Classical symphonies by 20th century composers

Ralph Vaughan Williams

WILLIAMS Vaughan (1872-1958)

Vaughan Williams is one of the major composers of the first half of the 20th century, who played an important role in the revival of interest in British academic music. His legacy is very extensive: six operas, three ballets, nine symphonies, cantatas and oratorios, works for piano, organ and chamber ensembles, processing folk songs and many other works. In his work, he was inspired by the traditions of English masters of the 16th and 17th centuries and folk music. Williams' works are noted for their large-scale design, melodicism, masterful vocal performance and original orchestration.

Symphony No. 7 "Antarctic"

Based on musical accompaniment The Seventh, “Antarctic” Symphony was written for the film about Robert Scott’s feat - a work about the strength of the human spirit.

Execute: London Symphony Orchestra, dir. André Previn (recorded 1967)
Duration: 44:10
Format: ogg 320 kbps
Size: 94.3 MB
Links:
"WILLIAMS_Vaughan_(1972-1958).tar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/197195 - 09.16.2009 15:22

Charles Ives

IVES Charles (1874-1954)

American innovative composer, the most original figure in the history of American music. Ives passionately loved dissonances and tried out a lot of new ones in his work. expressive means(dodecaphony, polyrhythm, polytonality, quarter-tone writing, sound clusters, whole-tone sequences, aleatorics), and often much earlier than other composers. Ives's legacy includes many genres - vocal-choral, symphonic, chamber. A typical feature of his style is the frequent quotation of the melodies of church and civil hymns, spiritual songs, which Ives considered the true voice of his people.

Symphony No. 4

Execute: Mary Sauer - piano, Richard Webster - organ, Members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Chicago SO - Michael Tilson Thomas
Duration: 33:32
Format: ogg 320 kbps
Size: 72.9 MB
Links:
"IVES_Charles_(1874-1954).tar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/197671 - 09.17.2009 07:16

Arnold Schoenberg

SCHOENBERG Arnold (1874-1951)

Austrian, then American composer, conductor, musicologist and painter, representative musical direction Expressionism, the founder of atonal music and the 12-tone composition system (also known as “dodecaphony” or “serial technique”). Schoenberg was one of the most influential figures in Western music of the 20th century.

Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op.9
Execute: Ensemble Modern, Peter Etvs
Duration: 20:00
Format: ogg 320 kbps
Size: 43 MB
Links:
"SCHOENBERG_Arnold_(1874-1951).tar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/196973 - 09/16/2009 11:23

Havergal Brian

BRIAN Havergal (1876-1972)

I couldn’t find anything worthwhile about Brian in Russian. I suggest everyone read it in English on Wikipedia, which, in particular, talks about the grandiose First Symphony, which was included in the Guinness Book of Records for its duration and number of participants.

Symphony No. 1 "Gothic"

Execute: Slovak Opera Chorus, Slovak PO, Slovak Radio SO - Ondrej Lenard
Duration: 1:51:05
Format: ogg 320 kbps
Size: 216.9 MB
Links:
"BRIAN_Havergal_(1876-1972).part1.rar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/196125 - 09/15/2009 03:19
"BRIAN_Havergal_(1876-1972).part2.rar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/196172 - 09.15.2009 04:14
"BRIAN_Havergal_(1876-1972).part3.rar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/196184 - 09.15.2009 04:23

Anton Webern

WEBERN Anton von (1883-1945)

Disciple and follower of the creator of the so-called. Arnold Schoenberg's "atonal" school, Webern took its principles to extreme forms of expression. He used dodecaphonic and serial techniques in his compositions. His music is characterized by extreme aphorism, conciseness, laconicism, economy and concentration of musical expressive means, as well as rigor, sublimity and unreality musical images. Extreme sonic refinement is combined in Webern's music with a rigid constructive scheme and abstract thinking.
He is the author of symphonic, chamber-instrumental, vocal and choral works, of which only 31 are marked with opus numbers. He is also the author of literary works, poetry, the drama “The Dead” (1913), musical studies and articles, analyzes of his own music, a series of conversations “The Path to new music"published posthumously in 1960, etc.
Webern's work had a huge influence on the movements of the post-war musical avant-garde in the West, including such composers as Stravinsky, Boulez, Stockhausen, Nono, Maderna, Ligeti and others, as well as Russian composers Volkonsky, Denisov, Schnittke, Gubaidulin, Knaifel, Vustin, and many others.

Symphony in two movements for clarinet, bass clarinet, two horns, harp and strings (1927-1928), Op. 21

Execute: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, dir. Pierre Boulez
Duration: 9:44
Format: ogg 320 kbps
Size: 18.7 MB
Links:
"WEBERN_Anton_von_(1883-1945).tar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/197153 - 09.16.2009 14:30

Arthur Honegger

HONEGGER Arthur (1892-1955)

Swiss-French composer and music critic.

