David Oistrakh in Australia

In 1958 David Oistrakh became the first official Soviet artist to perform in Australia. At a time when there were no official diplomatic relationships between Australia and the USSR, Oistrakh’s tour was not only a musically significant event but was also important in developing cultural cooperation and friendship between the two countries.

David Oistrakh holding the souvenir boomerang presented to him at Mascot upon his arrival, and Oistrakh's accompanist Vladimir Yampolsky. Taken from 'Soviet Violinist in Australia', The Canberra Times, 28 May 1958, 5. Accessed on http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136298250.

Oistrakh arrived in Australia on May 27th 1958, after his New Zealand tour. He came alongside his wife, accompanist Vladimir Yampolskiy, and secretary/interpreter Nikolai Arte(a?)mov. His main concerts were scheduled for Melbourne (May 29th, June 3rd, June 5th), Sydney (June 7th, 10th, 12th, 17th), Brisbane (June 14th), and Adelaide (June 30th). The works performed by Oistrakh and Yampolskiy included Beethoven's Sonata in D major Op 12 No 1, Brahms's Sonata in D minor Op 108, J. S. Bach's Sonata in G major, Hindemith's Sonata in E flat major Op 11 No 1, Ravel's Tzigane, Vitali's Chaconne, Prokofiev's Sonata No 1, Tartini's 'Devil's Trill' Sonata, Szymanowski's Poems-Myths, and Vladigerov's Paraphrase on a theme of the Bulgarian dance 'Horo'. Oistrakh also performed the Tchaikovsky and Beethoven Violin Concertos.

David Oistrakh at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music (now Sydney Conservatorium of Music), 1958.
Thank you to Julie Simonds for allowing me to share this photo.

Oistrakh’s recitals were a great success and were met with ‘unprecedented enthusiasm’, with the Tribune reporting people queuing up from 7am in the hope of getting a returned ticket for one of the last concerts that night. When the Director of the NSW State Conservatorium Bernard Heinze mentioned to David Oistrakh that many students were not able to hear him play, Oistrakh immediately offered to perform a recital for the students. (Although Oistrakh suggested it be free, Heinze insisted a 6 shillings entry fee be paid). The recital was held on 6th July 1958. The Australian violinist Charmian Gadd (then a student) was chosen to make a thank you speech and another student from the Conservatorium High School, called Tanya, translated it.

Recordings of a number of Oistrakh’s Australian concerts were able to reach regional audiences, being broadcast by ABC regional stations. Enthusiasm for Oistrakh’s concerts is also seen in the letter Mona Barry from Canberra had written to the Canberra Times newspaper expressing dissatisfaction to the tour organisers that Canberra had not been included in Oistrakh’s tour.

During his travels through Australia, Oistrakh bought a violin from a ‘Wagga garage proprietor’. The violin was a Stradivarius copy made by the craftsman Arthur Edward Smith in Sydney 20 years earlier.

Oistrakh was welcomed by and became acquainted with many Australian musicians.

David Oistrakh at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music (now Sydney Conservatorium of Music), 1958.
Thank you to Julie Simonds for allowing me to share this photo.

When performing the Tchaikovsky and Beethoven Violin Concertos with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Oistrakh worked with the conductor Nicolai Malko, with whom he had already collaborated earlier in his career. Charmian Gadd recalls people being moved to tears by Oistrakh playing the slow movement of F. J. Haydn’s Concerto in C major in memory of the French violinist Jacques Thibaud.

David Oistrakh at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music (now Sydney Conservatorium of Music), 1958.
Thank you to Julie Simonds for allowing me to share this photo.

On June 16th at 8pm there was a welcome reception with some 600 guests at the Lower Sydney Town Hall, organised by the Anglo-Soviet Friendship Society. Australian compositions were performed, and the Director of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music Bernard Heinze delivered an address. The Sydney artists taking part in the event included Ian Wilson, Franz Holford, Raymond Hanson, Ian Ritchie and Phyllis McDonald. From his end, Oistrakh responded with a performance of the Prokofiev Sonata for Violin and Piano No 2. After the concert, the composer Alfred Hill presented Oistrakh with the tapes of two of his works and the sheet music of Australian compositions. Earlier on, in Melbourne, there had also been a performance of Australian music organised for Oistrakh to hear, which he was then quoted in the Tribune to have referred to as ‘magnificent Australian music played by first class artists’. And on 6th June, music critics, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and J. and N. Tait executives, amongst others, welcomed Oistrakh, Yampolskiy and Artemov at the Sydney ABC studio.

It was noted in the press that Oistrakh was looking forward to meeting young Australian musicians particularly Beryl Kimber, whom he had heard at the finals of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow earlier that year. Since after the competition there were plans for Kimber to go and study with Oistrakh in Moscow and she did so soon after his Australian tour. Kimber was one of the people meeting Oistrakh and his team and the airport.

David Oistrakh rehearsing with the conductor Nikolai Malko and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the ABC studio in Kings Cross, Sydney.
Photograph appears in the book The Rite of Spring: 75 Years of ABC Music-Making by Martin Buzacott, ABC Books, 2007.
Provided here for non-profit research purposes. Please get in touch if there are any issues with it, and the photograph will be removed.

