Stankovytch: Symphonies

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 2 "Heroic"
Composed by Y. Stankovitch
Performed by National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Conducted by Theodore Kuchar

2. Symphony No. 1 "Sinfonia larga"
Composed by Y. Stankovitch
Performed by National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Conducted by Theodore Kuchar

3. Symphony No. 4 "Sinfonia lirica"
Composed by Y. Stankovitch
Performed by National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Conducted by Theodore Kuchar

Tracks:

Allegro
Largo Molto
Moderato
Symphony No.1, 'Sinfonia Largo'
Symphony No.4, 'Sinfonia Lirica'

Customer Reviews:

Stankovytch: Unsung Genius.......2000-01-09

I would HIGHLY recommend this CD to devotees of composers like Arvo Part, Giya Kancheli, and John Tavener.

The first work, the Symphony No. 2 (_Heroic_), protests the brutality of war and commemorates the victims and other honored dead. Not surprisingly, it calls to mind pieces like Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony Op. 110a ("In Memory of the Victims of Fascism and War") and Kancheli's newly-released _Lament_. All in all, a powerful, dramatic piece--a sort of symphonic requiem.

The second work on the album, the Symphony No. 1 (_Sinfonia Larga_) for sixteen strings, is no less powerful. It is a haunting work, dreamy, almost surreal at times. If I set about to somehow translate--or should I say "transliterate"?--this work into fiction, I would think instantly of writers like Lovecraft, Kafka, and Bruce Sterling (e.g., "Taklamakan" [_A Good Old-Fashioned Future_]).

The final piece, the Symphony No. 4 (_Sinfonia Lirica_), is composed for sixteen strings and solo cello. Again, an intense, haunting work.

Why, I wonder, are there so few works available by this remarkable composer?

Music Review: