
@@nikitakipriyanov7260 I like the story about Glazunov that he had a remarkable gift for being able to hear a whole piece of music, and play it back almost perfectly on the piano afterwards. According to legend, the head of the conservatory would invite visiting foreign composers to play some music that they were currently composing, while Glazunov would sit unseen and listen. Then the conservatory head would say "hmm, sounds like you've copied one of our own brilliant composers", and would then invite Glazunov to come out and play the piece all over again. I'm quite sure that story has been stretched in truth quite a lot, but clearly Glazunov was a brilliant musical mind!
Very good video, sad that it's let down by some errors! The narrator miss pronounces Cui's and Stassov's names and the second photo of The Mighty Handful is not of them, but Tchaikovsky and Ippolitov-Ivanov. Later, when giving an example of Anton Rubinstein's music, a page from Dvorak's New World Symphony is shown!
I was triggered by those mistakes, wanted to post an angry comment. I'm glad I saw your comment before getting rude.
Oh! Ha ha ha ha!
One seriously underrated composer from Russia is Nikolai Medtner. If I remember correctly, Rachmaninov said that Medtner was the greatest contemporary composer.
I agree, I've spent some time listening to his piano sonatas. However he's not for everyone and I can understand why he's more of a hidden gem than a popular composer. Difficulty, focus on piano works only, and lack of catchy melodies and harmonies compared to, say Rach, being some of the reasons.
And the incredible Bortkiewicz!!!
And HINDEMITH!!! Oh, wait ... Nevermind. German. ;-)
idk why youre saying hes underrated. hes everywhere
One of my favotite pianists Mark Andre Hamelin often gives great praise to Medtner.
Like most Westerners, I began with Tchaikovsky and still love his music. But The Five soon garnered first my interest then my passion, with Rimskii at their head. I'm especially fond of his operas Sadko and Coq d'Or (Zolotoy Pyetushok). Not to forget Mussorgsky's Boris and/or Khovanschina along with Borodin's Igor. Wonderful sounds! Thanks for this excellent overview, not to mention directing me to Antar. I was aware of it by name but have never heard it all the way through. That must change! BTW, I own and often reference Rimskii's orchestration manual.
As an avid, untrained, listener to 'classical' music for many years R-K became an early favourite and I love him more now than ever. He not only had great ideas for tunes, he had the genius of imagination to express them in ways that never tire the ear. 100% agree with your presentation. Thank you.
I don't know, the few works of his that I am familiar with are all very repetitive, and that's in spite of his colorful orchestration. That's not to say they are bad, but they are tiresome to my ears, after hearing them unvaried for the second or even third time. My problem with Rimsky-Korsakov is that he couldn't quite develop a theme/melody, I mean, there was no extension or real variation beyond orchestration, no antecedent, counter melody, or secondary melody, he just cut and pasted the melody, entire passages, into multiple places, and this goes for pretty much every work of his that I have heard, Scheherazade, Russian Easter Festival overture or whatever it's called, even the Antar Symphony, Entry of the Nobles from Mlada, and others, they are all quite repetitive. Tchaikovsky is repetitive as well, but he often, if not always, adds another layer to the harmony/accompaniment when re-presenting his themes. I'm thinking of The Nutcracker, a work comprised of a bunch of short little pieces, but whether it be the overture, the March, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Waltz of the Flowers, et cetera, there is always another wrinkle he adds when he brings back the main theme.
My dad played the music of these these five composers constantly; not as much Germanic music in our Polish-speaking household. I find them so exciting and soothing to listen too. He also played a lot of Prokofiev and Stravinsky. Loved this video! ❤️
Chopin was a favourite piano composer of Rimsky-korsakov.
Thank you for such good video about Rimsky-Korsakov. I'm from Russia and I respect this channel for such deep understanding of Russian music.
I love Rimsky-Korsakov very much and my favorite work by him is the opera "The legend of the invisible city of Kitezh". It is a Russian analogue of "Parsifal".
Lucky you, that you live in Russia. Have you been to the museum? I wish, I could visit it and also - obviously - the heremitage in St. Petersburg.
