VASSILY KALINNIKOV

Vassily Kalinnikov was born in Voima, Russia in 1866. He studied at the Moscow Philharmonic Society and in 1893 he reveived his first important musical post, as second conductor of Italian Opera in Moscow. Discovering a tubercular condition of the lungs, he resigned his conductorial post in 1894 and settled in southern Russia. His first symphony, introduced in Kiev in 1897, showed him to be a major creative talent, but he did not live long enough to fulfill all the promise of this work. He died in Yalta in 1901.

First Symphony

This highly melodious and beautifully written symphony has acquired a place of importance in the symphonic repertoiry and has succeeded in keeping Kalinnikov's name alive. Following its successful first performance in Kiev in 1897 it was introduced in Vienna, Paris and London with great success. In four movements, it is suffused with national coloring. The first movement, Allegro moderato, contains two striking melodic subjects, the first played by the strings and the second, by the flute and clarinet. In the second movement, Andante commmodamente, we have a beautiful lyric page, in which the principal theme is sung by the English horn and the violas. The Scherzo is of a peasant vigor, and the Finale comes as a summation of the entire symphony by quoting the themes from all preceding movements.

David Ewen
Ewen's Musical Masterworks

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