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Before we get to the Russians let’s recap what has happened so far in the World Cup of Composers.
The French sent eight composers to the second round of their national tournament: Ravel, Berlioz, Bizet, Gounod, Debussy, Massenet, Saint- Saëns, and Offenbach.
The Italians have sent eight composers to their second round: Verdi, Bellini, Puccini, Donizetti, Vivaldi, Respighi, Rossini, and Leoncavallo.
Now for the Russians. At first blush it would appear to be a competition between the Mighty Handful and Tchaikovsky. However, the 20th Century Russians are a lot stronger than the 20th Century composers of any other country.
The 20th Century group is Khachaturian, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Kabalevsky, and Stravinsky. Khachaturian is technically Armenian but he was a part of the Soviet Union.
The rest of the Russian field is Cesar Cui, Alexander Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, Alexander Scriabin, Mily Balakirev, Mikhail Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Borodin, and Pavel Chesnokov.
Chesnokov might appear to be a bit of a surprise but he did compose over 500 pieces of Russian sacred choral music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wjM5dJ8NIs
How is this going to shake out?
Can the eternal popularity of Tchaikovsky override the detonation that occurred with Stravinsky's Rite of Spring or does Mussorgsky have the quintessential Russian sound?
Before we get to the Russians let’s recap what has happened so far in the World Cup of Composers.
The French sent eight composers to the second round of their national tournament: Ravel, Berlioz, Bizet, Gounod, Debussy, Massenet, Saint- Saëns, and Offenbach.
The Italians have sent eight composers to their second round: Verdi, Bellini, Puccini, Donizetti, Vivaldi, Respighi, Rossini, and Leoncavallo.
Now for the Russians. At first blush it would appear to be a competition between the Mighty Handful and Tchaikovsky. However, the 20th Century Russians are a lot stronger than the 20th Century composers of any other country.
The 20th Century group is Khachaturian, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Kabalevsky, and Stravinsky. Khachaturian is technically Armenian but he was a part of the Soviet Union.
The rest of the Russian field is Cesar Cui, Alexander Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, Alexander Scriabin, Mily Balakirev, Mikhail Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Borodin, and Pavel Chesnokov.
Chesnokov might appear to be a bit of a surprise but he did compose over 500 pieces of Russian sacred choral music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wjM5dJ8NIs
How is this going to shake out?
Can the eternal popularity of Tchaikovsky override the detonation that occurred with Stravinsky's Rite of Spring or does Mussorgsky have the quintessential Russian sound?