Nikolay Myaskovsky symphonies demonstrate composer's growth

Nikolay Myaskovsky is considered the Father of the Russian Symphony and with good reason. He wrote his first symphony in 1908 after studying with Rimsky-Korsakov. His 27th (and final) symphony was completed in 1949. His works frequently performed both before the Revolution and after it.

For Mysaskovky, the creation of big themes worthy of symphonic treatment -- and their organization -- just seemed to come naturally. This release features his first symphony and his thirteenth.

Myyaskovksy's first symphony was a student work and he revised it in 1921. By that time, he had composed three other symphonies, and his style had matured.

The revised symphony is a well-crafted work. For the revised version (heard on this release), Myaskovsky tightened up the first and third movements, and significantly reworked the orchestration. Myaskovsky's harmonies reminded me somewhat of Scriabin's, and the form, especially of the first movement, seemed quite formal.

Symphony No. 13 in B-minor was written in 1933 and is quite a different work indeed. During the eleven years since his revision of Symphony No. 1, Myaskovsky grew as a composer. The work is in a single movement, organized in three sections. The andante-agitato molto-andante organization inverts the traditional fast-slow-fast organization of three-movement works.

The harmonies are quite dissonant (though Myaskovsky never completely abandons tonality). The chromatic melodies also have a "modernist" character to them. And it was around this time that Soviet authorities accused him of formalism. Myaskovsky would retreat from the experimental harmonies of Symphony No. 13, leaving it a hint of a direction he might have taken had he lived in the West.

The Ural Youth Symphony Orchestra does a fine job with these works. I thought the first symphony lacked a little energy overall. And the middle part of the thirteenth, "agigtato molte e tenebroso" could have used a little more orchestral fire in my opinion.

But maestro Alexander Rubin makes up for that with the intensity of outer movements of the thirteenth. The orchestra beautifully conveys the emotion of the third part, marked "andante nostalgico." So all in all, good performances of unusual repertoire -- a combination that works for me.

Nikolay Myaskovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 13
Ural Youth Symphony Orchestra; Alexander Rudin, conductor
Naxos 8.573988