Not all persecuted composers are equal
mainFrom the Lebrecht Album of the Week:
Every composer suppressed by Stalin deserves to be remembered. Just how much musical attention they warrant is another matter.
Alexander Veprik (1889-1958) was a teacher at the Moscow Conservatoire who wrote in Jewish and Kyrgyz ‘national’ idioms. His Dances and Songs from the Ghetto was performed by Toscanini at Carnegie Hall in 1933, and a Symphonic Song was taken up the following year by Hermann Scherchen and Dmitri Mitropoulos. This was the peak of Veprik’s career….
Read on here.
And here.
Mr Lebrecht, your review mentions that 66 composers were suppressed or exiled under Stalinism. Is there a list to which you could provide a link? Many thanks in advance.
May I guide you to Dr. Inna Klause, expert on the topic of Music and Gulag.
Thank you very much, Mr. Mueller.
Thank you Norman for giving a platform to Alexander Veprik. He shares the fate of many others who after their ordeal of the Gulag were silenced and completely forgotten. I strongly believe in the expressive quality of his music, and the important thing is that his music can be heard again.
Thank you Christoph. I wholeheartedly applaud your mission to restore these silenced voices.
Interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9bkEblUHXM
The German record label MDG (Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm) has just released a SACD of Veprik’s orchestral music. Some of it is achingly and movingly beautiful – much recommended!