Symphony No. 4 "Basel Delights"

The fourth symphony is a kind of pastoral-lyrical intermezzo. Its title - "Basel Delights" - clarifies the program: peaceful contemplation idyllic paintings life and nature of Switzerland. In the music of the symphony, the voices of nature, shepherd tunes and themes born from Swiss folklore sing; it sounds somewhat muffled, as if shrouded in a haze of remoteness. It is noteworthy that despite the polyphonic writing and structural complexity individual parts(thus, the finale organically combines the features of rondo, passacaglia and fugue) the flow of the symphony’s music seems transparent and deceptively simple thanks to tonal clarity, the predominance of diatonics, sound balance between voices and the relief of all melodic lines.

Execute: Bavarian Radio Orchestra. dir. Charles Dutoit
Duration: 26:56
Format: ogg 320 kbps
Size: 53.5 MB
Links:
"HONEGGER_Arthur_(1892-1955).tar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/197431 - 09.17.2009 01:38

Paul Hindemith

HINDEMITH Paul (1895-1963)

Hindemith is one of the largest German composers of its time. Deeply responsive to modern era Hindemith sought extra-subjective forms of expression for this response and stayed away from musical fashion, including dodecaphony. His early works were written in the late Romantic style; later the composer turned to an expressionist style of composition, partly in the style of the early Arnold Schoenberg, and in the 1920s to a complex contrapuntal style. This period in Hindemith's work is often called "neoclassical", but his writings from this time are very different from the work of Stravinsky, to whom this term is usually applied. Hindemith's style of writing is closer to the contrapuntal language of Bach than to the clarity of Mozart's classicism.
In the 1930s, Hindemith from chamber music moves on to works for large orchestra. In 1933-35 he wrote one of his most famous operas- “The Artist Mathis”, the plot of which is based on the life of the artist Matthias Grunewald. This opera is highly respected among musicians, but, like most other operas of the 20th century, it is rarely staged. In this opera, Hindemith attempted to combine the neoclassicism of his earlier works and folk music. Subsequently, Hindemith used music from the opera “The Artist Mathis” in the symphony of the same name (3 parts of it are named after the paintings of the Isenheim Altarpiece, painted by Grunewald: “Concert of Angels”, “Entombment”, “The Temptations of St. Anthony”), which became one one of the composer's most famous works.

Symphony "The Artist Mathis"

Execute: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, cond. Herbert Blomstedt
Duration: 27:12
Format: ogg 320 kbps
Size: 53.9 MB
Links:
"HINDEMITH_Paul_(1895-1963).tar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/197417 - 09/17/2009 01:12

William Walton

WALTON William (1902-1983)

Walton's style was influenced by the writings of I.F. Stravinsky and S.S. Prokofiev, and also jazz music. His style is characterized by rhythmic energy, bittersweet harmony, romantic melody and brilliant orchestration. The work includes works for various compositions: for orchestra, for choir, chamber music, ceremonial music, as well as music for films. His early writings, especially the poem Faade brought him notoriety, but subsequently his orchestral symphonic works and the oratorio Belshazzar's Feast caused worldwide success and celebrity.

Symphony No. 1 in B minor

Execute: Philharmonia Orchestra, dir. Bernard Haitink
Duration: 51:11
Format: ogg 320 kbps
Size: 107.3 MB
Links
"WALTON_William_(1902-1983).tar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/197146 - 09.16.2009 14:19

Olivier Messiaen

MESSIAEN Olivier (1908-1992)

Messiaen's creative individuality began to take shape at the turn of the 20s and 30s. Musical language Messiana is formed in the active study and rethinking of modern music, romantic) and pre-classical. The stylistic features of Messiaen's works of these years are realized in extreme dependence, first of all, on the music of Debussy. Messiaen became Debussy's successor in the characteristic features of the purely French tradition of plastic perception of phenomena. He adopted from the music of his great compatriot the idea of ​​a fluid flow of moods, without sharp shifts, merging as a whole into one “lasting state”, varied in shades.

Turangalila-Symphony ("Song of Love")

Turangalla Symphony (French: Turangalla Symphonie) - one of the most popular compositions French composer Olivier Messiaen. It is a symphony with solo piano parts and Martenot waves. The work has a program associated with Indian mythology (translated from Sanskrit its name means “Song of Love”).
The symphony was written in 1946-1948. Together vocal cycle“Yaravi, Songs of Love and Death” (1945) and the choral “Five Rehashes” (1949) form a triptych, inspired, according to the composer, by the legend of Tristan and Isolde. All three works are endowed with lush sensuality, exotic flavor and complex - and at the same time archaic, rhythmic organization of musical material. In addition, it was during that period that the work of Olivier Messiaen came into contact with shocking and kitsch aesthetics, which was perhaps most clearly reflected in the music of Turangalila.
The work remains the only example of the symphony genre in the composer's work. At the same time, this is one of the most striking examples of this genre in the musical culture of the 20th century.
“Turangalila Symphony” is one of the most complex works world orchestral repertoire, which places very high demands on almost every orchestra member. The full 10-movement version of the work lasts almost an hour and a half (in some recordings - exactly one and a half hours). The complexity and length of the score prevent its widespread performance, so most music lovers know the work primarily in recordings.