@@anwa6169 I haven't been in Petersburg. I live in Novosibirsk. Here there is the biggest opera theater in Russia. Unfortunately, the operas by Rimsky-Korsakov aren't staged here as often as I want it. However, I was lucky to visit good live performances of "Tsar's bride", "Snow maiden", "Mozart and Saliery" and "Kashchey the immortal" in our opera theater and "Shecherezade" in our concert hall.
Actually, I think today Russia isn't the best place to live in. Because one "Kashchey the immortal" rules here, just as in the opera by Rimsky-Korsakov.
@@Art-Bakman It sounds amazing. To be honest, each and every of the countries seems to have their own lunatic(s) on top now. We were told to "freeze for peace" and also we are coming to the end of the chemicals that we need to purify the water. also iwithout fertiliser the food suppy will look grim. This is a very serious situation, which started in last fall, as far as I saw the news back then. I hope, at least your people can have enough heating and food and water.
Well said. We owe a debt to Inside the Score for giving us such an insightful video.
@@anwa6169
I know what you are saying. We know of past failings of the man. I live in the Republic of Ireland, a country which is thoroughly ruled and controlled by the World Economic Forum alias NWO. The US Neocons, not the US people, want to destroy and plunder Russia.
Wonderful program. Thanks for the new to me information. Lots of talent and music to listen to and look into.
A great video as always ! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thankyou for an excellent programme, and extremely well presented. I wish you continued success.
im so glad you highlighted Antar! i love that piece so much
Thank you so much to introduce great Russian composer, I almost watch every lecture you have offer, I am glad I found your channel. I started taking your online music training classes , Oscar, you’re the best music teacher ❤
This video is pricelessly good! Thank you Oscar, for expanding my musical horizon once again! I am off listening to Antar now
As a composer, Rimsky was in the shadow of Tchaikovsky and always will be. And he felt that, as you can read in "Testimony"about Schostakovich.
Well Tchaikovsky has around 15 pieces almost everyone recognises. No other composer can say that. Not even Beethoven or Strauss Jr have that many recognisable melodies.
Wonderful video, thank you! I love the Antar symphony, listened to it hundreds of times, never knew the story behind it. Fascinatating.
Thanks for that really nice video ! Really well written !
Thank you, sir, for giving me a more comprehensive understanding of Rimsky-Korsakov, whose music I have always cherished.
Amazing video. Thank you so very much for telling us about that great composer I have loved since a little girl, specially because of Scheherazade. It was my father’s most beloved music. Thanks again.
1:48 - I spy me some good Hanon ;) - Thank you for this video, it comes at the right time, I'm re-orchestrating Mussorgsky's Night on the Bald Mountain, and I hadn't realised how much Rimsky-Korsakov had edited it. It's not just a light revision, for sure. High quality content, as usual (yours, I mean).
Thank you for this informative document!
I had the pleasure of performing in one of Rimskj-Korsakov’s operas , ‘Mozart and Salieri’ , but at the time had no idea of his far reaching influences. I also found interesting his humility and the fact that he had many life experiences outside of the world of music making.
Thank you for sharing this precious information about the Antar symphony. It is one of my favourite works.
Very excellent presentation about this great composer! Well done!
Wonderful video! I love Rimsky-Korsakov so much; he is so underrated! It's so hard if I had to choose between him and Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky can certainly make an amazing melody, but Rimsky-Korsakov can certainly orchestrate a melody!
Tchaikovsky himself could fight Rimsky-Korsakov to a draw in terms of orchestral color.
The real difference was - forget about melodies or orchestration - Tchaikovsky was quite superior when it came to the structural strength, the greater ability to put a piece together, despite his own misgivings and lack of confidence.
He was not Brahms, but he could certainly stand alongside Mendelssohn and Schumann, and arguably above Liszt. None of the Five Nationalists could come anywhere near that.
His early successes came, not so much in Russia as in Germany, thanks due Hans von Bulow's advocacy, which Tchaikovsky well deserved.
Tchaikovsky was one of the top ten orchestrators of classical music. His Romeo & Juliet Overture was actually a favorite piece of all the Russian Five and deservedly so.
I have wanted to see this for decades. Thanks for your work.
The absolutely great and astonishing text! Thanks.
Waouw, la vidéo est géniale !
… bravo Simon !
