Nikolai Myaskovsky composed his Symphony No. 22 in

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: Changes need ...

in 1941. Its official name is ''Symphonic Ballad'' (or Ballade), and it lasts about 35–40 minutes in performance. The

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

is in one movement in three sections: #Lento. Allegro non troppo in B minor #Andante con duolo in

#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 G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

chord. When this introductory material is last heard, near the end of the symphony, the top G rises to a G several times. The symphony was premiered in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

under Abram Stasevich on 12 January 1942. It was possibly among the first symphonic responses to The Great Patriotic War (

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

), predating

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

's Leningrad Symphony.

Recordings

Yevgeny Svetlanov Yevgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov (; 6 September 1928 – 3 May 2002) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, composer, and pianist. Life and work Svetlanov was born in Moscow and studied conducting with Alexander Gauk at the Moscow Conservatory Th ...

, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, recorded May 2, 1970, for Melodiya, reissued on Olympia, Alto and Warner Classics * Aleksandr Titov, St Petersburg State Academic SO, on Northern Flowers NF/PMA 9966, recorded June 24, 2008

References

22 1941 compositions 1941 in the Soviet Union Compositions in B minor {{symphony-stub