Oistrakh’s connection and influence on the Australian musicians and the Australian music scene did not end there. Alice Waten, currently an Associate Professor in Violin at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studied with Oistrakh in Moscow. The violinist and composer Wilfred Lehmann performed throughout the USSR on Oistrakh’s invitation. Oistrakh’s visit is also said to have been an inspiration for the composer Larry Sitsky, who later also visited the USSR. While in Australia, on his way to the Kings Cross rehearsal studio for a rehearsal with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Oistrakh discussed with Charles Buttrose which artists should be invited to Australia, recommending the Soviet violinist Leonid Kogan and the conductor John Hopkins under whose baton he had just played in New Zealand. Kogan did indeed end up giving concerts in Australia in 1962, and Hopkins moved to Australia in 1963, playing a very important role in its musical life. Hopkins also went on to perform in the USSR and in Czechoslovakia on the recommendation of Oistrakh.

One of the photos printed in the brochure for Oistrakh's Australian tour. It depicts David Oistrakh and his wife Tamara Rotareva during a television interview. Thank you to Peter Garrity for sharing the brochure.

Meanwhile on the week of Oistrakh’s departure, after the concert on the night of Monday 7th July, he was presented with an ‘illuminated address bound in green morocco and set amidst the red and gold of waratah and wattle blossom’ contributed to by 200 individuals including those from the music, literary, fine arts, theatre, trade union, and business. It was also signed by members of parliament, heads of banks, a religious leader, and the general secretary of the Communist Party of Australia. Oistrakh responded by saying: “I wish to express my great affection for the audiences of Australia, whose warmth I will always remember with joy”.

Oistrakh’s tour in Australia was by all accounts very successful and left many people with wonderful memories.

Cover of the brochure for Oistrakh's Australian tour. Thank you to Peter Garrity for sharing the brochure.

I would like to thank Charmian Gadd for contributing her reminiscences, Julie Simonds for sharing three of the photos and some of the information presented in this post, and Peter Garrity for sharing the brochure from Oistrakh's tour. To any people who would like to contribute further stories about Oistrakh's time in Australia, I would be more than happy to add them into the post.

Sources:

Australian Music will Sound in Soviet Cities, Tribune, 18 June 1958, 11.

Bright Paper of Australian-Soviet Friendship, Tribune, 30 July 1958, 7.

Buzacott, Martin. The Rite of Spring: 75 Years of ABC Music-Making. ABC Books, 2007.

David Oistrakh, Tribune, 11 June 1958, 6.

David Oistrakh’s Tour, The Canberra Times, 7 June 1958, 2.

Music Lovers will Recall Oistrakh Visit with Joy, Tribune, 9 July 1958, 12.

Oistrakh Buys Australian Violin, The Canberra Times, 8 July 1958, 3.

Oistrakh Here for Concert Tour, The Australian Jewish News, 30 May 1958, 11.

Oistrakh Here on May 27, ABC weekly Vol. 20 No. 21 (21 May 1958), 4.

Oistrakh to Hear Australian Music, Tribune, 4 June 1958, 11.

From the brochure for Oistrakh's Australian tour. Thank you to Peter Garrity for sharing the brochure.

Oistrakh to Tour Here, The Australian Jewish News, 20 December 1957, 12.

Oistrakh’s Violin Made in Moscow, Tribune, 9 July 1958, 7.

Russian Violinist, Victor Harbour Times, 27 June 1958, 6.

Skinner, Graeme. Peter Sculthorpe, The Making of an Australian Composer, UNSW Press, 2015.

Simonds, Julie and Peter McCallum. The Centenary of the Con: A History of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music 1915-2015.

Soviet Violinist in Australia, The Canberra Times, 28 May 1958, 5.

Sitsky, Larry and Ruth Lee Martin. Australian Piano Music of the Twentieth Century (Music Reference Collection), Praeger, 2005, 185.

Stern, Barry. David Oistrakh, The Australian Jewish Times, 11 June 1958, 6.

The Maestro and his Pupil, The Australian Women’s Weekly, 4 June 1958, 4.

“The Pleasure your visit has given us” Australian Thanks to David Oistrakh, Tribune, 9 July 1958, 7.

Tomoff, Kiril. Virtuosi Abroad. Soviet Music and Imperial Competition During the Early Cold War, 1945–1958, Cornell University Press, 2015, 150.

Welcome to Russian Violinist, The Biz, 11 June 1958, 20.

Mendelssohn's Children's Symphonies

Amongst the several pieces by Felix Mendelssohn which are mentioned in letters but are lost/unknown, are the Kindersinfonien/Kindersymphonien (Children’s Symphonies). It seems that two were composed for family Christmas celebrations (1827, 1828), with possibly a third for his parents’ wedding anniversary (1829).