Execute: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, dir. Riccardo Chailly (recorded 1993)
Duration: 76:32
Format: ogg 320 kbps
Size: 158.2 MB
Links:
"MESSIAEN_Olivier_(1908-1992).part1.rar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/196738 - 09/16/2009 05:32
"MESSIAEN_Olivier_(1908-1992).part2.rar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/196753 - 09/16/2009 05:59

Benjamin Britten

BRITTEN Benjamin (1913-1976)

The work of B. Britten marked the revival of opera in England, a new (after three centuries of silence) outlet English music onto the world stage. Based on national tradition and having mastered the widest range of modern means of expression, Britten created many works in all genres.
Britten began composing at the age of eight. At the age of 12 he wrote “Simple Symphony” for string orchestra (2nd ed. - 1934). In 1929, Britten entered the Royal College of Music (Conservatory), where his directors were J. Ireland (composition) and A. Benjamin (piano). In 1933, the nineteen-year-old composer's Sinfonietta was performed, attracting the attention of the public. After her appears a whole series chamber works included in the programs of international music festivals and laid the foundation for the European fame of their author. These first works by Britten were characterized by a chamber sound, clarity and conciseness of form, which brought closer English composer with representatives of the neoclassical movement (I. Stravinsky, P. Hindemith). In the 30s Britten writes a lot of music for theater and cinema. Along with this special attention is given to chamber vocal genres, where the style of future operas gradually matures. The theme, color, and choice of texts are extremely diverse: “Our Ancestors Are Hunters” (1936) is a satire ridiculing the nobility; the cycle “Illuminations” based on poems by A. Rimbaud (1939) and “Seven Sonnets by Michelangelo” (1940). Britten seriously studies folk music, arranges English, Scottish, and French songs.
In 1939, at the beginning of the war, Britten left for the USA, where he entered the circle of advanced creative intelligentsia. As a response to tragic events unfolded on the European continent, the cantata “Ballad of Heroes” (1939) arose, dedicated to the fighters against fascism in Spain. In the late 30s - early 40s. predominates in Britten's work instrumental music: at this time, piano and violin concertos, a Symphony-Requiem, “Canadian Carnival” for orchestra, “Scottish Ballad” for two pianos and orchestra, 2 quartets, etc. were created. Like I. Stravinsky, Britten freely uses the heritage of the past: so suites from the music of G. Rossini appear (" Musical evenings" and "Musical mornings").

Symphony-Requiem, Op. 20

Execute: Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, cond. Sir Simon Rattle (recorded 1991)
Duration: 20:28
Format: ogg 295 kbps
Size: 33.8 MB
Links:
"BRITTEN_Benjamin_(1913-1976).tar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/196202 - 09.15.2009 04:42

Luciano Berio

BERIO Luciano (1925-2003)

Berio's work is characterized by avant-garde searches for a new acoustic environment and musical texture, the use of serial technology, electronic music. "Magnificat" for two sopranos, mixed choir, two pianos, eight woodwinds and a drummer brought the 25-year-old composer to public attention for the first time. Already in the instrumentation of "Magnificat" Berio's passion for sound experiments was revealed.
Berio combined instrumental sounds with electronic noise and the sounds of human speech, for example in the play Ital. "Temar - Omaggio a Joyce" (1958) for voice and tape recorder. In this work, as in his other works, Berio entered into a dialogue with modern literature.
The desire to unite various spheres of art and nature in a new sounding form led to Berio again and again turning to quotes from a wide variety of musical material. Thus, in his “Symphony” (1968) for eight voices and orchestra, he quotes in the third movement the scherzo from Gustav Mahler’s C minor symphony. However, Berio and other contemporary composers of the 60s were united not only by this collage technique, but also by a penchant for stage music and experimental theater. Already his work “Circle”, completed in 1960, demonstrates a stage concept built on gestures and the movement of vocalists around the stage.

Execute: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, dir. Riccardo Chailly
Duration: 31:02
Format:flac
Size: 131.8 MB
Links:
"BERIO_Luciano_(1925-2003).part1.rar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/195997 - 09/15/2009 01:02
"BERIO_Luciano_(1925-2003).part2.rar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/196007 - 09/15/2009 01:19

Hans Werner Henze

HENZE Hans Werner (1926-)

Teacher's son. He began studying music in Brunswick, but his studies were interrupted by the war and then captivity. In 1945 he worked at the Bielefeld Theater, then continued his studies in Heidelberg with Wolfgang Fortner. He worked in theaters in Konstanz and Wiesbaden. Participated in the Darmstadt Summer School of New Music.
Not accepting the political climate of Germany and the homophobic sentiments in German society, he moved to Italy in 1953. Lives in Marino (Lazio). In the 1960s and 1970s he adhered to the extreme left political views, member of the Italian Communist Party. He taught in Cuba.
He was influenced by Stravinsky, twelve-tone technique and serialism, uses elements of jazz and rock music.
Henze owns 10 symphonies, more than a dozen ballets, over 20 operas and many other works. He is known primarily for his operatic works, librettos for which, as well as for his ballets, were written by major poets and prose writers (W. H. Auden, J. Cocteau, I. Bachmann, H. M. Enscenberger, W. Hildesheimer, E. Bond etc.). He works in cinema, wrote music for films by F. Schlöndorff, A. Rene, his music was used in W. Friedkin’s film The Exorcist (The Exorcist, 1973).
A large place in Henze’s work is occupied by modifications and adaptations of European music of the 17th-20th centuries, the phenomena of stylization and parody.

