Russian Romantic Pieces/ Nadejda Vlaeva/ M&A
SG
I've received the Music and Arts CD "A Treasury Of Romantic Russian
Music,"
featuring pianist Nadeja Vlaeva. Liner notes are by Farhan Malik of
distant rmcr fame -
erudite, sober, and informative.
Bortkiewicz's Sonata is the first on the disc, the rarity, the massive
centerpiece of this recital, so I'll write mostly about it. I admit I
am not
familiar with B's music, but I was mildly fascinated by this work.
Nothing
glaringly original, nothing challenging qua language, more of a
"pianist's
music," as in a Romantic pianist's reinterpretation of familiar
idioms. Nobody
declared the 3 B's to be Bach, Beethoven, and Bortkiewicz, after all.
Bortkiewicz seems to be to Rachmaninoff (or especially to
Rachmaninoff) what,
say, Arensky was to Tchaikovsky, Liapunov to Balakirev, or Moszkowsky
to Chopin.
If you have a nature indulgent with Romantic expression in its varied
forms, if
you like these idioms and are happy to wallow in them, as I
remorselessly do,
you'll like the music. If you're very picky and want only the rare
spiritual
peak, the most rarefied fruits of a given musical culture, you might
find the
whole thing a tad on the trite side. Personally I found the piece
quite
charming, pleasing to the ears, and I don't regret having listened to
it twice.
It was amusing, in a good way, to hear familiar bits raising their
head from the
score - the thematic borrowing from Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto
mentioned in
the liner notes 1'06" in the first movement of the sonata, and then
again in the
recap, and then, in disguise, in the second movement, ), followed
almost
immediately by somewhat modified quotes from the development of the
first
movement of Tchaikovsky's Second Piano Concerto (1'40"), and also an
ascending
arpeggio (2'23") clearly evocative of the first movement of Chopin's F
Minor
Concerto. Then the first theme of the second movement of Bortkiewicz's
Sonata,
while in a slightly more marchy/scherzoso vein, is suspiciously (or
endearingly)
close to the familiar thematic material of Brahms' opus 76 no. 2
Capriccio - in
B Minor in Brahms' case, in C Sharp Minor in Bortkiewicz's work.
This detective work could continue (it's not that hard, really, in
this case),
but it is a bit besides the point. Bortkiewicz (of whom I know too
little, in
terms of biography, history, etc.), based on the music I'm listening,
is not a
plagiarist, but a good, sensitive musician, happy to present his
thoughts in
front of an audience even when they are not the pinnacle of
originality. He
doesn't try to disguise the mostly derivative nature of his music, but
seems to rather
revel in it.
Arguably the most successful movement of the sonata is the third, most
lyrical
one, which to this listener sounded more sober, more austere, more
sincere, less
anchored in pastiche. If references need being made, it is more
Moussorgsky kind of stuff, but it also sounds rather original to my
ears. Nadejda Vlaeva makes an excellent interpretive case for the
music. The
elegance, clarity and lack of vulgarity of her approach serve this
music quite
well.
The familiar Rachmaninoff Vocalise appears here in an Anton Borodin
transcription. [For those not in the loop, Anton Borodin is the
illegitimate
great-grandson of Anton Rubinstein, descending on the maternal side
from a long
line of troika-drivers of the Borodin family. A Transylvanian princess
seems to
have been thrown in the exotic genetic mix... OK, that's just silly
humor, but
for a second I slipped myself for real, confusing Anton with Alexandr.
Or
Borodin with Rubinstein... I'll stop. Well.]
More seriously, the way Vlaeva plays this miniature, in Borodin's
transcription,
is exemplary, in the quality of legato, and in the way texture is
projected
clearly without "pinching/nailing/hitting" the "important" melodic
sounds. It
is a beautiful version, in no way inferior to, say, