Russians in the Heartland

Recently the St. Louis Symphony kicked off its 2010-2011 season with an all-Russian program, marking the inauguration of its season-long Russian Festival. The selections consisted of the rarely-heard Symphony No. 1 in G minor by Vasily Kalinnikov (1894-95), the Lieutenant Kije Symphonic Suite by Sergei Prokofiev (1934) and the Violin Concerto of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1878), with Joshua Bell as soloist. Music Director David Robertson conducted.

This concert was not only a pleasure to the ears, but was educational as well. Although I had studied a bit of the Russian language in school (amazingly, it's not nearly as difficult as you might think), had read several novels and stories by Russian authors, and had waded through a bit of Russian history, hearing so much Russian music all at once made me stop and reflect on what this people has endured across the centuries. Invasions, repressive monarchical regimes, disease, revolution, excesses of the communist era--all are part of what this people has borne. How many people realize that the Russian death toll in World War II was as high as 22,000,000? Yet through it all their musicians have performed brilliantly, and their composers have produced beautiful music that breathes melody in and out, right to the present day.

Perhaps what struck me most of all as I listened was the sheer melodic quality of the music. Every piece we heard, although rhythmic and often gymnastic, still sported singable, haunting melodies that we all carried home resonating in our ears.

Even now I find myself recalling the opening themes of the symphony by Kalinnikov. His short life of less than thirty-five years (1866-1901) was a constant struggle with poverty and poor health, but his music is heroic, ebullient and free. His work is a reminder that greatness can overcome all obstacles.

The suite from Lieutenant Kije, based upon a comic movie about soldiers creating an imaginary officer, reminds us that people everywhere have faced the challenges of bureaucracy, boredom and feelings of powerlessness. Prokofiev's imaginative and sparkling score, however, transforms the mundane world into something much more magical.

The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto needs no introduction to aficionadoes. It is filled with dizzying leaps and bounds, peaks as high as Everest, careening slides on the violin strings--but also with introspection and pathos. Joshua Bell is a supreme virtuoso. We often speak of a musical instrument working almost as an extension of a master performer's body, but Bell took this image to a new height; it was virtually impossible to tell where his arms and hands stopped and the wood and strings of the violin began. Watching a great musician is like watching the greatest of athletes.

The physical location of Russia is thousands of miles from the American Midwest. Yet on this September night Russia seemed to have opened its heart and soul in St. Louis.

Thanks for reading.
Gary