Symphony No. 8
Execute: Grzenich-Orchester Kln - Markus Stenz
Duration: 25:17
Format: ogg 320 kbps
Size: 53.3 MB
Links:
"HENZE_Hans_Werner_(1926-).tar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/197330 - 09.16.2009 17:51

Henryk Górecki

GRECKI Henryk (b. 1933)

Górecki’s mature music is an example of sacred minimalism, a direction also represented by Arvo Pärt, Peteris Vasks, Gia Kancheli, Sofia Gubaidulina and others. His key and most famous work is the Third Symphony for soprano and orchestra “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” (1976). Performed by Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta (1992), the recording of the symphony sold more than a million copies and brought the composer widespread worldwide fame.

Symphony No. 3, Op. 36 (1976)

Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sad Songs) is the most popular of Henryk Górecki's works (1976, op. 36). The last of the composer's three symphonies. It was created in October-December 1976 in Katowice.
The symphony was written for solo soprano and orchestra. The text of the first part was the Lamentation of the Virgin Mary from the Świętokrzyski Monastery (Monastery of the Holy Cross) (15th century text), in which the Virgin Mary addresses her Son dying on the cross, trying to alleviate His suffering. The second part is written on the words scratched by 18-year-old Helena Wanda Blazusiakovna from the Polish Tatras on the wall of the Gestapo prison in Zakopane and addressed to her mother and the Virgin Mary (“Oh, mother, don’t cry, don’t. Queen of Heaven, always be my support "). The third part is variations on a theme of a folk song from the Opole region of Poland.
In 1993, a recording of Górecki's Third Symphony (featuring Dawn Upshaw, conducted by David Zinman) reached number one on the hit parade. classical music Gramophone magazine and entered the top ten best-selling records in the world (sixth place). Since then, Górecki's symphony has become one of the most popular symphonies of the second half of the 20th century.

Execute: Henryk Grecki, Dawn Upshaw, London Sinf., Zinmann
Duration: 53:41
Format:flac
Size: 226.9 MB
Links:
"GORECKI_Henryk_(b._1933).part1.rar" - Penderecki’s work is imbued with the ideas of ecumenism. Being a Catholic, Penderecki often turns to the Orthodox tradition (“Matins”, 1970-1971; “Glory to St. Daniel, Prince of Moscow”, 1997).
Penderecki takes great interest in Russian culture, which manifested itself in the creation of the works “Glory to St. Daniel, Prince of Moscow” (1997), “The Passion of John” (based on texts from the Bible, Bulgakov and Dostoevsky; currently unfinished) and an oratorio on texts by Sergei Yesenin (not finished, exact title unknown).
Most of Penderecki's late works were written to order. Among the musicians whose mastery the composer's works were based on is Mstislav Rostropovich. However, the need to follow orders does not limit creative freedom composer.

Symphony No. 2 "Christmas"

The Second Symphony (“Christmas”) is a symphony by Krzysztof Penderecki, written in the winter of 1979-1980.
The name “Rozhdestvenskaya” arose due to the fact that the symphony’s music used the melody of the popular Christmas song “ Silent night"(Silent Night).
The Second Symphony is the first of the symphonies written by Penderecki during the neoclassical period of his work. Philip Glass never divided music into academic music and everything else. He also does not like the definition of the framework of his own creativity by the “minimalism” movement. He is generally against any definitions.
Philip Glass received his classical composition education while studying at the Juilliard School in New York. He then went to Paris and studied with the composer Nadia Boulanger. Here fate collided with the great Indian musician Ravi Shankar. Indian music fascinated Glass so much that for several years he studied non-European music. musical culture not only in India, but also in North Africa and the Himalayas.
Glass, although he denies calling himself a minimalist, his passion for non-European music led him precisely to this trend.
But despite his passion for non-European music, Glass writes a lot in academic genres. He has 6 operas, and his first opera, “Einstein on the Beach,” staged at the Metropolitan Opera in 1976, brought the composer wide fame in America. In addition, Glass is the author of several symphonies, a violin concerto and other works in academic genres.

Symphony No. 6 "Ode to Plutonium"

Glass's sixth symphony was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Brucknerhaus Linz for the composer's 65th birthday celebrations. The libretto was Allen Ginsberg's Ode to Plutonium. The three parts of the symphony correspond to the three parts of the poem. The first is “a furious cry of protest against radiation pollution,” the second is a symbol of “healing,” and the third is “self-awareness.”

Execute: Bruckner Orchester Linz, conductor Dennis Russell Davies
Duration: 50:45
Format: mp3 320 kbps
Size: 112.7 MB
Links:
"GLASS_Philip_(b._1937).part1.rar" - http://arkhangelsk.data.cod.ru/197402 - 09.17.2009 00:45
"GLASS_Philip_(b._1937).part2.rar" -

Word "symphony" translated from Greek as “consonance”. And indeed, the sound of many instruments in an orchestra can only be called music when they are in tune, and do not each produce sounds on its own.

