Edison Denisov - Symphony (1990)

Edison Vasilievich Denisov (1929-1996) was part of the Soviet "underground" of composers who found themselves denounced by the state in 1979 - "Khrennikov's Seven" also included Artyomov and Gubaidulina.  He spent the last two years of his life in Paris before succumbing to long-term ill health.

This live recording of his first symphony (composed in 1987) dates from February 1990.  By this time, Denisov's standing in late-Soviet Russia had improved enough that the Ministry of Culture Orchestra performed it in the Moscow Conservatoire.  Rather than follow established symphonic form, the work paints dark tonal colours and textures: unsettling, almost Ligeti-like strings and sombre bells in the long first movement, and strong percussion in the third.  Wonderful, stirring and engrossing music.

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bonus Denisov - Symphony No. 2

A concert broadcast from February 2017 in the London Royal Festival Hall, with the LPO conducted by Vladimir Jurowksi.  Denisov's Symphony No. 2, written eight months before his death, was much shorter than the first (just under 16 minutes), but covers similar terrain.  It was programmed with two other "end of life" works: Berg's Violin Concerto, and Symphony No. 15 by Denisov's one-time teacher Shostakovich.

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