As much as I love Mozart, I'm very happy to be free of him for a good while. My jury went well and I am officially a performance major now! Hooray! This means that I get to start planning super-fun things like a junior recital!
I have this odd fascination with 20th century Russian composers. The Soviets really could compose music like none I've heard (and I mean that in the best possible way). There are 20th century elements involved, those being dissonance, strange rhythmic patterns and meter changes, etc. But they somehow manage to simultaneously create beautiful melodies. I suppose I like it because it's interesting in all the ways that only 20th century music can be interesting, while still be an enjoyable listening experience. I am particularly in love with Shostakovich's second piano sonata but, unfortunately, the technical difficulties are too much for me to handle right now. My professor was kind enough to assign me a Kabalevsky sonata instead so I can get my Soviet fix.
Kabalevsky was an interesting guy. His father was a mathematician, but he was drawn to the arts and became a composer. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory and became a professor there in 1932. At this time he joined the newly formed Union of Soviet Composers, which promoted the idea of Socialist Realism in the arts. Generally speaking, they promoted Communism, though their doctrinal goal was a "truthful and historically concrete depiction of reality in its revolutionary development." He joined the Communist party in 1940 and began writing lots and lots of fun-time patriotic Communist music, including pieces with names such as The Heroes of the Revolution of 1905, Vast Motherland, and Revenger of the People. Oh, yes. In the 1940s he was briefly accused of formalism. That is, he was supposedly composing music for music's sake and not for the glorification of the Communist party. But he knew some people who knew some people and the charges were quickly dropped. I do admire his ability to write creative music under such a strict regime. It's something that many composers struggled with.
My favorite thing about Kabalevsky (besides his being a hard-core Commie, obviously) is his desire to bring good music to children. In fact, before a few weeks ago, I had no idea that he wrote anything but really wonderful early- and intermediate-level literature for children. During his lifetime he set up strong music education programs in some twenty-five Soviet schools. He also wrote several large-scale works involving children's choruses.
In terms of his actual music, it was much less adventurous than that of his contemporaries. The harmonies are interesting, but diatonic for the most part. He liked to play with chromaticism and the interchange of major and minor.
I want to write about the sonata I'm playing, but I'll most likely be long-winded about that as well. I'll leave it for next time.
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