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Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1

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TheSuite for Variety Orchestra No. 1(Russian:Сюита для эстрадного оркестра № 1,romanized:Syuita dlya estradnogo orkestra nomer 1) is a suite in eight movements arranged byLevon Atovmyan[ru]after 1956, based on music byDmitri Shostakovich.[1]An editorial error in the tenth volume of the Shostakovich collected works edition published byMuzykain 1984 resulted in the Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 being misidentified as the "Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2" or "Jazz Suite No. 2". The score was first published with the correct name in 2001.

Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1
byDmitri Shostakovichand Levon Atovmyan
Dmitri Shostakovich in 1958
Composedafter 1956
Durationc. 20 minutes
Movements8
ScoringPops orchestra
Premiere
DateDecember 1, 1988
LocationBarbican Hall
London, United Kingdom
ConductorMstislav Rostropovich
PerformersLondon Symphony Orchestra
Previously misidentified as "Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2"

Atovmyan, who arranged and assembled the suite, was a close friend of Shostakovich, and was regularly tasked with arranging concert suites of his film music. He also made numerous other transcriptions and arrangements, often without the composer's involvement and only his tacit approval. The Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 includes arrangements of excerpts from Shostakovich's ballet, theatre, and film music. It has not been precisely dated, but is believed to have been composed after 1956.

The first documented performance took place on December 1, 1988, at theBarbican Hall,played by theLondon Symphony Orchestraconducted byMstislav Rostropovich.TheRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestraconducted byRiccardo Chaillymade a successful recording of the suite in 1991. In 1994,André Rieureleased a recording of the suite's "Waltz II" that broke into the top 5 of the DutchMega Top 50and sold over 50,000 copies. It was later included in the soundtrack toStanley Kubrick'sEyes Wide Shut.

Misidentification

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The Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 is often mistaken for the unrelatedSuite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2from 1938.[1]This resulted from an error in an editorial footnote printed in volume 10 of the Shostakovich collected works edition published byMuzykain 1984,[2]which misidentified the Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 as the "Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2".[3]The editor-in-chief of the collected works edition, Konstantin Titarenko, inserted the footnote without informing his editorial staff. When Manashir Yakubov, the uncredited editor of volume 10's critical commentary, called to inform him of his mistake and demanded an explanation, Titarenko hung up.[4]

Background

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Despite being commonly attributed to Shostakovich and based on his music, the Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 was arranged byLevon Atovmyan[ru];a composer, arranger, and artistic administrator born inRussian Turkestan.They met at a meeting ofVsyeroskomdram[ru],the All-Russia Society of Composers and Dramatists, in the early 1930s.[5]Atovmyan subsequently became part of Shostakovich's circle of close friends;[6]later, he was regularly entrusted with arranging concert suites of his film music.[7]In addition, Atovmyan also made transcriptions and arrangements of Shostakovich's other music.[8]Although made with Shostakovich's tacit approval and based on his music, Atovmyan's arrangements incorporated extensive alterations and newly-composed material.[9]

No manuscript score of the Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 exists in Shostakovich's hand. Its instrumentation, movement arrangement, and generic titling of movements also do not correspond with Shostakovich's style.[10]No precise date for the suite's composition can be ascertained, but it is believed to have been composed in the late 1950s,[11]some time after 1956.[1]The unusual scoring, which includes three sections of violins and two pianos, suggests that the suite may have been assembled for a specific ensemble.[12]

Music

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Mstislav Rostropovichconducted the first documented performance of the Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 in 1988

The Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 consists of eightmovements:[1]

  1. March (Giocoso. Alla marcia)
  2. Dance I (Presto)
  3. Dance II (Allegretto scherzando—Poco meno mosso—Tempo I)
  4. Little Polka (Allegretto)
  5. Lyrical Waltz (Allegretto)
  6. Waltz I (Sostenuto—Tempo di valse—Poco più mosso)
  7. Waltz II (Allegretto poco moderato)
  8. Finale (Allegro moderato)

Each of the suite's movements is arranged from Shostakovich's scores for the ballet, theatre, and cinema. The first and last movements are based on the "March" from the 1940 comedy filmAdventures of Korzinkina[ru];[11]the "Waltz I" is an arrangement of a cue that had been cut from the film. "Dance I" is based on the "Marketplace" cue from the 1955 filmThe Gadfly,[1]which is alternatively known as "National Holiday" in Atovmyan's concert suite of the film music. "Dance 2" is an arrangement of the "Invitation to a Rendezvous" number fromThe Limpid Stream,itself an arrangement of the number "Pantomime and Dance of a Priest" fromThe Bolt.[11]The "Little Polka", "Lyrical Waltz", and "Waltz II" are arrangements of cues composed for the soundtrack toThe First Echelon;the first two cues had been discarded from the final version of the film score.[1][11]

A typical performance of the Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 lasts approximately 20 minutes.[1]

Instrumentation

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The instrumentation for the Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 is as follows:[13]

