Symphony in B minor

Leokadiya Kashperova

• Full Orchestral score
• Part of the Kashperova Edition series
• Advanced level
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes

Leokadiya Kashperova (1872–1940), hitherto consigned to a footnote in musical history as Stravinsky’s piano teacher, is undergoing rediscovery. The Symphony in B minor of 1905 is Kashperova’s grandest composition. Testimony to her originality is that the work betrays her sympathies not only for the Russian symphonic tradition but also that of central Europe. The work abounds in felicitous solos for woodwinds and brass, and it reveals many effective and original ‘chamber ensembles’ from within the symphonic palette, the first movement’s cello solo to the accompaniment of horn quartet being a memorable example. Equally notable is Kashperova’s exploitation of the extremities of register, which is also a characteristic of the piano writing in her chamber music and art-songs.