Many consider Dmitri Shostakovich the greatest composer of the 20th century. Born September 25, 1906, he might not have lived past his teens if he hadn't been talented. During the famines of the Revolutionary period in Russia, Alexander Glazunov, director of the Petrograd (later Leningrad) Conservatory, arranged for the poor and malnourished Shostakovich's food ration to be increased. Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1, his graduation exercise for Maximilian Steinberg's composition course at the Conservatory, was completed in 1925 at age 19 and was an immediate success worldwide. He was The Party's poster boy; his Second and Third Symphonies unabashedly subtitled, respectively, "To October". (celebrating the Revolution) and "The First of May". (International Workers' Day).
His highly emotional harmonic language is simultaneously tough yet communicative, but his expansion of Mahlerian symphonic structure, dissonances, sardonic irony, and dark moods eventually clashed with the conservative edicts of Communist Party officials. In 1936 he was viciously denounced by Pravda...
His highly emotional harmonic language is simultaneously tough yet communicative, but his expansion of Mahlerian symphonic structure, dissonances, sardonic irony, and dark moods eventually clashed with the conservative edicts of Communist Party officials. In 1936 he was viciously denounced by Pravda...
- 9/26/2016
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Striking Russian opera singer and wife of Mstislav Rostropovich, she was made an 'unperson' during the Soviet era
The soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, who has died aged 86, coloured her performances of opera, and especially of Russian song, so beautifully that full comprehension was not essential for enjoyment. Of course, once you did understand the words, you realised how much meaning she brought to them.
Possessed of a striking physical presence with lustrous dark hair, she was such a natural actor that she became the star of her generation at the Bolshoi opera company in Moscow, forging artistic relationships with the stage director Boris Pokrovsky and the conductor Alexander Melik-Pashaev. And – appropriately for a performer who sang with all the skill of an instrumentalist – for more than half a century she was married to Mstislav Rostropovich, not just a great cellist, but also a considerable conductor and pianist.
Their marriage – her third...
The soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, who has died aged 86, coloured her performances of opera, and especially of Russian song, so beautifully that full comprehension was not essential for enjoyment. Of course, once you did understand the words, you realised how much meaning she brought to them.
Possessed of a striking physical presence with lustrous dark hair, she was such a natural actor that she became the star of her generation at the Bolshoi opera company in Moscow, forging artistic relationships with the stage director Boris Pokrovsky and the conductor Alexander Melik-Pashaev. And – appropriately for a performer who sang with all the skill of an instrumentalist – for more than half a century she was married to Mstislav Rostropovich, not just a great cellist, but also a considerable conductor and pianist.
Their marriage – her third...
- 12/11/2012
- by Tully Potter
- The Guardian - Film News
Shortly after 9/11, and very definitely as a personal response to that event, I wrote an article about Requiems for Cdnow, where I worked at the time (just a few blocks away from Ground Zero; fortunately our workday started at 10 Am, so I wasn't there yet that day, but in the weeks that followed there were days where, if the wind came from the wrong direction, we would go home early, it made us so sick). In the years since, I have written about music composed in response to that tragedy, such as John Adams's On the Transmigration of Souls. But now I find myself being drawn back to the Requiem idea. Here's a much-expanded take on it.
This roughly chronological list confines itself to works with a sacred basis, though the 20th century yielded secular Requiems, most notably Paul Hindemith's When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom...
This roughly chronological list confines itself to works with a sacred basis, though the 20th century yielded secular Requiems, most notably Paul Hindemith's When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom...
- 9/11/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
By Neil Pedley
Apparently, less is more this week, as "Flawless" and "Priceless" both head to the big screen and work from minimalist Alexander Sokurov balances out over-the-top offerings like "Superhero Movie" and "21."
"Alexandra"
Russian avant-garde director Alexander Sokurov's melancholic drama landed itself a Palme D'Or nomination last year at Cannes. Set in a nameless, war-torn place that bares more than a passing resemblance to Chechnya, "Alexandra" has for its star veteran opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya, who plays an elderly woman who sets off to visit her grandson, a soldier stationed at the edge of a wasteland. In Russian with subtitles.
Opens in New York.
"Backseat"
Labeled by some a "Sideways" for twenty-somethings, "Backseat" features Rob Bogue and Josh Alexander, who also wrote the film's script, as a pair of directionless friends who take to the open road in a bid to outrun the incoming juggernaut of adult responsibility and maybe meet Donald Sutherland.
Apparently, less is more this week, as "Flawless" and "Priceless" both head to the big screen and work from minimalist Alexander Sokurov balances out over-the-top offerings like "Superhero Movie" and "21."
"Alexandra"
Russian avant-garde director Alexander Sokurov's melancholic drama landed itself a Palme D'Or nomination last year at Cannes. Set in a nameless, war-torn place that bares more than a passing resemblance to Chechnya, "Alexandra" has for its star veteran opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya, who plays an elderly woman who sets off to visit her grandson, a soldier stationed at the edge of a wasteland. In Russian with subtitles.
Opens in New York.
"Backseat"
Labeled by some a "Sideways" for twenty-somethings, "Backseat" features Rob Bogue and Josh Alexander, who also wrote the film's script, as a pair of directionless friends who take to the open road in a bid to outrun the incoming juggernaut of adult responsibility and maybe meet Donald Sutherland.
- 3/24/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
NEW YORK -- The Cinema Guild has acquired U.S. distribution rights to this week's New York Film Festival entry "Alexandra" from director Alexander Sokurov.
The Russian-language drama follows the title character (played by opera star Galina Vishnevskaya), a grandmother who visits her army officer grandson at a remote military outpost.
"Alexandra", an official selection at this year's Festival de Cannes, will be distributed domestically in early 2008. The deal was negotiated by Cinema Guild director of distribution Ryan Krivoshey with Sebastien Chesneau of Rezo Films.
The Russian-language drama follows the title character (played by opera star Galina Vishnevskaya), a grandmother who visits her army officer grandson at a remote military outpost.
"Alexandra", an official selection at this year's Festival de Cannes, will be distributed domestically in early 2008. The deal was negotiated by Cinema Guild director of distribution Ryan Krivoshey with Sebastien Chesneau of Rezo Films.
- 10/2/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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