I love the music of Rimsky-Korsakov. Antar is a favorite as are the operas. I'm a huge fan of Tsar's Bride. The orchestration is always amazing. Tchaikovsky excelled at the ballets, concertos, some of his gorgeous operas. They're very different; but both have remarkable lasting genius. Russia, for all it's faults, certainly had more than it's share of great composers. I even like a lot of the fringe ones.
I'm glad that this period in history (mid-nineteenth to mid-twenieth) century was dominated by such great (mainly Russian) artists which influenced classical music forever afterwards. I'm not trying to take away the musical greatness of non-Russian composers of this time (and there are many of these), but the Russians added a new thematic to classical music derived partly from Slavic folk tunes, which adds to the depth, orchestration and attraction to the music (this was partly aided by the improvements to the instruments themselves, particularly brass and woodwind). Tchaikovsky I think is still one of the greatest composers of all time. And this comes from the diversity of his composition style, which i think is the epitome of genius. If you listen to his "Hymn of the Cherubim", so different style from most of his operas, you will understand.
What a wonderful channel. Really appreciate the marvellous content.
Great video on such an amazing composer, ItS. If I could recommend one topic for a future video, even if it won't be as long as your average productions, maybe the history behind Gregorio Allegri's "Miserere", and how Mozart did get this piece out of its Vatican hold for the world to know...
Beautifully executed. Superb editing.
Thank you beautiful video essay 😊
Thanks for the great video! Now let me be a bit of a nerd )
How it's pronounced in Russian:
Tsezar Kuee
ModEst Moosorgskiy
Stasov (not Strasov)
And not only Shostakovich remained of course. I think there should be a video about soviet composers as well.
Thank you from Russia for this well-made video!
Thank you for this! Whenever the name of Rimsky-Korsakov comes up, I think of ANTAR because I've long thought it was a masterpiece equal to, or greater than Sheherazade (which I do like a lot). I was enjoying your video and when you announced the importance of ANTAR I was very pleased by your discussion of it. As you say, it's still not as popular as it once was and many who like Russian music do not know it.
Antar is by far more programmatic than Scheherazade, the use of leitmotiv was more brilliant, and the structure of each movement was more connected. However we should admit that Scheherazade have more dynamic and the plot was recognized more, still love both works though.
Bravo Simon !
La vidéo est très intéressante .
Thank you for the video!
I have heared Scheherezad on the concert I was absolutely strucked with such brilliant composition. It was my very first time I was ever introduced to Korsakov and it was beautiful and stunning experience.
Interesting and informative! Thanks.
for years I've been hoping to find a A "new piece" by Korsakov to listen to being one of my favorite composers...Thank you for "Antar"!
Do you know the Piano Concerto?
I was looking for this video yesterday and thinking why hasn't anyone made one - and here it is!
I ran across a collection of composers' letters written to other composers, translated into English, when I was in college. One of Tschaikowsky's letters was about Rimsky-Korsakov. HIs concern was that R-K's fascination/obsession with learning all the theory/techniques he hadn't known might cause R-K to lose all his creativity and become a dull repetitive technician.
It was in that letters compilation that I ran across the "reinvent the wheel" approach of the Five. I then looked at all the recordings I had of Mussorgsky's compositions and discovered every single one was arranged by R-K. R-K has been one of my favorite composers.
He is my favorite composer.. His Night on Mount Triglav, Song of India and Antar are my definition of pure bliss!
Great video!! it is informative even for not experts in music as my self. I will listen to Russian classic music more carefully to enjoy it more…
RK's autobiography 'My musical life' is well worth reading & details much about his and his colleagues musical development. At this time, it appears out of print, some publisher should remedy this, so ask your library service if they can find one. I treasure my copy. You wish more working composers had written about their work in such detail. Answers many questions asked here. I commend 'Inside the Score' for this excellent video.
EXCELLENT film! Thank You!
Tchaikovsky also had some nice things to day about Rimsky-Korsakov, the tone being that of a friendly rivalry.
Rimsky-Korsakov has long been one of my favorite composers. Not only for his own works, but also because of the tremendous influence he had on other composers. To judge à composer by his or her works alone is a very myopic view indeed.
