Octet (Ichmouratov)
{{Infobox musical composition
| name = Octet in G minor "Letter from an Unknown Woman"
| composer = Airat Ichmouratov
| image = IchmouratovOctet.png
| image_upright = 1.3
| caption = The beginning
| key = G minor
| opus = 56
| dedication =
| composed = {{Start date|2017}}
| performed = {{Start date|2018|01|13|df=y}}
| published =
| movements = two, without pause
| duration = about 18 minutes
| scoring = double string quartet
}}
Airat Ichmouratov's Octet in G minor, Op. 56, was composed in December 2017. It was commissioned and premiered by Saguenay and Lafayette String Quartets on 13 January 2018 at Fanny Bay Hall, Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada.[https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/entertainment/two-renowned-quartets-to-share-stage-at-fanny-bay-hall/ Comox Valley Record, Two renowned quartets to share the stage at Fanny Bay Hall]. Retrieved 8 May 2020 The Octet was inspired by Stefan Zweig's novella "Letter from an Unknown Woman" and bears the same name. In November 2018 composer made an arrangement of the Octet for string orchestra and it was recorded by Belarusian State Chamber Orchestra with Evgeny Bushkov as a conductor and was released by Chandos Records.[https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2020141/ chandos.net – catalogue]. Retrieved 8 May 2020 The string orchestra version was first time publicly performed by the Belarusian State Chamber Orchestra with Evgeny Bushkov as a conductor on March 13, 2019 in Minsk, Belarus.[https://philharmonic.by/ru/concert/abonement-vivat-orkestr-dmitriy-hahamov-skripka-rossiya-i-aleksandr-tatarinov-alt-rossiya/ philharmonic.by, Абонемент “Vivat, оркестр!”]. Retrieved 8 May 2020
Structure
The work comprises two movements which performed without pause:
- Largo – Adagio
- Allegro – Largo
A typical performance of the work lasts around eighteen minutes
Instrumentation
The original score is for a double string quartet with four violins and pairs of violas and cellos.
The composer also transcribed the piece for string orchestra, so it is often played by full string sections using more players for each part as well as an added double bass part which usually (but not always) doubles the second cello part an octave lower.
File:Stefan Zweig 1900 cropped.jpg, whose novella "Brief einer Unbekannten" inspired Ichmouratov's Octet ]]
Critical reception
The recording of octet gained average-to-positive reviews. Jeremy Pound of BBC Music Magazine wrote: "Filmic, feisty, flamboyant and, admittedly, occasionally a little froth, Ichmouratov’s orchestral music is rarely dull. It benefits here from characterful performances."[https://www.pressreader.com/uk/bbc-music-magazine/20190710/page/22/ BBC Music Magazine – Brief Notes section, October 2019”]. Retrieved 8 May 2020 Carlos Maria Solare of The Strad wrote about Octet: "it is the most musically ambitious piece".[https://www.thestrad.com/reviews/elvira-misbakhova-ichmouratov/9521.article/ The Strad – Elvira Misbakhova: Ichmouratov”]. Retrieved 8 May 2020 Ateş Orga of ClassicalSource.com wrote: "The power of Ichmouratov's writing, his filmic way of giving G-minor a life and death born out of elegiac Tchaikovsky, Mahlerian Schubert, fin de siècle Vienna, the bleakness of wartime Shostakovich, urged me back to the original story.[http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=16839/ ClassicalSource.com – Airat Ichmouratov – Letter from an Unknown Woman [Chandos]”] Retrieved 8 May 2020 David Guttman of Gramophone summarizes much of its reception: "Here there is greater ability to think in paragraphs and a leaner style of melodic emoting, supplementing the usual Romantic Russians with elements recalling Korngold, Schoenberg and Strauss".[https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/ichmouratov-letter-from-an-unknown-woman/ Gramophone, Ichmouratov – Letter From an Unknown Woman]. Retrieved 8 May 2020
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://airatichmouratov.com/compositions/letter-from-an-unknown-woman/ Airat Ichmouratov, Octet Op.56 "Letter from an Unknown Woman"]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvydtFyWNxQ Complete performance of the Octet] by Saguenay and Lafayette String Quartets – January 13, 2018 (18:59)
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c5zu1RvI5M Complete performance of the Octet – String orchestra by the composer] Belarusian State Chamber Orchestra Conductor: Evgeny Bushkov – March 13, 2019 (17:38)
{{Airat Ichmouratov}}
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