Gauk Conducts Miaskovsky

About a month ago I uploaded a recording of Symphony No. 21 by the 20th century Russian composer Nikolai Miaskovsky (latterly Myaskovsky), in a vivid performance by the Philadelphians under Eugene Ormandy.

I enjoyed that experience so much, I went off in search of more Miaskovsky in my library, and came up with this item - a version of his beautiful Symphony No. 17 as led by Alexander Gauk, the score's dedicatee, who conducted its first performance in 1937.

Nikolai Miaskovsky

This performance is with the USSR Radio Symphony, which I believe is the same ensemble which was variously known as the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, the USSR Large Radio and Television Orchestra, and perhaps other names. It is now the State Academic Symphony Orchestra "Evgeny Svetlanov" - also, so as to continue its legacy of confusion, the Russian State Symphony Orchestra. Gauk was its music director for several years.

Alexander Gauk

The recording here comes from relatively late in Gauk's career (he lived from 1893 to 1963). Sources disagree on the exact date, but it appears to be from the late 1950s. This pressing is on the MK (Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga, or "International Book") label, which the state agency was using for its export issues at the time. You can see the very Soviet-style logo on the cover, with a book slicing through the globe. I believe the rest of the hideous cover may have been the responsibility of the US importer Abbey.

Anyone who had ever heard a recording of this group during this period will know what to expect. Horns that sound like saxophones, blatant brass, etc. (along with much lovely playing, of course), all set in a distant, reverberant acoustic. I imagine this is what Miaskovsky expected, and it has its own distinct charm, at least to me. The mono sound is actually quite good, in its own way.

Gauk was not considered the best Soviet conductor of his time, and apparently even the composer could be indifferent to his skills (even considering the dedication). But this delightful performance of Miaskovsky's work is committed and convincing, providing a good case for the composer's music to be heard far more often than it is today.