You mentioned Lyadov as being taught by Rimsky-Korsakov. A work by Lyadov that is somewhat obscure, but well worth a listen, is The Enchanted Lake. I wonder if it would have ever come into being without Rimsky-Korsakov.
I couldn't understand as a boy (many years ago) why there was never a word of praise from Western musicologists for Russian music and in particular Tchaikovsky.
Right? Musicologists are so uppity and often wrong in their judgments. Tchaikovsky’s music has touched billions of hearts over the last 150 years, and that alone makes him a unique giant among classical giants. And there were many people who were extremely knowledgeable about music and appreciated Tchaikovsky as well. Beatles producer (and a composer of his own works) George Martin chose two classical composers for his desert island discs: Gershwin and Tchaikovsky. John Williams is a big Tchaikovsky fan! Leonard Bernstein openly championed Tchaikovsky’s 6th symphony since at least 1953. He fought hard against the nonsense allegations that it “wasn’t a real symphony” and spends over an hour arguing (with proof!) that it is of course a real symphony and a great one. Itzhak Perlman considered Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto among the top three most beautiful and most difficult pieces he’d ever performed.
In the USA Tchaikovsky was always popular with the public. He was guest conductor for the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891 and was revered by everyone he met. Tchaikovsky’s 1st piano concerto actually became the first classical record to ever go platinum in 1958 when Van Cliburn recorded his performance that won the famous Tchaikovsky piano competition. And of course we can’t forget when Balanchine revived The Nutcracker in 1954.
I think Tchaikovsky finally started being taken seriously by the more uppity musicologists in the 1980’s when the final trio of symphonies (4th, 5th, 6th) started being recorded by all the big orchestras + famous conductors in droves. It’s like they finally realized how amazing Tchaikovsky’s orchestrations are and how fun, moving, and rewarding his pieces are to perform!
At 4:30 you say the (audio) music in the video is by Rubinstein. That is probably the case but the page pictured in the video clearly states Dvorak, and is from his 9th. Symphony. You will have to do this part again.
My favorite Rimsky-Korsakov's works: Skazka Op. 29, Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op. 36, Scheherazade op 35, Song of India from "Sadko" opera.
An interesting fragment from Shostakovich's memoirs about Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky
Maybe that's why I remember my composition teacher, Steinberg, without much pleasure. He was a dry and didactic man, and I remember him primarily because of two things. The first is that Steinberg was Rimsky-Korsakov's son-in-law, and the second is that he fiercely hated Tchaikovsky. The Rimsky-Korsakov family, I must say, had a low opinion of Tchaikovsky, and talking about him was a sore topic for them. The most painful topic was, of course, for Nikolai Andreevich himself. It is not necessary to rummage in the archives for a long time, just look at the list of Rimsky-Korsakov's works, and everything will become clear.
Tchaikovsky prevented Korsakov from composing, hindered him by his very existence. It may seem blasphemy, but it is a fact. Rimsky-Korsakov was so worried about what Tchaikovsky was composing next to him that he could not write a single note. And, as the old saying goes, there is no silver lining: Tchaikovsky died, and Korsakov's crisis ended.
In ten years Rimsky-Korsakov could not write a single opera, and in fifteen years after Tchaikovsky's death he wrote eleven! And, interestingly, this stream began with "The Night before Christmas." Tchaikovsky was almost gone when Korsakov took the theme he had already used and wrote in his own way. Once he had established himself, the writing went smoothly.
But the hostility persisted. Prokofiev said that he had found a mistake in the score of Tchaikovsky's First Symphony: the flute should be played in B flat. He showed it to Rimsky-Korsakov, and he was glad of the mistake and said, grinning in his beard: "Yes, Pyotr Ilyich really messed up here.
I have never met such a family as the Korsakovs: it is impossible to describe in words the reverence for his memory. And, of course, Steinberg was no exception. He and his wife, Nadezhda Nikolaevna, talked only about Nikolai Andreevich, he was the only one quoted, he was the only one referred to.