The first one was written for Mendelssohn’s younger sister Rebecka for the Christmas celebrations in 1827. Felix’s other sister Fanny describes it in her letter to Carl Klingemann (25 December 1827):

“The Christmas lights are out, the beautiful presents have been put away and we are spending the first festive day quietly at home. Mother is sleeping in one corner of the sofa, Paul in the other, Rebecka is reading the fashion magazine with great devotion and I am again proceeding with my letter. On days like yesterday we miss you more than usual […]. By the way, it was very merry and beautiful yesterday. Using the instruments of the Haydn one, Felix had written a Children’s-Symphony for Rebecka, which we performed and which was extraordinarily amusing. For me he wrote a piece of another kind: a four-part choral piece with a small orchestra, using the chorale “Christe, du Lamm Gottes”. I have played it today a couple of times, it is quite wonderful.” [2] [3]

Fanny mentions that the instrumentation is like that of Haydn’s symphony; she is likely referring to the Kindersinfonie which at various times has been attributed to Edmund Angerer, Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn, Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Rainprechter. The instrumentation of this symphony includes toy instruments like the Cuckoo. [4]

The second Kindersinfonie is also mentioned in a letter from Fanny to Carl (27 December 1828):

“These and still many more young people were here for Christmas Eve. That same day Felix composed a dearest Children’s Symphony, that was played to everyone’s enjoyment twice, the big Baumkuchen [cake] was given to Dirichlet (he has a passionate liking for it) […].” [5] [6]

Another mention of what probably was a performance of the same piece the following year occurs in Mendelssohn’s mother Lea Mendelssohn’s letter to Carl Klingemann (30th December 1829) describing the ‘hen’s night’ celebration held on the 25th December, Christmas Day and the eve of the her and Abraham’s silver wedding anniversary:

“After everyone had embraced and congratulated each other, the children performed an Allegro from Felix's Children's Symphony from the previous Christmas celebration as an overture to Gansen's piece.” [7] [8]

This brings us to the question of Mendelssohn’s third Kindersinfonie, and whether it was actually ever finished as such.

Aus: Die Welt im Kleinen : zwölf Bilder aus dem Kinderleben. Ein Familienbuch von Eduard Schulz mit Text von Emil Rittershaus., Flemming, Glogau 1867

The third Kindersinfonie is described by Felix in his letter (11 August 1829) to Fanny and to Wilhelm Hensel as something he was planning to bring to his parents’ silver anniversary:

“I also want to bring various things with me for the silver [wedding anniversary]; instrumental music, hubbub, curious things [Seltsames], and much seriousness [Ernst]; but I also really want to write occasional pieces; the Children’s Symphony alone will not be enough although I have already collected excellent material for it, and already know by heart the bagpipe, Rule Britannia, the national melodies amongst others, which will all be in it. [9] [10]

Thomas Schmidt writes that this symphony was “apparently replaced by the ‘Liederspiel’ Aus der Fremde MWV L 6.” (‘The Homecoming from Abroad’ Op 89, MWV L 6), which was performed at the anniversary. [10]

What could be a sign that the Children Symphonies were in some way memorable to Mendelssohn himself is the fact that he refers to them in other contexts.

Letter to Fanny from 25th May 1830:

“Do collect votes on the title which I should choose: Reformation-Symphony, Confession-Symphony, Symphony of the Church-Fest (for the pope), Children’s Symphony, or as you like: write to me about it, and instead of all the dumb suggestions, send an intelligent one; but I want to know the dumb ones too, that will arise on this occasion” [12] [13] [10]

In the introduction to the 2009 edition of Mendelssohn’s works, Thomas Schmidt observes that Felix’s question was not posed seriously, firstly because of the reference to the pope in the context of a Lutheran-themed piece, and secondly because of the reference to the ‘Children’s Symphony which, he says referred to the “playful pieces Mendelssohn wrote for Christmas 1827 and 1828 as well as for his parents’ silver wedding anniversary on 26 December 1829 […]” [10]

In the following letter it is not possible to know which particular Children’s Symphony, Mendelssohn referred to. Who knows, just perhaps it is yet another children’s symphony that we do not know of…

Julius Eduard Wilhelm Helfft (1818-1894) - The Music Room of Fanny Hensel (nee Mendelssohn) in their family home on Leipziger Str. 3, Berlin, at which the first Children's Symphony was performed in 1827.

20 December 1831 to Rebecka

“In addition, this evening is Christmas Eve; to which I will be indifferent, and to New Year's Eve to. But God willing, next year it should look different, and I will not go to the opera again on Christmas Eve, like today to hear Lablache and Rubini for the first time. Oh God I do not care much about it! I would prefer nutcrackers and apples today, and whether the orchestra will play a symphony as beautiful as my Children's Symphony is a question. You have to be content today.” [11] [13]

Over the years in some publications there have been a few conflicting footnotes regarding the composition years and the number of Children’s Symphonies. For example: In Sebastian Hensel’s 1879 publication a footnote to Fanny’s 1828 letter about what seems to be the second children’s symphony states: “Felix has therefore composed two children’s symphonies. Only one has survived, I have not been able to find any trace of the second.” [5] While the location of the autographs of these symphonies are now considered unknown this footnote may mean that the location of the autograph of one of them, was known to Hensel. Also, it may mean that he either did not know about the existence of the third symphony, of that it may have indeed been completely substituted by Aus der Fremde.

