Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
00:05 I. Moderato
10:22 II. Molto allegro
15:41 III. Molto andante (Adagio)
24:36 IV. Moderato - Allegro
Latvian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Guntis Kuzma
Jānis Ivanovs (1906-1983) was one of Latvia's most influential composers. For more on Ivanovs, see my score video of his fourth symphony "Atlantīda": youtube.com/watch?v=VfciueeCWtk
Ivanovs' fifteenth symphony, written in 1972 and subtitled "Symphonia Ipsa" (Symphony of Itself), is cut from much of the same cloth as his sixteenth; both works were written during the Brezhnev era of the Soviet Union. It is characterized by an atmosphere of bleakness typical of the composer's later works - often astringent harmonies and occasional moments of catharsis, interrupted by energetic, halting martial rhythms and clamorous build-ups that never quite reach reach a sustained maximum.
00:05 I. Moderato
10:22 II. Molto allegro
15:41 III. Molto andante (Adagio)
24:36 IV. Moderato - Allegro
Latvian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Guntis Kuzma
Jānis Ivanovs (1906-1983) was one of Latvia's most influential composers. For more on Ivanovs, see my score video of his fourth symphony "Atlantīda": youtube.com/watch?v=VfciueeCWtk
Ivanovs' fifteenth symphony, written in 1972 and subtitled "Symphonia Ipsa" (Symphony of Itself), is cut from much of the same cloth as his sixteenth; both works were written during the Brezhnev era of the Soviet Union. It is characterized by an atmosphere of bleakness typical of the composer's later works - often astringent harmonies and occasional moments of catharsis, interrupted by energetic, halting martial rhythms and clamorous build-ups that never quite reach reach a sustained maximum.
