Concert Idea

The title of the first doctoral concert, Abandoned Melodies, can be interpreted in several ways. On the one hand, political and social circumstances in the Soviet Union had a significant impact on the oeuvre of the composers. Aleksandr Veprik was urged to abandon Jewish themes and turn to more “neutral” melodic material. Mieczysław Weinberg’s Jewish melodies appear in a sorrowful mode. Joseph Dorfman had to emigrate, not having the possibility to fulfil his artistic visions under the Soviet state doctrine. Edison Denisov was publicly defamed for turning to post-tonal composition styles and leaving aside melody in the traditional sense. Aleksandr Lokshin fell into political disgrace; both his music and he as a person were almost completely abandoned in the Soviet Union. 

On the other hand, Abandoned Melodies can be seen in the sense that — except for Denisov’s solo composition — none of these works has found its way into the standard clarinet repertoire. Weinberg´s sonata has been gaining popularity in recent years, and hopefully further compositions will meet with increasing interest among musicians and audiences in the future.