A footnote to the 1861 publication of Felix’s 1831 (20th December) letter to Rebecka says that “The one that Mendelssohn composed for the family Christmas celebration in the year 1829, is called the Children’s Symphony.” [11] This could mean any number of things: it could be an error in the year, it could mean that the author of the footnote could have also attributed the anniversary performances to being a Christmas celebration performance, or perhaps there is also a minimal chance of there was indeed another symphony composed for that Christmas.

In 2009 as part of the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig Mendelssohn Edition Breitkopf & Härtel has published the first complete catalogue of Mendelssohn’s works, developed by Ralph Wehner. In this list, the three Kindersinfonien are given the numbers MWV P 4, MWV P 6 and MWV P 8 for those composed in 1827, 1828 and 1829 respectively. [14] [10]

After reading the materials above my impression is that these Kindersinfonien were composed with the purpose of bringing the siblings/family together, perhaps as a Christmas tradition. Perhaps it is for this reason that they were not published. It is known that Mendelssohn preferred to separate music composed for private contexts and for the public. For example, it is known that this was the reason Mendelssohn refused commercial performances of The Homecoming from Abroad Op 89, MWV L 6, which was written for the same anniversary and is thought to have maybe replaced the third Kindersinfonie (‘From Abroad’ did end up being publicly performed after his death) [1] [10].

Therefore, perhaps it is fair that the Kindersinfonien are not performed and potentially lost. However, so many years later, their story sounds interesting and sweet, and it would be interesting to determine how many of them he actually did write.

Sources: [1] The Cambridge Companion to Mendelssohn. ed. Peter Mercer-Taylor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, page 211.

[2] Sebastian Hensel: Die Familie Mendelssohn 1729 bis 1847. Band 1. de Gruyter, 2019, page 172.

[3] Sebastian Hensel, translated by Carl Klingemann. The Mendelssohn Family (1729-1847): Volume 1. From Letters and Journals, Cambridge University Press: 2013, page 151.

[4] https://imslp.org/wiki/Kindersinfonie_(Angerer%2C_Edmund)

[5] Sebastian Hensel, Paul Hensel: Die Familie Mendelssohn 1729-1847 nach Briefen und Tagebüchern. Volume 1. 1879. Page 199.

[6] Sebastian Hensel, translated by Carl Klingemann. The Mendelssohn Family (1729-1847): Volume 1. From Letters and Journals, Cambridge University Press: 2013, page 165.

[7] Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdys Briefwechsel mit Legationsrat Karl Klingemann in London. Essen: G. D. Baedeker, 1909, page 70.

[8] Leipziger Ausgabe der Werke Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdys Volume 13, Issue 1, Part 1, Deutscher Verlag für Musik, 2009, page 243.

[9] Sämtliche Briefe: 1816 bis Juni 1830. F. Mendelssohn. ed. A. Morgenstern et al. Bärenreiter, 2008, page 373

[10] Leipziger Ausgabe der Werke von Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Symphony in D minor (“Reformation”) MWV N 15 Introduction by Thomas Schmidt. Breitkopf & Haertel, 2017. XXVII

[11] Reisebriefe von Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy aus den Jahren 1830 bis 1832. Herausgaben von Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Leipzig: Verlag von Hermann Mendelssohn, 1861.

[12] Briefe aus den Jahren 1830 bis 1847, Volumes 1-2, H. Mendelssohn, 1870, page 5

[13] Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy from Italy and Switzerland. Translated by Lady Grace Wallace. E-book, 2019.

[14] https://www.saw-leipzig.de/de/aktuelles/mwv; https://www.saw-leipzig.de/de/projekte/leipziger-ausgabe-der-werke-von-felix-mendelssohn-bartholdy/thematisch-systematisches-werkverzeichnis?fbclid=IwAR1C7bmKfBXEfId27KuIazPYxy8Q5p1lgH-cYA3lp57ftbrFIoRsI-83fu4

Three Waltzes by Mendelssohn

There are quite a few pieces by Mendelssohn which are mentioned in letters but the scores of which seem to be lost. In his letter to his sisters while travelling in Switzerland in 1831, Mendelssohn mentions three waltzes written for the forest-ranger’s daughter, possibly in gratitude for the manuscript paper she gave him. The following excerpts from Mendelssohn’s letters tell us the story.

August 9th:

“Evening in Unterseen.

[…] In this state I arrived in Interlaken, and was received in an unfriendly manner; the people could not or would not give me a place [to board/stay in], and so I had to return to Unterseen, where I live quite splendidly and find myself well. […]

the 10th:

[…] When I came back, I wanted to get some music paper; I was referred to the Pastor, he referred me to the forest ranger, and from his daughter I received two very fine, delicate sheets. […here Mendelssohn writes about the pieces he is working on]

Unterseen (on right side of the Aare) and Lake Thun from Harderkulm,
By Dietrich Michael Weidmann - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19193335

the 11th:

This morning I was on the Harder [Harderkulm] and saw the mountains in their most beautiful splendour; I had never seen the Jungfrau glowing so clearly as we did last night and this morning. Then I rode back to Interlaken, where I finished sketching my nut tree; then I composed a little, thus three waltzes for the forest-ranger’s daughter were written on the remaining music paper, and politely delivered; […].