In Ancient Greece, this was the name for a pleasant combination of sounds, singing together in unison. IN Ancient Rome This is how the ensemble or orchestra began to be called. In the Middle Ages a symphony was called secular music in general and some musical instruments.

The word has other meanings, but they all carry the meaning of connection, involvement, harmonious combination; for example, a symphony is also called the principle of relationship between the church and secular power formed in the Byzantine Empire.

But today we will only talk about a musical symphony.

Varieties of symphony

Classical symphony- this is a piece of music in a sonata cyclic form, intended for performance by a symphony orchestra.

To the symphony (in addition to symphony orchestra) choir and vocals may be included. There are symphonies-suites, symphonies-rhapsodies, symphonies-fantasies, symphonies-ballads, symphonies-legends, symphonies-poems, symphonies-requiems, symphonies-ballets, symphonies-dramas and theatrical symphonies as a type of opera.

A classical symphony usually has 4 movements:

first part - in fast pace (allegro ) , in sonata form;

second part - in at a slow pace , usually in the form of variations, rondo, rondo sonata, complex three-movement, less often in the form of a sonata;

third part - scherzo or minuet- in three-part form da capo with trio (that is, according to the A-trio-A scheme);

fourth part - in fast pace, in sonata form, in rondo or rondo sonata form.

But there are symphonies with fewer (or more) parts. There are also one-movement symphonies.

Program Symphony is a symphony with a specific content, which is set out in the program or expressed in the title. If the symphony has a title, then this title is the minimum program, for example, “Symphony Fantastique” by G. Berlioz.

From the history of the symphony

The creator of the classical form of symphony and orchestration is considered Haydn.

And the prototype of the symphony is the Italian overture(an instrumental orchestral piece performed before the start of any performance: opera, ballet), which developed at the end of the 17th century. Significant contributions to the development of the symphony were made by Mozart And Beethoven. These three composers called "Viennese classics". The Viennese classics created a high type of instrumental music, in which all the richness figurative content embodied in a perfect artistic form. The process of formation of the symphony orchestra - its permanent composition and orchestral groups - also coincided with this time.

V.A. Mozart

Mozart wrote in all forms and genres that existed in his era, attached special importance to opera, but also paid great attention symphonic music. Due to the fact that throughout his life he worked simultaneously on operas and symphonies, his instrumental music is distinguished by its melodiousness opera aria and dramatic conflict. Mozart created more than 50 symphonies. The most popular were the last three symphonies - No. 39, No. 40 and No. 41 (“Jupiter”).

K. Schlosser "Beethoven at work"

Beethoven created 9 symphonies, but in terms of the development of symphonic form and orchestration, he can be called the largest symphonic composer of the classical period. In his Ninth Symphony, the most famous, all its parts are fused into one whole by a cross-cutting theme. In this symphony Beethoven introduced vocal parts, after which other composers began to do this. In the form of a symphony he said a new word R. Schumann.

But already in the second half of the 19th century. the strict forms of the symphony began to change. The four-part system became optional: it appeared one-part symphony (Myaskovsky, Boris Tchaikovsky), symphony from 11 parts(Shostakovich) and even from 24 parts(Hovaness). The classical finale at a fast tempo was supplanted by a slow finale (P.I. Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, Mahler's Third and Ninth Symphonies).

The authors of the symphonies were F. Schubert, F. Mendelssohn, J. Brahms, A. Dvorak, A. Bruckner, G. Mahler, Jean Sibelius, A. Webern, A. Rubinstein, P. Tchaikovsky, A. Borodin, N. Rimsky- Korsakov, N. Myaskovsky, A. Scriabin, S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich and others.

Its composition, as we have already said, took shape in the era of the Viennese classics.

The basis of a symphony orchestra is four groups of instruments: bowed strings(violins, violas, cellos, double basses), woodwinds(flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone with all their varieties - ancient recorder, shawl, chalumeau, etc., as well as a number of folk instruments - balaban, duduk, zhaleika, flute, zurna), brass(horn, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, trombone, tuba), drums(timpani, xylophone, vibraphone, bells, drums, triangle, cymbals, tambourine, castanets, tom-tom and others).

Sometimes other instruments are included in the orchestra: harp, piano, organ(keyboard and wind musical instrument, the largest type of musical instrument), celesta(a small keyboard-percussion musical instrument that looks like a piano and sounds like bells), harpsichord.

Harpsichord

Big a symphony orchestra can include up to 110 musicians , small– no more than 50.

The conductor decides how to seat the orchestra. The arrangement of performers in a modern symphony orchestra is aimed at achieving coherent sonority. In 50-70 years. XX century became widespread "American seating": the first and second violins are placed to the left of the conductor; on the right are violas and cellos; in the depths there are woodwinds and brass winds, double basses; on the left are drums.

Symphony orchestra musicians' seating arrangement

Publications in the Music section

Five great symphonies of Russian composers

In the world of music, there are unique, iconic works, the sounds of which write the chronicle of musical life. Some of these works represent a revolutionary breakthrough in art, others are distinguished by a complex and deep concept, others amaze with the extraordinary history of creation, fourths are a unique presentation of the composer's style, and fifths... are so beautiful in music that it is impossible not to mention them. To the credit of musical art, there are a lot of such works, and as an example, let's talk about five selected Russian symphonies, the uniqueness of which is difficult to overestimate.