I remember November 1941. Wartime. I was working on the Seventh Symphony when there was a knock on the door. I was urgently called to Steinberg. Okay, I'm leaving my job and going. When I got there, I saw that some kind of tragedy had occurred in the house. All - depressed, gloomy, eyes - tear-stained. Steinberg himself is darker than a cloud. I thought he wanted to ask me something about evacuation, which was the most important topic of the day. And so it happened, but I felt that I was not called for this. Then Steinberg started talking about some of his compositions. What composer doesn't like to talk about his music? But I listened and thought that's not the point, obviously not that.
Finally, Steinberg couldn't hold back any longer. He took me to his office, locked the door and looked around. Then he took a copy of Pravda out of his desk drawer and said: "Why did Comrade Stalin mention Glinka and Tchaikovsky in his speech? And not Nikolai Andreevich? For Russian music, Nikolai Andreevich means more than Tchaikovsky. I want to write about this to Comrade Stalin." So that's the thing! All the newspapers have just printed Stalin's speech. It was his first major speech since the war began, and he spoke, in particular, about the great Russian people - the people of Pushkin and Tolstoy, Gorky and Chekhov, Repin and Surikov... and so on. You know, each creature has a pair. And of the composers, Stalin chose Glinka and Tchaikovsky to praise. This injustice shocked Steinberg to the core. Steinberg consulted me quite seriously on the best way to write to Stalin, as if it could make any difference.
Years passed, a completely different era came, God knows what happened during that time, but nothing could shake the sacred hatred of the Korsakov family for Tchaikovsky.
It seems that Tchaikovsky's generosity towards Rimsky-Korsakov was not reciprocated.
Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for this great introduction into Russian composers.
Your amazing informative and educational video just made me a new subscriber 😊Thank you for the efforts and work. And for not ignoring Russian culture at these times. ♥️
Nikolai has been my favorite composer for a long time. I have a bust of him in my house. Scheherazade is my "go-to" when I'm trying to relax to go to sleep. Just incredibly brilliant. Love all the Russian composers, but Rimsky-Korsakov is my favorite!!
THANK YOU, IT VERY ILLUMINATES ME.
Extraordinary video… a music master class on RK
Thanks for putting in a plug for Antar.
Wow, such a great video! I couldn't help but notice, though, that you played music by Dvorak (9th symphony) - it clearly said that on the score - instead of Anton Rubinstein 🙃🤭 Probably an accident
Sadko, his greatest....
I love them all, its hard to choose. This has helped me to understand Russian music much more. Thanks.
Sheesh! Cui = koo ee (not soo ee); Stasov = sta sov (not strassov). Rimsky's operas are superb and among my favorite musical works. Especially The Tsar's Bride, The Snow Queen and Christmas Eve - just beautiful. There are a number of exceptional performances of Rimsky's operas on YT. They are superior to his showy orchestral pieces, wonderful as they are. In particular, a filmic version of Tsar's Bride, an artistic form in which the Soviets excelled, posted on my other channel, jkircher314.
Great video. Keep up.
Really informative and well done video. Just for the record, I believe it is spelled vengeance, not "vengance"
Antar has been my favorite symphony for 50 years. I particularly like the version of Neeme Jarvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. The last movement is just otherworldly.
It's a pity that it's not being performed more often
Fun fact, in Russia Rimsky-Korsakov's name also being part of mnemonics for odd time signatures 11/4 (Римский-Корсаков совсем с ума сошёл (Rimsky-Korsakov gone really crazy)) and 5/4 (Римский-Корсаков).
И его ученику Стравинскому тоже досталось) фразой "Igor Stravinsky is a son of a bitch" отсчитывают - по-моему, совершенно искренне - одиннадцать литавр в начале "Величания избранной". Очень удобно
I've always loved Rimsky Korsakov's music. I always listen to it to lift my spirits and feel like a hero.
Great video!
Rimsky-Korsakov is brilliant!
Thanks for your video!:)
REALLY nice to see my friend R-K receiving a bit of well-deserved credit; I ha never heard of Antar and now..... I will search for it from east of the Sun to the west of the Moon.
Tchaikovsky is an S-tier composer, but Rimsky-Korsakov deserves respect as solid A-tier-a true master craftsman who prodigiously turned out good work (like Dvorak, Faure…). And he was among the most admirable of great composers as a human being, as the video did a good job explaining: always ready to learn and grow, and to help others learn and grow and shine.
