Nikolay Myaskovsky: Symphonies Nos. 24 & 25

The 24th Symphony in F minor, Op. 63, begins with a wonderful fanfare that later figures as one of the three main themes of the first movement. The memorable and seemingly simple third theme is almost a 'motto' and turns out to appear in all three of the symphony's movements, a cyclical feature that occurs often in Myaskovsky's writing. After a quiet middle movement the third, Allegro appassionato, starts with another fanfare which leads to a dramatic main theme that may indeed be a variation of the 'motto' heard earlier. After a dramatic peroration the movement ends quietly, almost wistfully. This symphony is notable for its tight construction, some unusual harmonies, memorable themes and its dramatic shape.

The Symphony No. 25 in D-flat major, Op. 69, opens with a slow quiet string and low brass chorale-like theme that leads to yearning second theme, with vaulting first violins, that then veers off into D-flat minor, the key in which the movement ends. The short second movement, also in a slow tempo and also in a minor key, is introduced by a long meandering theme in the violas. It eventually brightens to end in A major. The finale, the longest movement at 13 minutes, is a sonata-form movement introduced by urgent string triplet chords that lead immediately to a dramatic violin theme that dominates the movement. The second theme is brief and subdued; it is quickly superseded by the insistent first theme and eventually leads to an extended development section in which the two main themes are combined contrapuntally--there is a delightful fugato section that features brash trumpets--and taken through several foreign keys before coming to dramatic climax and then--suddenly--a full stop, at which point the recapitulation restates the opening but becoming quieter and more hushed before a sudden and, to me, unexpected triumphant and joyful finish.

I was able to compare this new recording of the 25th symphony with one by Svetlanov and, truth to tell, there is little to choose between them. The sound on the Naxos disc is marginally clearer; the Olympia's sound is slightly recessed. The Svetlanov may be somewhat more subtle in the slower sections, and certainly the suavity of his orchestra's strings is noticeable. On the other hand, Yablonsky is, to my ears, more exciting in the dramatic sections of the 25th. Of course, there is the budget price of the Naxos disc to consider. I do not know if this issue will be the first of a Myaskovsky series from Naxos. One hopes so.

Recommended.

TT=66:07

Scott Morrison

The 24th Symphony is otherwise unavailable although Olympia will release Svetlanov's excellent version soon as part of their complete series. The 25th is a major work containing one of Myaskovsk's most beautiful Russian sounding tunes, about five minutes into the first movement (or four minutes in this case as Yablonsk's performance is somewhat faster than Svetlanov on Olympia). On balance I prefer the Svetlanov version as he invests this tune with great dignity. Still, at this price I would go for both recordings although the 24th symphony on Naxos is a more interesting work than the First Symphony on Olympia.
Myaskovsky is becoming more "popular" with increasing CD releases of his music and this is a good place to start if you want to investigate some fine and often moving symphonies from a composer described as "small,bearded, shy and never to be seen without his briefcase"