Classical Music Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Soundtrack for Invasion of the Ukraine

13K views 56 replies 29 participants last post by  musicrom 
#1 · (Edited)
Ahh, just like the good ol' days, when Czechoslovakia was invaded by Russia back in the '70's!

I'm choosing as my accompaniment to this spectacle of naked aggression the mammoth Prokofiev Sixth Sonata, played by Evgeny "Genya" Kissin from the RCA 2-CD Carnegie Hall Debut Concert.
This 4-movement sonata is referred to as the first of three "war sonatas, although, according to Kissin, this subtitle is misleading.

"The Sixth Sonata was written in 1939, before the war, so the experience Prokofiev portrays is that of the period of Stalinist repression, the "cult of personality. He truly captures this in the bitter, pompous opening theme of the first movement, a sort of "Stalin leitmotif," which returns in the finale. The second movement is a parody of a military march, full of Prokofiev's veiled humor, sarcasm, and mischief. In the third movement Prokofiev proves himself Rachmaninoff's equal in his ability to "sing the Russian nature" with irresistible lyricism, and the middle section evokes the spirit of old Russian legends. The finale is truly a "big sarcasm," and in the middle section Prokofiev recalls the "Stalin leitmotif," giving it a completely different, ominous character, and inserting additional thematic material to create a premonition of impending doom."

The descending chords at the end, are, indeed, sinister sounding. I love this part. The "Stalin leitmotif" is just that: more of a fragment than a theme. Upon listening in a half-asleep state, as I often end-up in, the motif seems to be like a claw, or hook. Its simple descending shape of three notes is like a claw taking something away. I often have these kinds of irrational associations when I listen. A claw seems to be an appropriate symbol, the claw of Putin's brute force taking away the freedom of the Ukraine.
 
See less See more
#42 ·
Here's my own offering to the soundrack, provided generously by Mr. Putin himself:



Interesting and amusing, if nothing else. He actually doesn't have that bad of a voice, at least for a politician. I'd pick that any day over Mitt Romney's "America the Beautiful".
 
#45 ·
Music is good but in reality is not good life in there for the moment. Shame we lived in peace for so long in Soviet Union and now everything is destroyed, we forgot how to love people, to take care of everybody. Nah we now hate every single nationality. I don't like like that.
 
#46 ·
Of course, and the grass was greener in the Soviet Union, and the icecream was sweeter... Ah, that communist nostalgia :rolleyes:
 
This post has been deleted
#48 · (Edited)
... By the way, the US is selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, as well as actively participating in the Ukrainian Civil War.
This is getting a political discussion and thus it´s difficult to set the limit, but:
the US is not invading Ukraine, its elected government is asking for foreign help, in the case of Western powers non-lethal, and using the Ukrainian "civil war"-terminology obscures the Russian invasions and conquest of Crimea, which are undeniable facts, and, according to for example British RUSI, involving around 50,000 Russian troops, plus military material, bombarding across the border etc.
 
#54 ·
That's the irony. The harsh contrast between charming folklore and the current situation shows how this sort of conflicts have long-lasting impacts on the arts and on society in general. In fact, pre-WWI music and post-WWI music is quite different (especially in certain avantgarde approaches).
As Ukrainian composer Lyatoshynsky pointed out in his Third Symphony score: "Peace will defeat war". Armed conflicts result in the severe deterioration of human societies, bringing up the worst aspects of the human beings who find themselves in those stressful circumstances.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top