Search - Ivanovs, Zhukov, Sinaisky :: Music of Janis Ivanovs 6 1959-1963

Strange symphony, but a muscular and intense piano concerto

Art and Music Guy | Pittsburgh, PA, USA | 04/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am familiar with Ivanovs symphonies that are currently available here in the USA, so my opinion is perhaps not as informed as a musicologist's but here is my take: Symphony 10 reveals Ivanovs playing with 12 tone composition, and while it is not dry,the colorful swells of melody and orchestration so apparent in Symphonies 2, 3, 4, and even 8 are not here in Sym. 10. Those symphonies are redolent of landscape or some interior, psychological landscape, while 10 seems to be an experiment. It's well crafted but it feels overlong.

The Piano Concerto, on the contrary, moves at a nice pace and has a tough sheen to it, which reminds me of Martinu's 2nd or 3rd Piano Concerti. I like it quite a bit. This is a fine composer whose works should be picked up by a label that has the clout to pry them from whatever reproduction / distribution morass that has kept Ivanovs' music locked in Latvia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Somebody do it, please."