Symphony in B flat major - Mikhail Glinka / Petr Klimov

Musica Viva Ensemble conducted by Alexander Rudin I - : 0:00 Glinka’s Symphony in B flat major was begun in 1824, being abandoned in a fragmentary state. The work was finally completed by Petr Klimov and recorded in 2010. A youthful attempt that, unfortunately, is a mere sketch of what it could have been. The work gives us no indication of the great changes that the composer would apply to his style years later. The symphony is structured in a single movement in modified sonata form. It begins with a slow pastoral introduction, with serious chords on the strings contrasted by sweet phrases from the clarinet and flute. Two folk songs form the basis of the symphony: the Russian dance “In the Field“ and the Ukrainian “Hrytsiu, Don’t Go“. The main theme is rhythmic and dancing, exposed by the clarinet with the support of the strings. The second theme is more lyrical and solemn, presented by the string. The development is brief but lively, with the presence of ornaments and arabesques of the wood. Instead of a formal recapitulation, a crescendo leads to an elegant coda. Picture: “Landscape with Ascanius Shooting the Stag of Sylvia“ (1682) by the French painter Claude Lorrain. Introduction and musical analysis written by myself. Published originally in spanish in this article: