Times Quotidian

A. Borodin, A. Glazunov, N. Rinsky-Korsakov: “Les Vendredis” String Quartets, Excerpts
A. Glazunov: Elegy for Piano and Cello, OP 17
D. Shostakovitch: Pianp Quintet in C Minor, OP 57

Le Salon de Musiques, April 8th, Dorothy Chandler Pavillon —

News cycles at the moment are rife with tales of Russian influence, wealthy oligarchs and behind-the-scene businessmen with lavish country dachas. On April 8th, Le Salon de Musiques presented a concert whose background, although of similar themes, dealt with the world of classical music (circa 1890-1943) rather than the current international atmosphere of political intrigue. Entitled Russian Legends, the concert introduced us to Mitrofan Belyayev (1836-1903), the son of a millionaire lumber baron and land owner. Although he ran his father's business empire for decades, Belyayev was primarily interested in music. He played several instruments, spent time and money promoting young Russian composers and in 1884 founded the annual "Glinka Prize", whose recipients included Balakirev and Tchaikovsky. He and the composers around him, both young and old, would come to be known as "the Belyayev Circle".... [Read More]