New release: A symphony of the River Dnieper
NewsThe Ukrainian composer Fridrich Bruk moved to Finland in 1974 but continued to write music about his homeland.
His 16th symphony, titled The River Dnieper, was released last week, four days before the Russian invaders turned the area into an unnatural disaster.
You can listen to the symphony here.
We might think back to the Battle of the Dneiper in August 1943 which covered a 1,400-kilometer front that stretched between Smolensk and the Sea of Azov. About one million Soviets and 372 thousand Germans lost their lives. The Dneiper is the third largest river of Europe, behind the Volga and Danube, and now flooding vast stretches. This war was avoidable and is the result of 30 years of foolishness. Neither side can win. There will eventually be a cease fire and an ongoing cold war like along the 38th parallel in Korea. Truly humans learn nothing.
There’s also a ballet by Ukranian born composer Prokofiev on the Dnieper.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Dnieper
A related article about the “Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra”:
https://apnews.com/article/ukrainian-freedom-orchestra-kerilynn-wilson-d85ba08b887eab473bf3be06226f1c9b
Perhaps this war of culture will awaken people to the ways the promotion and suppression of culture is used for the sake of cultural hegemony in our own society:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_hegemony
Here’s a better and free link. Same forces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLCnZZdUNvM
Lots of bells and a very loud ending. Images of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Shostakovitch from him.
More profound and also more threatening than Smetana. You can hear the eddies of water at times. Good intro. I’m not sure what the bells have to do with a river. Overall, enjoyable.
A good find.
Some unusual instrumentation here: bells, Celeste, xylophone, and strong use of the trombone and other brass.
An unusual and enjoyable symphony. I cannot attest to anything about the river which I have never seen.
Very fine instrumentation,but unfortunately not much individuality and substance….But i am grateful to have a listen ..The recording suffers very much from artificial spotlightning of solo instruments and added reverb
Wo Hin demith?