Now I want to pack until evening, but it will be really difficult for me to leave this room; it is so homely and I will miss my dear little piano too much. On the back [of the page] I want to draw with the quill the view from the window for you, and also write down my second Lied, and then Unterseen will also be committed to memory.

[…]

Well here is my window!” [picture]

Mendelssohn's drawing of the view from his window in Unterseen, drawn in the 1831 letter.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39384/39384-h/images/264.jpg

In the catalogue of Mendelssohn’s works (published in 2009) these works seem to be the ones given the numbers U 83, U 84, and U 85. We know that Mendelssohn liked to separate compositions he wrote for private occasions and those written for public performance. Therefore, perhaps it is only fair that these waltzes are unknown. However, for us it is a pity that we miss out on knowing a few beautiful miniatures, possibly of the kind that Mendelssohn’s Waltz in D major U 39 is: https://youtu.be/nkh58LUWoVo

If you know any more details of about these waltzes – do let me know!

The next Mendelssohn post will be about his Children's Symphonies!

Sources: https://archive.org/.../reisebriefeausd.../page/230/mode/2up

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Reisebriefe aus den Jahren 1830 bis 1832, published 1865.

Lady Wallace’s translation: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39384/39384-h/39384-h.htm

Mendelssohn-Werkeverzeichnis https://www.saw-leipzig.de/.../thematisch-systematisches...

Grove in Interlaken (Baumgruppe in Interlaken), drawn by Felix Mendelssohn in 1842,
Scan aus Eckart Kleßmann - DIE MENDELSOHNS, Bilder aus einer deutschen Familie, Artemis Verlag 1990, ISBN:3-7608-1020-9, S. 119, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6115154

———

Original German of the letters quoted above:

Den 9ten.

Abends in Unterseen.

Solchergestalt kam ich nach Interlaken, und wurde unfreundlich empfangen; die Leute konnten oder wollten mir keinen Platz geben, und so mußte ich zurück nach Unterseen, wo ich ganz vortrefflich wohne und mich befinde. [...]

Den 10ten.

Als ich zurückkam wollte ich Notenpapier haben; man wies mich an den Pfarrer, - der an den Forstmeister, und von dessen Tochter habe ich denn zwei sehr feine, zierliche Bogen bekommen. Das Lied von dem ich gestern schrieb, ist schon fertig; es drückt mir doch das Herz ab, es Euch zu fangen, was es ist - aber lacht mich nicht zu fehr aus - nichts anderes als - aber haltet mich nicht für wasserscheu - 'die Liebende schreibt' das Sonett. Ich fürchte übrigens, es taugt nichts; es ist, glaub' ich, mehr hineingefühlt, als herausgekommen; indessen ein Paar gute Stellen sind doch darin, und morgen mach' ich noch ein kleines von Uhland. Auch ein Paar Clavierfachen rücken wieder an. […]

Den 11ten.

Heut früh war ich auf dem Harder, und sah die Berge in der schönsten Pracht; so klar glühend, wir gestern Abend und heut früh, hab' ich die Jungfrau noch nie gesehen. Dann ritt ich wieder nach Interlaken, wo ich meinen Nußbaum fertig zeichnete; dann hab' ich ein wenig componirt; dann wurden der Tochter des Försters auf das übrige Notenpapier drei Walzer geschrieben, und höflich überbracht [...].

Nun will ich packen bis Abend, aber es wird mir ordentlich schwer, dies Zimmer hier zu verlassen; es ist so wohnlich, und mein liebes Clavierchen werde ich gar zu sehr vermissen. Die Aussicht aus dem Fenster will ich Euch noch auf die Rückseite mit der Feder maler und mein zweites Lied aufschreiben; dann geht auch Unterseen zur Erinnerung. [...]

Na hier ist mein Fenster!

‘Perov and Mussorgsky’ by Vladimir Stasov (published in 1883)

This is an article written by the critic Vladimir Stasov, who was very well known in Russian artistic circles of the second half of the 19th century. While he played an important role in promoting some composers and artists, he was also famously harsh in his judgements and intolerant to differing opinions. In this article Stasov looks at the parallels in the works of the composer Modest Mussorgsky and the artist Vasily Perov. This article is interesting in that it shows Stasov’s interpretation of some of the negative aspects of Russian tsarist-era society and shows how he saw these topics being reflected in visual art and music.

Stasov’s interpretations of the paintings are very emotional, however, sometimes partially surprising, and personally I don't agree with a few of them (for example with some aspects of his reading of the painting ‘The Drowned Woman’). I have added figures with Perov's paintings into the translation file.

Vasily Grigoryevich Perov, Receiving the traveller seminarist [Приём странника-семинариста], 1874. https://gallerix.ru/pic/_EX/21028680/700045776.jpeg

Vasily Grigoryevich Perov, Troika [Тройка], 1866, Oil on canvas. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3149337

I have just finished a new translation: an excerpt from Samuil Maykapar's book My Years of Study (published in 1938).  

In this chapter Maykapar talks about studying with Theodor Leschetizky in end-of-19th-century Vienna, and also recounts some amusing stories about Leschetizky's other students including Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Artur Schnabel and Anna Yesipova.

Theodor Leschetizky (1830-1915) was a Polish pianist, professor and composer. He taught in St Petersburg and then in Vienna, and was a highly influential piano pedagogue.