Second (heroic) symphony by Alexander Borodin (B-flat minor, 1869–1876)

In Russia, by the second half of the 19th century, a fix idea had matured among composers: it was time to create their own, Russian symphony. By that time, in Europe, the symphony celebrated its centenary, having gone through all stages of the evolutionary chain: from the operatic overture, which left theatrical stage and performed separately from the opera, to such colossuses as Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (1824) or Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique (1830). In Russia, the fashion for this genre did not catch on: they tried it once, twice (Dmitry Bortnyansky - Concert Symphony, 1790; Alexander Alyabyev - symphonies in E minor, E-flat major) - and they abandoned this idea in order to return to it decades later in the works of Anton Rubinstein, Miliya Balakirev, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Borodin and others.

The mentioned composers judged absolutely correctly, realizing that the only thing that a Russian symphony can boast of against the backdrop of European abundance is its national flavor. And Borodin has no equal in this. His music breathes the expanse of endless plains, the prowess of Russian knights, the sincerity of folk songs with their aching, touching note. The emblem of the symphony was main topic the first part, upon hearing which, the composer’s friend and mentor, musicologist Vladimir Stasov, suggested two names: first “Lioness”, and then - a more appropriate idea: “Bogatyrskaya”.

Unlike the symphonic works of the same Beethoven or Berlioz, based on human passions and experiences, the Bogatyr Symphony tells about time, history and people. There is no drama in the music, no pronounced conflict: it resembles a series of smoothly changing paintings. And this is fundamentally reflected in the structure of the symphony, where the slow movement, usually in second place, and the lively scherzo (traditionally coming after it) change places, and the finale, in a generalized form, repeats the ideas of the first movement. Borodin in this way managed to achieve maximum contrast in the musical illustration of the national epic, and Bogatyrskaya’s structural model subsequently served as a model for the epic symphonies of Glazunov, Myaskovsky and Prokofiev.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Sixth (pathetique) symphony (B minor, 1893)

There is so much evidence, interpretation, and attempts to explain its content that the entire description of this work could consist of quotes. Here is one of them, from Tchaikovsky’s letter to his nephew Vladimir Davydov, to whom the symphony is dedicated: “During the trip, I had the idea of ​​another symphony, this time a program one, but with a program that would remain a mystery to everyone. This program is the most imbued with subjectivity, and often during my travels, mentally composing it, I cried a lot.”. What kind of program is this? Tchaikovsky confesses this to his cousin Anna Merkling, who suggested that he described his life in this symphony. "Yes, you guessed it right", - confirmed the composer.

In the early 1890s, the thought of writing memoirs repeatedly visited Tchaikovsky. Sketches for his unfinished symphony called “Life” date back to this time. Judging by the surviving drafts, the composer planned to depict certain abstract stages of life: youth, thirst for activity, love, disappointment, death. However, the objective plan was not enough for Tchaikovsky, and the work was interrupted, but in the Sixth Symphony he was guided exclusively by personal experiences. How sick the composer’s soul must have been for music to be born with such an incredible, amazing power of influence!

The lyrical-tragic first part and the finale are inextricably linked with the image of death (in the development of the first part the theme of the spiritual chant “Rest with the Saints” is cited), as Tchaikovsky himself testified to, referring to this symphony in response to the proposal of Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov to write “Requiem” " That is why the bright lyrical intermezzo (five-beat waltz in the second part) and the solemn and triumphal scherzo are so keenly perceived. There are many discussions about the role of the latter in the composition. It seems that Tchaikovsky was trying to show the futility of earthly glory and happiness in the face of inevitable loss, thereby confirming the great saying of Solomon: “Everything passes. This too will pass".

Third Symphony (“Divine Poem”) by Alexander Scriabin (C minor, 1904)

If you happen to visit the Alexander Scriabin House-Museum in Moscow on a dark autumn evening, you will certainly feel the eerie and mysterious atmosphere that surrounded the composer during his lifetime. A strange structure of colored light bulbs on the table in the living room, plump volumes on philosophy and occultism behind the cloudy glass of the bookcase door, and finally, an ascetic-looking bedroom where Scriabin, who had been afraid all his life of dying from blood poisoning, died of sepsis. gloomy and mysterious place, which perfectly demonstrates the composer’s worldview.

No less indicative of Scriabin’s thinking is his Third Symphony, which opens the so-called middle period of creativity. At this time, Scriabin gradually formulated his philosophical views, the essence of which is that the whole world is the result of one’s own creativity and one’s own thoughts (solipsism in its extreme stage) and that the creation of the world and the creation of art are essentially similar processes. These processes proceed like this: from the primary chaos of creative languor, two principles arise - active and passive (male and female). The first carries divine energy, the second gives rise to the material world with its natural beauties. The interaction of these principles creates cosmic eros, leading to ecstasy - the free triumph of the spirit.

