Music of the Caucasus [Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia etc.]

[Timtin]

I wouldn't disagree with any of that, however, unless and until such time
as the market for large numbers of recordings and performances of every
significant eastern European and Russian composer from the last 150 years
actually arrives, we're bound to be limited to the more famous names. The
fact that they are more famous may be nothing to do with their actual
compositional skills, but as in life generally, all sorts of other factors such
as a luck and politics. If Naxos can make a commercial success of recordings
of works by composers 99.9% of the population have never heard of and
couldn't even pronounce, I say good luck to them!

[caostotale]

Naxos and other companies like Toccata Music have indeed done some remarkable work towards sliding over that whole 'iron curtain' for good, but I've found that the sheer magnitude of salvaging that region's overall repertoire is going to require still more direct involvement from younger musicians and music scholars, and sadly, fewer and fewer of them (at least in the West) seem to have much interest in real music history at all. I talk to acquaintances of mine who are musicologists once in a while, but they seem to be forever lost in some vortex of useless academic mumbo-jumbo about the 'sociology of music' and so forth. Besides, most seem a bit too comfortable to conveniently snipe this music as being 'socialist realist' before wandering off to the next Cage or Stockhausen recital or dabbling in some 'early music' trend. Such is the power of careerism and the market, even when people should be capable of seeing past those things. Still, the facts that CPO recently completed releasing Vainberg's quartet cycle and that Toccata is actively promoting composers like Eller, Peiko, and Galynin are very encouraging.

[fleubis]

Naxos and other companies like Toccata Music have indeed done some remarkable work towards sliding over that whole 'iron curtain' for good, but I've found that the sheer magnitude of salvaging that region's overall repertoire is going to require still more direct involvement from younger musicians and music scholars, and sadly, fewer and fewer of them (at least in the West) seem to have much interest in real music history at all. I talk to acquaintances of mine who are musicologists once in a while, but they seem to be forever lost in some vortex of useless academic mumbo-jumbo about the 'sociology of music' and so forth. Besides, most seem a bit too comfortable to conveniently snipe this music as being 'socialist realist' before wandering off to the next Cage or Stockhausen recital or dabbling in some 'early music' trend. Such is the power of careerism and the market, even when people should be capable of seeing past those things. Still, the facts that CPO recently completed releasing Vainberg's quartet cycle and that Toccata is actively promoting composers like Eller, Peiko, and Galynin are very encouraging.

caostotale, I am in total agreement with your comments. Academia does not want to addresses this gaping hole in our musical universe. and indeed such a mindset is why a good part of the reason i have turned my back on it. But thankfully we do have progressive record companies that do not fear to tread in these uncharted waters.

[Timtin]

I think that the gaping holes and uncharted waters of the recorded music
industry aren't just the limited to Russian music. There are vast amounts of
music written by Western composers which also deserve their (and our) attention.
Personally, I'd like to be given the chance to discover things from England's much
neglected musical heritage slightly more than those of somewhere like Azerbaijan,
if I'm perfectly honest.

[caostotale]

I agree that all of the music is worthwhile, regardless of nationality, but I find myself slightly less concerned about obscure Western composers because their music is, by comparison, far easier to find through library networks and the like. On the other hand, a good number of the Soviet scores I've shared are copies of works that are virtually impossible to find and often by composers whose biographical information simply doesn't exist. While I'm certain that none of the works I've posted are from one-of-a-kind editions, many of them are the only available copies that exist in the whole of my country. The 'diaspora' of Soviet scores is very unpredictable as well. There's a rare Vladimir Fere quartet score that I was interested in seeing, but the only copy I could find in a library is in Sydney, Australia of all places! Finally, a lot of the 'second world' pieces were originally printed on low-quality 'second-world' paper. With some of these works, I have to be extremely careful that the pages don't crumble as I turn them.

[alfor]

Dear caostotale (or - freely translated - "strictest order"),

thank you very much for your recent postings!!!

P.S. Amazing how many rare scores surfaced since I took the liberty of a break!!! (Will be back in December or January though).

[fleubis]

Dear caostotale (or - freely translated - "strictest order"),

thank you very much for your recent postings!!!

P.S. Amazing how many rare scores surfaced since I took the liberty of a break!!! (Will be back in December or January though).

Alfor, a very well deserved break indeed!

[caostotale]

Another big set of preludes, this time from Georgia's best string quartet composer. I believe someone on Youtube posted recordings of all or most of these ripped from an old LP:

Sulkhan Fyodorovich TSINTSADZE
Preludes (24), for piano (1971)

Tsintsadze - Preludes (24), for piano (1971).pdf

[fleubis]

Another big set of preludes, this time from Georgia's best string quartet composer. I believe someone on Youtube posted recordings of all or most of these ripped from an old LP:

Sulkhan Fyodorovich TSINTSADZE
Preludes (24), for piano (1971)

Tsintsadze - Preludes (24), for piano (1971).pdf

Nice set of preludes with some surprises. Thanks for posting!

[caostotale]

Here's another Azerbaijani work. This composer is famous for his ballets, including a heroic epic called 'Babek' and another called 'Journey to the Caucasus':

Agshin Aligulu ALIZADE
Piano Sonata (1959)

Alizade - Piano Sonata (1959).pdf