Samuil Moiseyevich Maykapar (1867-1938) was a Russian/Soviet composer, pianist, and teacher/professor at the St Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad Conservatory. His teachers included Anton Rubinstein and Theodor Leschetizky. Maykapar is most well known for his piano pieces for children. Some of my personal favourites are: Dewdrops Op 33 No 12, The Raging Torrent Op 33 No 18, Waltz Op 28 No 5, Fughetta 8 Op No 11, The Little Commander Op 28 No 9, The Little Moth Op 28 No 12, At the Blacksmith Op 8 No 5, Italian Serenade Op 8 No 15, and The Mermaid (Little Etude) Op 8 No 18.

Here is the third movement of Concertino for harp, piano and orchestra in D minor by the English harpist and composer Elias Parish Alvars.

https://youtu.be/8OqoOH7l9ws

Music for oboe and organ

Here is Hans Koessler’s beautiful Allerseelen Elegie for oboe and organ https://youtu.be/tu8HG6eYgUg
Works playable by this wonderful combination of instruments, range from the early treble and basso continuo works, Romantic oboe and piano/harmonium repertoire, and many modern works and arrangements.
Johann Ludwig Krebs’ Fantasias for oboe and organ are perhaps the most well-known pieces for this combination, such as this Fantasia in G minor: https://youtu.be/jbTt1keEdlk
The organ (particularly the chamber organ) has also been used to play basso continuo parts of unspecified instrumentation in oboe and basso continuo works by composers such as Georg Phillip Telemann and Gottfried August Homilius.

Some parts written for another (or any) treble instrument have also sometimes been played on the oboe. For example, the Sonata for Flute and Continuo composed by Anna Amalia, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg, has been performed on oboe and organ. https://youtu.be/-pZPMY54XJ8

The Romantic-period composition Fantaisie et variations sur "Il corsaro", Op. 54 composed by Stanislas Verroust for oboe and piano is an example of a piece which has had its piano part performed on the organ: https://youtu.be/_Sj8-IV1T_M
Similarly, Cesar Franck’s Piece No 5 from Five pieces for Harmonium which the composer had arranged for oboe and piano has been played on oboe and organ.

Another Romantic work is Otto Ernst Goepfart’s Andante religioso (alternative instruments of violin and piano or harmonium are specified). Many of Goepfart’s German compatriots have also composed for oboe and organ: Gerhard Deutschmann (Sonata di chiesa), Felix Bräuer (Aria), Bernhard Krol (Litania pastorale Op 62), Bertold Hummel (Fünf biblische Szenen Op 45), Hermann Schroeder (Sonata), and Joseph Rheinberger (Lichtenstein/Germany) (Andante pastorale).

Other composers and works include: Augustinus Franz Kropfreiter (Austria) - Drei Stücke für Oboe und Orgel, Rupert Gottfried Frieberger (Austria) – Adventsmusik, Marguerite Roesgen-Champion (Switzerland) - Nocturnes, Lionel Rogg (Switzerland) – Sonata, Gaston Litaize (France) – Diptyque, Naji Hakim (Lebanon-France) - Variations on Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, David Ashley White (USA) – Canzona.

There are also a number of works written for cor anglais and organ.

Here is a link to the first of my translations of some historical musicological materials:
http://koudasheva.com/s/otto_tidebohl.pdf
"Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major Op 61 and its performance in accordance with Joachim’s traditions."
written by Otto von Tideböhl and published in the Russian Musical Gazette in 1909.

Since the discussion is on interpretation, I have aimed to keep as close as possible to the original, sometimes at the expense of the 'modernness' and flow of the language.

It is hard to conclude the extent to which this article reflects Joseph Joachim’s interpretation traditions. However, in any case, it is of significance in the field of historical performance, as it is a record of the interpretative processes of Tideböhl, a late 19th-early 20th century violinist.
Otto Fyodorovich von Tideböhl (5.2.1963, Voronezh, Russia – 15.8.1918, Voronezh, Russia) was a violinist, composer and pedagogue. His teachers are said to have included Leopold Auer and Gustav Hollaender, both students of Joseph Joachim. Tideböhl concertised extensively in St Petersburg, abroad and in provincial Russia. It was in provincial Russia, that Tideböhl’s educational work was especially important. Tideböhl has also composed a number of violin works and wrote a treatise on violin pedagogy.

Translations will be found in the following section of the website:

Franz Schubert wrote over one hundred part songs, however they have not received as much attention as his Lieder. Die Nacht D983c is an a cappella song for two tenor and two bass parts, composed on a poem by Friedrich Wilhelm Krummacher. The song was composed around 1822 and was first published in 1823. Hope you enjoy it too.
https://youtu.be/rNnCcv_EEUA
Score: https://imslp.org/w…/4_Ges%C3%A4nge,_D.983_(Schubert,_Franz)

One of the works composed by the 19th century Czech composer Zdeněk Fibich is the Quintet Op 42. The combination of instruments for this quintet is very interesting: clarinet, horn, violin, cello and piano. It is perhaps due to the rarity of this ensemble combination, that the quintet score indicates that the clarinet could be substituted by a violin, and the horn – by a viola, which would create a standard piano quintet.
Here is the Scherzo from this Quintet: https://youtu.be/pnhT5nTNTLY
Score: https://imslp.org/…/Quintet%2C_Op.42_(Fibich%2C_Zden%C4%9Bk)