No matter how strange all of the above may sound, Scriabin sincerely believed in this model of Genesis, according to which the Third Symphony was written. Its first part is called “Struggle” (the struggle of a man-slave, submissive to the supreme Ruler of the world, and a man-god), the second - “Pleasures” (a person surrenders to the joys of the sensory world, dissolves in nature), and, finally, the third - “Divine play" (the liberated spirit, "creating the universe with the sole power of his creative will," comprehends the "sublime joy of free activity"). But philosophy is philosophy, and the music itself is marvelous, revealing all the timbre capabilities of a symphony orchestra.

Sergei Prokofiev's First (Classical) Symphony (D major, 1916–1917)

The year is 1917, difficult war years, revolution. It would seem that art should frown gloomily and tell about painful things. But sad thoughts are not for Prokofiev’s music - sunny, sparkling, youthfully charming. This is his First Symphony.

The composer was interested in the work of the Viennese classics even in his student years. Now a work a la Haydn has come from his pen. “It seemed to me that if Haydn had lived to this day, he would have retained his style of writing and at the same time adopted something new.”, - Prokofiev commented on his brainchild.

The composer chose a modest composition for the orchestra, again in the spirit Viennese classicism- without heavy copper. The texture and orchestration are light and transparent, the scale of the work is not large, the composition is harmonious and logical. In a word, it is very reminiscent of the work of classicism, mistakenly born in the twentieth century. However, there are also purely Prokofiev emblems, for example, his favorite genre of gavotte in the third movement instead of scherzo (later the composer uses this musical material in the ballet “Romeo and Juliet”), as well as a sharp “spicy” harmony and an abyss of musical humor.

Seventh (Leningrad) Symphony by Dmitri Shostakovich (C major, 1941)

On July 2, 1942, twenty-year-old pilot Lieutenant Litvinov, miraculously breaking through the enemy encirclement, managed to bring besieged Leningrad medicines and four plump music notebooks with the score of the Seventh Symphony by D.D. Shostakovich, and the next day a short note appeared in Leningradskaya Pravda: “The score of Dmitry Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony was delivered to Leningrad by plane. Its public performance will take place in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic".

An event for which the history of music has never known analogues: in a besieged city, terribly exhausted musicians (everyone who survived took part) under the baton of conductor Carl Eliasberg performed Shostakovich’s new symphony. The same one that the composer composed in the first weeks of the blockade, until he and his family were evacuated to Kuibyshev (Samara). On the day of the Leningrad premiere, August 9, 1942, the Great Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic was filled to capacity with exhausted city residents with translucent faces, but at the same time in elegant clothes, and military personnel who had come straight from the front line. The symphony was broadcast to the streets through radio speakers. That evening, the whole world stood still and listened to the unprecedented feat of the musicians.

...Remarkable, but famous theme in the spirit of Ravel's "Bolero", which is now usually personified with a fascist army mindlessly moving and destroying everything in its path, was written by Shostakovich even before the start of the war. However, it was quite naturally included in the first part of the Leningrad Symphony, taking the place of the so-called “invasion episode”. The life-affirming ending also turned out to be prophetic, anticipating the longed-for Victory, from which it was still separated by such a long three and a half years...

Melodies and songs of the Russian people inspired creativity famous composers second half of the 19th century. Among them were P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.P. Mussorgsky, M.I. Glinka and A.P. Borodin. Their traditions were continued by a whole galaxy of outstanding musical figures. Russian composers of the 20th century are still popular.

Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin

Creativity of A.N. Scriabin (1872 - 1915), a Russian composer and talented pianist, teacher, and innovator, cannot leave anyone indifferent. In his original and impulsive music, mystical moments are sometimes heard. The composer is attracted and attracted by the image of fire. Even in the titles of his works, Scriabin often repeats words such as fire and light. He tried to find the possibility of combining sound and light in his works.

The composer's father, Nikolai Alexandrovich Scriabin, was a famous Russian diplomat and active state councilor. Mother - Lyubov Petrovna Skryabina (nee Shchetinina), was known as a very talented pianist. She graduated with honors from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Her professional career began successfully, but soon after the birth of her son she died of consumption. In 1878, Nikolai Alexandrovich completed his studies and received an appointment to the Russian embassy in Constantinople. The future composer's upbringing was continued by his close relatives - his grandmother Elizaveta Ivanovna, her sister Maria Ivanovna and his father's sister Lyubov Alexandrovna.

Despite the fact that at the age of five Scriabin mastered playing the piano, and a little later began to study musical compositions, according to family tradition, he received a military education. He graduated from the 2nd Moscow Cadet Corps. At the same time, he took private lessons in piano and music theory. Later he entered the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a small gold medal.

At the beginning of its creative activity Scriabin consciously followed Chopin and chose the same genres. However, even at that time his own talent had already emerged. At the beginning of the 20th century, he wrote three symphonies, then “Poem of Ecstasy” (1907) and “Prometheus” (1910). It is interesting that the composer supplemented the score of “Prometheus” with a light keyboard part. He was the first to use light music, the purpose of which is characterized by revealing music by the method of visual perception.

The composer's accidental death interrupted his work. He never realized his plan to create “Mystery” - a symphony of sounds, colors, movements, smells. In this work, Scriabin wanted to tell all of humanity his innermost thoughts and inspire them to create a new world, marked by the union of the Universal Spirit and Matter. His most significant works were only a preface to this grandiose project.

