Symphony No. 22 (Myaskovsky)

Nikolai Myaskovsky composed his Symphony No. 22 in B minor in 1941. Its official name is Symphonic Ballad (or Ballade), and it lasts about 35–40 minutes in performance.

The symphony is in one movement in three sections:

1. Lento. Allegro non troppo in B minor{{cite web|title=Movement headings|url=http://www.myaskovsky.ru/?id=4&id1=0&id2=62&sf=0&so=0|accessdate=11 January 2010}}Keys from score
2. Andante con duolo in B-flat minor
3. Allegro energico, ma non troppo vivo in B minor

The first section begins with a slow introduction which acts as a section-connecting and recurring motive, in B minor but with a tendency to slip to a G major chord. When this introductory material is last heard, near the end of the symphony, the top G rises to a G{{music|sharp}} several times.

The symphony was premiered in Tbilisi under Abram Stasevich on 12 January 1942.{{cite web|title=Review of Titov CD of Symphony 22|url=http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/May09/miaskovsky_sys.htm|accessdate=11 January 2010|date=May 2009}} It was possibly among the first symphonic responses to The Great Patriotic War (World War II), predating Dmitri Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony.