September 24, 2012.Rameau, Shostakovich.Jean-Philippe Rameau was born on September 25, 1683 in Dijon.Together with François Couperin, Rameau was the first truly French composer of the Baroque era: though Jean-Baptiste Lully was the pioneer of the French Baroque, he was born in Florence and moved to France as a teenager.Most of Rameau’s early compositions were instrumental: he didn’t write an opera till he was 50, but once he had, they became a major event in France, not just musically but culturally.Some people still preferred the operas of Lully, while others thought that Rameau was a much better composer.In17th century France these were important matters: the “culture wars” erupted within the country, or at least among its literate part, dividing it into two camps, the "Lullyistes" and the "Rameauneurs"; the partisan pamphlets continued to be written for many years.Rameau lived during the time of remarkable flourishing of the French culture in general.He wrote operas to librettos by Voltaire.He became a character in Diderot’s famous dialogue, Le neveu de Rameau (Rameau's Nephew).And he earned the enmity of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who considered himself a composer, not just a writer and philosopher.The 1730s and ’40s were the most productive period of Rameau’s life.He wrote a number of "musical tragedies," such as Castor et Pollux, and the newly restored Les Boréades, which were never performed during Rameau’s lifetime; and many opera-ballets - Les Indes galantes being probably the most famous.He received the title of "Compositeur du Cabinet du Roi" and a nice pension.In his later years he wrote less, and by then his operas lost some of their freshness: the "Italian" operas came into vogue, their major proponent being Christoph Willibald Gluck, whose Orfeo ed Euridice was premiered in October of 1762.Rameau died on September 12, 1764, two weeks before his 81st birthday.Here is Rameau’s Gavotte and Doubles, performed by the Israeli pianist Matan Porat.Rameau wrote the Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de Clavecin in 1726-27.This collection forms two large suites, in A Minor and in G Major.Gavotte and Doubles is from the former.
Dmitry Shostakovich was born on the same day in 1906.We duly celebrate his birthday each year (for example, here).This time we’ll just present one piece, the first movement of Symphony no. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 - the so-called Leningrad Symphony.It was completed in December of 1941 and premiered in Kuibyshev on March 5, 1942.(Kuibyshev, now restored to its historical name of Samara, was the city where the Soviet government evacuated its most important institutions to fearing that Moscow may fall to the advancing German armies.The government relocated there, a never-used bunker for Stalin was built, and the prestigious Bolshoi Theater was moved to Kuibyshev as well).Samuil Samosud conducted the orchestra of the Bolshoi, and the performance was broadcast all over the world.The Soviets considered the symphony the musical epitome of the resistance to the Nazi invasion.These days it’s much less clear whether that was the case: Rostislav Dubinsky, the first violinist of the Borodin Quartet, who knew Shtostakovich very well, maintained that the first movement was completed a year before the war started.We’re not going to resolve this controversy, but you can listen to this movement (here), performed by the orchestra with an awkward Soviet name of The USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra.At the time of this recording (1984), the music director of the orchestra was one of the most interesting Russian conductors of that era, Gennady Rozhdestvensky.He is on the podium.
Rameau, Shostakovich 2012
September 24, 2012. Rameau, Shostakovich. Jean-Philippe Rameau was born on September 25, 1683 in Dijon. Together with François Couperin, Rameau was
the first truly French composer of the Baroque era: though Jean-Baptiste Lully was the pioneer of the French Baroque, he was born in Florence and moved to France as a teenager. Most of Rameau’s early compositions were instrumental: he didn’t write an opera till he was 50, but once he had, they became a major event in France, not just musically but culturally. Some people still preferred the operas of Lully, while others thought that Rameau was a much better composer. In 17th century France these were important matters: the “culture wars” erupted within the country, or at least among its literate part, dividing it into two camps, the "Lullyistes" and the "Rameauneurs"; the partisan pamphlets continued to be written for many years. Rameau lived during the time of remarkable flourishing of the French culture in general. He wrote operas to librettos by Voltaire. He became a character in Diderot’s famous dialogue, Le neveu de Rameau (Rameau's Nephew). And he earned the enmity of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who considered himself a composer, not just a writer and philosopher. The 1730s and ’40s were the most productive period of Rameau’s life. He wrote a number of "musical tragedies," such as Castor et Pollux, and the newly restored Les Boréades, which were never performed during Rameau’s lifetime; and many opera-ballets - Les Indes galantes being probably the most famous. He received the title of "Compositeur du Cabinet du Roi" and a nice pension. In his later years he wrote less, and by then his operas lost some of their freshness: the "Italian" operas came into vogue, their major proponent being Christoph Willibald Gluck, whose Orfeo ed Euridice was premiered in October of 1762. Rameau died on September 12, 1764, two weeks before his 81st birthday. Here is Rameau’s Gavotte and Doubles, performed by the Israeli pianist Matan Porat. Rameau wrote the Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de Clavecin in 1726-27. This collection forms two large suites, in A Minor and in G Major. Gavotte and Doubles is from the former.
Dmitry Shostakovich was born on the same day in 1906. We duly celebrate his birthday each year (for example, here). This time we’ll just present one piece, the first movement of Symphony no. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 - the so-called Leningrad Symphony. It was completed in December of 1941 and premiered in Kuibyshev on March 5, 1942. (Kuibyshev, now restored to its historical name of Samara, was the city where the Soviet government evacuated its most important institutions to fearing that Moscow may fall to the advancing German armies. The government relocated there, a never-used bunker for Stalin was built, and the prestigious Bolshoi Theater was moved to Kuibyshev as well). Samuil Samosud conducted the orchestra of the Bolshoi, and the performance was broadcast all over the world. The Soviets considered the symphony the musical epitome of the resistance to the Nazi invasion. These days it’s much less clear whether that was the case: Rostislav Dubinsky, the first violinist of the Borodin Quartet, who knew Shtostakovich very well, maintained that the first movement was completed a year before the war started. We’re not going to resolve this controversy, but you can listen to this movement (here), performed by the orchestra with an awkward Soviet name of The USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra. At the time of this recording (1984), the music director of the orchestra was one of the most interesting Russian conductors of that era, Gennady Rozhdestvensky. He is on the podium.