#ClassicsaDay #SovietaDay Week 3

For the third year running, the Classics a Day team chose to honor May Day. For the month of May, Soviet musicians are the theme. Last year I posted music by Soviet prize-winners. 

This time, I'm simply walking my way through the alphabet (Latin, not Cyrillic). The music I discovered proved anything but ordinary. Here are my posts for the third week of #SovietaDay.

5/13/19 Janis Ivanovs (1906-1983) - Symphony No. 4 "Atlantida"

Latvian composer Ivanovs was working on his 21st symphony at the time of his death. His fourth symphony, "Atlantis," was premiered in 1943.

5/14/19 Imants Kalninš (1941-) - Symphony No. 5

Classically trained Kalninš led a rock band in the 1960s and wrote Russia's first rock opera. He returned to classical music in the 1970s and continues to write in classical and popular genres.

5/15/19 Anatoly Lepin (1907-1984) - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, No. 3, Op. 67

Lepin wrote -- among many other works - the State Anthem of the Latvian SSR. It was replaced when Latvia became independent in 1990.

5/16/19 Ester Mägi (1922 -) - Fantaisie bucolique

Mägi is often inspired by the folk music of her native Estonia. The Fantasie bucolique was completed in 1983 when her country was still part of the USSR.

5/17/19 Niyazi (1912-1984) - Rast, symphonic mugam

Niyazi based his work "Rast" on a traditional musical form of his native Azerbaijan. It remains his most popular work.