Tchaikovsky just with Swan Lake, the Violin Concerto, Romeo & Juliet, and the 6th Symphony alone make him pretty impossible to surpass if I’m being honest. I love many of R-K’s works and he’s phenomenal but Tchaikovsky is just… there’s no one that can touch my heart and soul like he can.
Soviet composers are more underrated IMO. Especially speaking of 1920's and 1930's experimental music.
Yes! For me the most significant of these are Roslavets and Myaskovsky who are both are overlooked due to the censorship they experienced, despite the massive influence they had on music.
And how about Rodion Shchedrin? He's actually still alive and had new works premiered as late as 2020.
The question wasn’t who’s underrated either
Shostakovich also!
@@celloplaysmusic7330 check definition of 'underrated'.
*Fun fact:* while the official reason for Tchaikovsky's death is cholera, Rimski-Korsakov didn't believe that Tchaikovsky died because of that. He said a friend of Tchaikovsky kept kissing the deceased man, which obviously no one would do if he had the disease cholera.
However, that a drunk man kissed the body is no indikation that Tchaikovsky did not die of cholera. Had he known that Tchaikovsky did not die of cholera or about any foul play it would indicate others knew too - unless he was an accomplice. It transcends all logic. Any rumours of suicide that R-K believed in have been prooven baseless.
@@minquino a) not sure why being "drunk" would automatically mean that the guy forgot about the deadly cholera. But who knows, I wasn't there. b) I just read that it was not only the guy kissing Tchaikovsky but the whole handling of the dead body that made RK suspicious. Apparently they didn't follow the usual safety rules (and not only RK remarked this).
If you are seriously interested in Tchaikovsky’s death I strongly recommend The last days of Tchaikovsky by Alexander Poznansky, an admirable and thoroughly study of the facts and the rumours surrounding his death. In the meantime let us enjoy the music of both Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky.
@@minquino Thank you for the recommendation.
I remember that Ken Russell movie called "The Music Lovers" starring Glenda Jackson and Richard Chamberlain.
Would Rimsky-Korsakov had predicted his influence on the definition of virtuosity to the main stream ( and sacrilegious to Twoset fans)?😂
Merci. Those five composed some of my secret favorite musical scores.
Greatful of this short stream regarding most influenced Russian composers accross the world
Antar was one of the music pieces together with Sadko (not the full opera) that got him the offer of the post of professor of instruction and orchestration at the St Petersburg conservatory and according to him he accepted it with out batting an eyelid though he had no structured music education. BTW he was on a training ship the almaz not with the fleet and sailed to Brazil not round the world. Whilst on this cruise he finished the 2nd movement of his 1st symphony while at anchor in Gravesend England and went in search of a piano ashore to play it over. This prompted film "song of sherherazade" ,made in the late 1940s, though it was set on the coast of sunny Africa not foggy Gravesend as Rimsky put it. He did get to London sightseeing saw the Royal opera House. He left an autobiography My Musical Life of which I have a copy.
Never could remember those "Mighty handful" guys, as well as that Rimsky-Korsakov was one of them
True that many Russian composers left during the Revolution, but worth noting that Prokofiev, after initially moving to Paris, returned to the Soviet Union and had a contentious relationship with the commissars. Also of note that he died the same day that Stalin did.
Great composer and a piece of s..t as a human.
Really a musicians composer. Such satisfying orchestration as a player. And the way he influenced other composers like mussorgsky is amazing!
While we are praising Russian music, one moment for Shostakovich and his 11th symphony 🙌🏽
Op. 110: String Quartet No. 8 in C minor (1960). Forget the Russian Romantics.
@@holyworrier All of the later string quartets, IMHO. My god.
@@windycityliz7711 - Indeed.
@@holyworrier indeed 🙌🏽
and what about symphonies no. 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto etc.
Scheherazade is legit my favorite symphony.
This is not a symphony...😉
It actually is.
I am making my way through R-K via Prokofiev--thank you for this excellent overview.
When you said how great Rimsky-Korsakoff's Antar is, I thought surely you were exaggerating.
So I click on a couple of recordings on TH-cam to find out for myself.
And I found that sure enough, you were right!
Gotta love that shot of Hanon!
I wish the Metropolitan Opera in NY would have the spine to produce a Korsakov show.