The original score divided the violins into three sections. These were reduced to two in the 2001 New Collected Works edition of the score; this was accomplished by combining the first and second violin parts, which frequently played unison. Portions of the score's parts for two pianos were givenossiaforpiano duet.None of these changes resulted in any substantial alterations to the musical text.[11]

Premieres

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The first documented performance of the Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 was on December 1, 1988. It referred to as "Jazz Suite No. 2" and was played at theBarbican Hallby theLondon Symphony Orchestraconducted byMstislav Rostropovich.The performance was broadcast by the BBC on December 4.[14]The first recording was made in 1991 forDeccaby theRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestraconducted byRiccardo Chailly.[15]

In 2001, the score was published for the first time.[15]

Reception

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André Rieu's 1994 recording of the "Waltz II" became a hit in Europe

Nicholas Kenyonin his review of the Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1's premiere forThe Observerwrote that the music was "Shostakovich at his most unbuttoned and jovial":[16]

The LSO played the Second Suite for Jazz Orchestra or Dance Band [sic] with its four blaring saxophones, accordion and guitar, as if to the manner born... The music is tripe, and not very well planned tripe at that—three waltzes in succession!—but Rostropovich lifted it along with such panache that it worked.[16]

He also called the work "fairly cynical pieces of writing-to-order".[16]

Chailly's Decca recording was a popular and critical success;[17]his recording of the "Waltz II" was included in the soundtrack toStanley Kubrick'sEyes Wide Shut.[18]Roger Covellin theSydney Morning Heraldpraised Chailly's "elegantly played" recording and compared Shostakovich's music favorably withWilliam Walton'sFaçade.[19]

In 1994,Philipsissued asingleof the "Waltz II" from the suite performed byAndré Rieuand his orchestra. It reached 5 in the DutchMega Top 50and sold over 50,000 copies. The recording was included in the albumFrom Holland With Lovein 1996.[20]

References

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  1. ^abcdefgMcBurney 2023,p. 230.
  2. ^Yakubov 2000,pp. 329–330.
  3. ^Shostakovich, Dmitri(1984).Rozhdestvensky, Gennady;Shostakovich, Irina (eds.).D. Shostakovich: Collected Works in Forty-Two Volumes, Volume Ten.Moscow:Muzyka.p. xi, n. 11.
  4. ^Yakubov 2000,pp. 332–331.
  5. ^Kravetz 2012,pp. 194–196.
  6. ^Kravetz 2012,pp. 201–205.
  7. ^Kravetz 2012,p. 280.
  8. ^Kravetz 2012,p. 293.
  9. ^McBurney 2023,p. 198.
  10. ^Yakubov 2000,p. 334.
  11. ^abcdeShostakovich & Atovmyan 2001,p. 269.
  12. ^Shostakovich & Atovmyan 2001,p. 270.
  13. ^Shostakovich & Atovmyan 2001,p. 6.
  14. ^Hulme 2010,p. 198.
  15. ^abHulme 2010,p. 199.
  16. ^abcKenyon, Nicholas(December 4, 1988)."Old flame rekindled".The Observer.p. 44. Archived fromthe originalon May 16, 2023.RetrievedMay 16,2023– viaNewspapers.
  17. ^"Shostakovich Jazz Suites Nos 1 and 2".Gramophone.Archivedfrom the original on May 16, 2023.RetrievedMay 16,2023.
  18. ^Eyes Wide Shut: Music From the Motion Picture(booklet).Reprise Records.1999. p. 1. 9 47450-2.
  19. ^Covell, Roger(March 8, 1993)."A tilt at the old two for teaski".Sydney Morning Herald.p. 56. Archived fromthe originalon May 16, 2023.RetrievedMay 16,2023– viaNewspapers.
  20. ^Hulme 2010,p. 200.

Cited sources

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  • Hulme, Derek C. (2010).Dmitri Shostakovich: The First Hundred Years and Beyond.Scarecrow Press.ISBN9780810872646.
  • Kravetz, Nelly (2012).Рядом с великими: Атовмьян и его время[Next to the Greats: Atovmyan and his Times] (in Russian). Moscow: ГИТИС [GITIS].ISBN978-5-91328-104-3.
  • McBurney, Gerard(March 2023)."Shostakovich: Work List"(PDF).Boosey & Hawkes.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on April 24, 2023.RetrievedApril 24,2023.
  • Shostakovich, Dmitri; Atovmyan, Levon (2001). Yakubov, Manashir (ed.).Dmitri Shostakovich: New Collected Works. IInd Series: Orchestra Compositions. 33rd Volume: Suite for Variety Stage Orchestra.Moscow: DSCH Publishers.
  • Yakubov, Manashir (2000). "Сюита для эстрадного оркестра или Сюита для джаз-оркестра № 2?" [Suite for Variety Orchestra or Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2?]. In Wulfson, Alexei (ed.).Шостакович: между мгновением и вечностью. Документы, материалы, статьи[Shostakovich: Between an Instant and Eternity—Documents, Materials, Articles] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Композитор [Composer].ISBN5-7379-0094-0.
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