Post from 9th May 2020.
Sharing one more commemorative post today, due to this year being the 75th anniversary of the end of the struggle against Nazism. From September 1941 to January 1944 the city of Leningrad (modern-day St Petersburg) was encircled by axis forces. During the siege hundreds of thousands, if not over a million, Leningraders died from starvation, shelling and bombing. One of these people was the composer Boris Grigoryevich Goltz. He graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in piano and composition. Goltz died in Leningrad on the 3rd of March 1942, at the age of 28. Very little is known about Goltz and some information is contradictory. His compositions include a set of 24 piano preludes.
Here are a few of them.
Prelude No 3 https://youtu.be/5la-YK5qYRU
Prelude No 22 https://youtu.be/OvHJn9G3kHk
And here is Elegy No 1 for balalaika and piano:
https://youtu.be/9pKX3OZ6tzU
Thank you for reading.

Post written on 9th May 2020.
Here is a 1937 recording of Abram Dyakov and David Oistrakh playing L-C. Daquin’s The Cuckoo. https://youtu.be/7OnHBLZLKuY
Abram Borisovich Dyakov (1904-1941), was a prominent Soviet pianist and a Professor of chamber ensemble at the Moscow Conservatory. On 5 July 1941, despite being offered an exemption, along with many other conservatory staff and students he volunteered to fight at the front, joining the 8th Moscow Rifle Division of the People's Militia, and taking part in defending Moscow from the Nazis. In autumn 1941 Dyakov tragically died after being captured in an encirclement. It is thanks to the sacrifices of millions of people like Dyakov that Nazism was overcome 75 years ago.

Japanese music for beginner and intermediate piano students.
Over the last century many piano pieces have been written by Japanese composers.
A composer whose pieces for children have become quite well known in Japan is Akira Yuyama (湯山昭). One set of such pieces is ‘Confections/World of Sweets’ (お菓子の世界) (1974).
Other selected pieces by Japanese composers suitable for students are listed below. Student performances of many of them are available on Youtube.
-Kosaku Yamada (山田 耕筰) Japanese Silhouettes (日本風の影絵)(1918) https://imslp.org/…/Japanese_Silhouettes_(Yamada%2C_K%C5%8D…
-Toru Takemitsu (武満 徹)– Piano Pieces for Children, Breeze: https://youtu.be/u6Q1eNW-lok
-Megumi Ohnaka (大中 恩) The Melancholy Music Box (あおいオルゴール)
-Yasushi Akutagawa (芥川也寸志) 24 Preludes (24の前奏曲) (1979)
-Komei Abe (安部幸明) 3 Sonatinas for children (こどものための三つのソナチネ) (1972)
-Fumio Hayasaka (早坂 文雄) Nos 8, 10, 12 from Chamber Piano Pieces (室内のためのピアノ小品集 第)(1941) https://imslp.org/…/17_Piano_Pieces_for_Chamber_(Hayasaka%2…
-Taki Rentaro (瀧廉太郎) Minuet in B minor (メヌエット)(1900) One of the earliest piano pieces composed in Japan, written in the Neo-Baroque style.
-Koichi Uzaki (鵜崎庚一) Songs that the Wind Sings (風がうたう歌)
-Tokuhide Niimi (新実徳英) Preludes of Winds (風のプレリュード)
-Toshiro Nakagawa (中川俊郎) Waltz of the Cherry Blossoms
-Yasuji Kiyose (清瀬 保二) Four Pieces for Children (子供のための4つの小品) (1966)

Yasushi Akutagawa

Source: Asahi Shimbun - "asahi graph" October 29, 1952 issue, public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32947511

Fumio Hayasaka

Source: Unknown author - 富樫康『日本の作曲家』, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27409774

Some useful sources:
In the last few decades Edition KAWAI has published many sets of piano pieces for children:
http://www.editionkawai.jp/html/page11.html
-https://en.schott-music.com/shop/autoren/akira-yuyama
-Garrett, Junko Ueno. Japanese piano compositions of the last hundred years: A history of piano music in Japan and a complete list of Japanese Piano Compositions. DMA diss. Rice University, 1998. https://scholarship.rice.edu/handle/1911/19260
-PTNA, Japan http://www.piano.or.jp/english/resource/enc.html
-Dan Sato. An introduction to Akira Yuyama and his Confections with a Discussion of Its Pedagogical Effectiveness. DMA diss. University of Miami. 2016. https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi…
-Bonnie C. Wade. Composing Japanese Modernity. The University of Chicago Press. 2014.