Famous Russian composer, pianist, conductor S.V. Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943) was born into a wealthy noble family. Rachmaninov's grandfather was professional musician. His first piano lessons were given to him by his mother, and later they invited music teacher A.D. Ornatskaya. In 1885, his parents sent him to a private boarding school with the professor of the Moscow Conservatory N.S. Zverev. Order and discipline in educational institution had a significant influence on the formation of the future character of the composer. He later graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a gold medal. While still a student, Rachmaninov was very popular among the Moscow public. He has already created his “First Piano Concerto”, as well as some other romances and plays. And his “Prelude in C sharp minor” became a very popular composition. Great P.I. Tchaikovsky drew attention to graduation work Sergei Rachmaninov - the opera “Oleko”, which he wrote under the impression of the poem by A.S. Pushkin "Gypsies". Pyotr Ilyich achieved its production in Bolshoi Theater, tried to help with the inclusion of this work in the theater’s repertoire, but unexpectedly died.

From the age of twenty, Rachmaninov taught at several institutes and gave private lessons. At the invitation of the famous philanthropist, theatrical and musical figure Savva Mamontov, at the age of 24 the composer became the second conductor of the Moscow Russian Private Opera. There he became friends with F.I. Chaliapin.

Rachmaninov's career was interrupted on March 15, 1897 due to the non-acceptance of his innovative First Symphony by the St. Petersburg public. Reviews of this work were truly devastating. But the composer’s biggest disappointment was the negative review left by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, whose opinion Rachmaninov greatly valued. After this, he fell into a prolonged depression, which he managed to get out of with the help of hypnotist N.V. Dalia.

In 1901, Rachmaninov completed work on the Second Piano Concerto. And from this moment his active creative activity as a composer and pianist began. Rachmaninov's unique style combined Russian church chants, romanticism and impressionism. He considered melody to be the main leading principle in music. This found its greatest expression in the author’s favorite work, the poem “Bells,” which he wrote for orchestra, choir and soloists.

At the end of 1917, Rachmaninov and his family left Russia, worked in Europe, and then went to America. The composer had a hard time experiencing the break with his homeland. During the Great Patriotic War he gave charity concerts, the proceeds of which he sent to the Red Army Fund.

Stravinsky's music is distinguished by its stylistic diversity. At the very beginning of his creative activity, it was based on Russian musical traditions. And then in the works one can hear the influence of neoclassicism, characteristic of the music of France of that period and dodecaphony.

Igor Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum (now the city of Lomonosov), in 1882. The father of the future composer Fyodor Ignatievich is a famous opera singer, one of the soloists of the Mariinsky Theater. His mother was pianist and singer Anna Kirillovna Kholodovskaya. From the age of nine, teachers taught him piano lessons. After graduating from high school, at the request of his parents, he entered the law faculty of the university. For two years, from 1904 to 1906, he took lessons from N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, under whose guidance he wrote his first works - a scherzo, a piano sonata, and the suite “Faun and Shepherdess”. Sergei Diaghilev highly appreciated the composer's talent and offered him cooperation. The result of the joint work was three ballets (staged by S. Diaghilev) - “The Firebird”, “Petrushka”, “The Rite of Spring”.

Shortly before the First World War, the composer left for Switzerland, then to France. In his work comes new period. He studies music XVIII styles century, writes the opera “Oedipus the King” and music for the ballet “Apollo Musagete”. His author's handwriting changed several times over time. The composer lived in the USA for many years. His last famous work"Requiem". A special feature of the composer Stravinsky is the ability to constantly change styles, genres and musical directions.

Composer Prokofiev was born in 1891 in a small village in the Ekaterinoslav province. The world of music was opened to him by his mother, a good pianist who often performed works by Chopin and Beethoven. She became a real musical mentor for her son and, in addition, taught him German and French.

At the beginning of 1900, young Prokofiev managed to attend the ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” and listen to the operas “Faust” and “Prince Igor”. The impression received from the performances of Moscow theaters was expressed in own creativity. He writes the opera "The Giant" and then the overture to " Deserted shores" The parents soon realize that they cannot continue teaching their son music. Soon the aspiring composer, at the age of eleven, was introduced to the famous Russian composer and teacher S.I. Taneyev, who personally asked R.M. Gliera to study musical composition with Sergei. S. Prokofiev passed the entrance exams to the St. Petersburg Conservatory at the age of 13. At the beginning of his career, the composer toured and performed a lot. However, his work caused misunderstanding among the public. This was due to the features of the works, which were expressed in the following:

• modernist style;
• destruction of established musical canons;
• extravagance and ingenuity of compositional techniques

In 1918, S. Prokofiev left and returned only in 1936. Already in the USSR, he wrote music for films, operas, and ballets. But after he was accused, along with a number of other composers, of “formalism”, he practically moved to live in the country, but continued to write musical works. His opera “War and Peace”, ballets “Romeo and Juliet”, “Cinderella” have become the property of world culture.

Russian composers of the 20th century, who lived at the turn of the century, not only preserved the traditions of the previous generation of creative intelligentsia, but also created their own unique art, for which the works of P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.I. Glinka, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.