Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kirill Karabits

I - Andante maestoso - Allegro impetuoso - Andante - Sostenuto e tranquillo - Allegro - Andante - Allegro - Molto sostenuto e tranquillo - Allegro maestoso: 0:00
II - Andante con moto - Tranquillo - Andante con moto - Tranquillo - Lento: 14:40
III - Allegro feroce - Poco meno mosso - Allegro molto - Allegro feroce: 28:13
IV - Allegro risoluto ma non troppo mosso - Poco meno mosso, ma sempre allegro - maestoso assai - Più tranquillo ma sempre allegro - Poco meno mosso, marciale assai - Maestoso - Trionfante: 34:08

The Third Symphony of Borys Lyatoshynsky was written in 1951, as a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution. The work was premiered the same year at the Congress of Ukrainian Composers in Kiev. The first performance caused a great sensation, but the Soviet censors still forced the composer to rewrite the last movement, changing the original concept and removing the epigraph “Peace will defeat war”, if he hoped to see it performed again.

After a long period of indecision, the composer offered a revised version, but only after a further revision did the Party permit a performance. In its new form the symphony was performed in Leningrad in 1955 by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Evgeny Mravinsky, and subsequently in Moscow, Kiev and other cities throughout the Soviet Union. Although the symphony was accepted, after revision, the four years separating the two versions proved very damaging to Lyatoshynsky. Accusations of formalism, decadence, aggression, sadism and cacophony were levelled at him in official discussions of his work. In spite of this, the Third Symphony represents the greatest example of Ukrainian symphonic music and one of the great symphonies of the twentieth century.

The first movement is written in sonata form with an introduction. It opens in an atmosphere of brooding menace and violence, with the brass presenting a portentous two-bar dissonant motif. An ominous melody bristling with semitones follows in the English horn. The main theme of the Allegro, presented by the strings, is turbulent and impetuous, representing the destructive force of war. The second theme, presented by the low flutes and bassoons, is sombrer and folk-like, representing the peace. In the development, strife breaks out again as the main theme and the ideas of the introduction are developed in a vivid portrait of struggle. A series of climaxes occur before the folksong theme is heard once more, on strings and brass, at which point it is combined with the material from the start of the Allegro. A recapitulation of the thematic material leads to a massive climax, and the third appearance of the folksong, presented in the form of a solemn hymn, before the movement dies away inconclusively.

The second movement is written in a ternary structure. It opens with a gentle rocking ostinato (derived from the initial fanfare) on harp and violas, cool flute chords, and the cor anglais theme from the introduction to the first movement, transformed into a tender, consolatory cello melody. The return of the folksong theme from the first movement also seems to offer balm, however, in the middle of the movement, the ostinato returns, assuming a threatening tone, as more instruments are added until, with the entry of percussion, it becomes a vision of an implacable, terrifying war machine. The music swells to a nightmarish climax, at which even the folksong theme is tainted with menace, before being abruptly curtailed. The English horn and first violins take up the comforting theme again, accompanied by soft murmurings on clarinets and violas; it leads to a further impassioned outpouring, horns echoing violins, before the music subsides and comes full circle, English horn and clarinet musing on the movement’s initial thoughts.

The third movement is a scherzo with a trio. The opening, once more, is a metamorphosis of the initial fanfare. Over a relentlessly pulsing bass line, dissonant chords and eerie fragments conjure the desolation of the battlefield. The trio is a reshape of the "folksong" from the first movement. Introduced by the oboe, and set against a translucently scored backdrop, it is delicate and laden with sadness. Heard twice more, the melody finally emerges as a melancholic waltz. Returning with even more ferocity, the scherzo material is combined with the melody of the trio, as if attempting to crush all vestiges of humanity. The music climaxes with thunderously jabbing strokes on the timpani; however, in an enigmatic twist, in the coda these fade, and with strange chromatic woodwind flourishes the movement peters out.

(Description continued in the comment section.)

Picture: "Our locomotive goes forward!" (1972) by the Ukrainian-Soviet painter Revold Baryshnikov.

Sources: [ Ссылка ] and [ Ссылка ]

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