During the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration music played an important auxiliary role in the lives of expedition members. Musical items which had been taken on board by various expeditions included phonographs/gramophones, pianos, violins, flutes, music boxes, a balalaika, banjos, and the shakuhachi flute, amongst others. Music was a great pastime, could remind the explorers of home, and could lift their spirits. Sometimes more unusual uses for music were also found: a gramophone attached to a candle functioned as an alarm clock. Also, music could attract wildlife which could then be studied or consumed.
There is a 2-CD set 'Scott's Music Box' containing recordings which had been listened to on gramophones on the British Antarctic Expedition ‘Terra Nova’ (1910-1913) led by Robert Falcon Scott. These recordings include popular tunes of the day, as well as classical works such as G. Bizet’s Chanson Boheme performed by the violinist Jan Kubelik: https://youtu.be/VgCK50KcRUY
'Scott's Music Box' CD: https://open.spotify.com/album/7ERJ6hpjj9JPel02Wv8D2a

Sources: Carolyn Philpott. The sounds of silence: music in the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration. The Polar Journal 3 (2) (2013). 447-465. https://doi.org/10.1080/2154896X.2013.846976

Antarctica. Music, sounds, and cultural connections. Edited by Bernadette Hince, Rupert Summerson, and Arnan Wiesel. Acton: Australian National University Press, 2015.

Robert Scott’s South polar journey party at the South Pole, which they reached just 34 days after Roald Amundsen. The party did not make it back.

By Henry Bowers (1883–1912) - Image originally uploaded on 5 Dec 2003 by en:User:AlexPlank and edited by Ian Dunster on 24 Apr 2005), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3197551 Last expedition of Robert Falcon Scott. The image shows Wilson, Scott and Oates (standing); and Bowers and Evans (sitting) at the South Pole.

"To entertain the men, Captain Robert Scott took a gramophone on his South Pole Expedition. Chris, one of his dogs, was apparently also a fan, September 1911"
By Photographes du National Geographic - http://natgeofound.tumblr.com/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33574006 Photograph by Herbert G. Ponting.

Damis Paul was a Romantic-era Canadian organist, pianist, violinist, choirmaster and composer. His career included being an organist at the Montreal Cathedral, at Quebec City’s St-Roch Church, and later in the USA - in New York and South Bend.
Paul's repertoire as a performer included many transcriptions and paraphrases from operas. One of his compositions is Scintillation, written in the style of a salon etude, performed here by Elaine Keillor. https://youtu.be/950ljOd_ARE

Source: Gagné, R., Damis Paul (2013). In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/…/art…/damis-paul-emc

Artwork: Quebec vue de Beauport en 1852 by Edwin Whitefield - facebook.com, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58042356

The Soviet pianist Rosa Tamarkina (23 March 1920 - 5 August 1950) studied at the Moscow Conservatory with A. Goldenweiser and K. Igumnov. In 1935 she won the 2nd Competition of Musician-performers from across the USSR, and in 1937 the second prize in the 3rd International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Tamarkina commenced teaching at the Moscow Conservatory in 1946. At the age of 30 she passed away due to cancer. Tamarkina was married to the pianist Emil Gilels in 1940-1944.
There are a number of CDs which have been released with Tamarkina's recordings, and some of her recordings are available on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rosa+tamarkina
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=роза+тамаркина

Photograph: Rosa Tamarkina with Jakov Zak, Witold Małcużyński and Lance Dossor. Warsaw, February 1937. Published on wikimedia commons from Koncern Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny - Archiwum Ilustracji. Public domain.

Image: Rosa Tamarkina with Jakov Zak, Witold Małcużyński and Lance Dossor, Warsaw, February 1937.
Accessed from: By Koncern Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny - Archiwum Ilustracji - Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe, Sygnatura: 1-M-612-18, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21243652

Sources for reading, in Russian:
-'Reminiscences about Rosa Tamarkina' (Воспоминания о Розе Тамаркиной) ed. Yakov Milshtein. Moscow: Sovetskiy Kompozitor, 1989.
-'Rosa Tamarkina. Materials of her creative life, reminiscences, documents' (Роза Тамаркина. Материалы творческого пути, воспоминания, документы). ed. Tavyeva, E. A. Moscow: 2010.

The works of Johann Sebastian Bach and some of his sons are extensively studied and performed, however their relatives from the previous generations often remain out of the spotlight. Professional musicians in the Bach family can be traced back to at least Bach’s great grandfather Johannes (Hans) Bach known as ‘der Spielmann’ (the player). The Altbachisches Archiv (the old-Bachian archive) is a collection of vocal music written by some of the older generation members of the Bach family.
Here is the motet 'Lieber Herr Gott, wecke uns auf' composed by Johann Christoph Bach, the first cousin of J. S. Bach’s father, and performed here by the Cantus Cölln choir, Concerto Palatino and Konrad Junghänel. https://youtu.be/TA0tz1A6n9k
Here is the aria 'Ach, wie sehnlich wart ich der Zeit' by Johann Michael Bach, the first cousin once removed and father-in-law of J. S. Bach. https://youtu.be/TNLhupTEGj4

Some sources for further reading:
- Grove article on the Bach Family https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.40023
- Rose, Stephen. "The Altbachisches Archiv." Early Music 33, no. 1 (2005): 141-144. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/181850.

Welcome to the blog, dear friends. On this page I will post about some lesser-known classical music topics. Some of these may be widely-known in a specific country or by people with a specialised interest, but not within the broader global music community. Hope you and your family are staying healthy and might find this page interesting while you are staying at home.
Best wishes,
Nadia Koudasheva.