Boris Tchaikovsky: Suite "After the Ball" (1952)

Saratov Conservatory Symphony Orchestra conducted by / Orquesta Sinfónica del Conservatorio de Saratov dirigida por Kirill Ershov.
I. Intro (0:00)
II. Waltz / Vals (1:51)
III. Reminiscence / Reminiscencia (3:43)
IV. Mazurka (6:14)
V. At home / En casa (9:27)
VI. March (execution) / Marcha (ejecución) (11:29)
VII. Conclusion (15:45)
Boris Tchaikovsky (unrelated to Piotr Ilyich) was born in 1925 in Moscow. He was until his death in 1996, one of the most prolific composers of his time, considered among the many musical heirs of his master, most revered Dmitri Shostakovich. Music coming from his early period is characterized by directness and ingenuity, albeit some conservativeness for it was conceived during the Zhdanovschina, period in which Shostakovich and he were targeted as formalist or contrary to musical official discourse, a.k.a. tonality. One of the most important works of this period is the Suite for the radiophonic version of Tolstoy’s tale After the Ball, in which Ivan Vassilievich, a young Russian gets infatuated with beautiful Varinka during a court ball; sentiment he only gets over after witnessing Varinka’s father, a colonel, punishing a Tartar soldier while apparently trying to desert.
Boris Tchaikovsky (sin relación familiar con Piotr Ilich) nació en 1925 en Moscú. Hasta su muerte en 1996 fue uno de los compositores más prolíficos de su tiempo y considerado como uno más de los herederos musicales de su maestro, el honorable Dimitri Shostakovich. La música de su primer periodo se caracteriza por ser directa e ingeniosa, muy a pesar de su conservadurismo al ser compuesta durante la Zhdanovschina, periodo en el que tanto su maestro como él fueron designados como formalistas o contrarios al discurso musical oficialista, alias tonalidad. Una de las obras más importantes de éste periodo fue la suite para la versión radiofónica del cuento de Tolstoi Después del Baile, en la que Iván Vassilievich, un joven ruso, se enamora de la bella Varinka durante un baile de la corte; sentimiento que solo se resuelve tras presenciar el castigo que el padre de Varinka, un coronel, infringe sobre un soldado tártaro que aparentemente intentaba desertar.
Image/imagen: Ball at the Russian Imperial Court / Baile en la corte imperial rusa. Dmitry Kardovsky. 1910.

[@harryandruschak2843]

First time I have even heard of this composer, much less his music. Thank you for introducing him to me.

[@adkinsomm5714]

my god .. a magnificent piece of music .. thank you

[@bobhourigan7626]

Charming. Thanks for sharing.

[@kaybeenullenvoyde9196]

I have a few works of his from a record store in Hollywood in '80s. Numerous Russian Jews emigrated to my neighborhood in those years, brought Melodiya LPs with them, I bought many from a store where they sold them.

[@DSiebert]

Shows clearly that he was a favored student of Shostakovich.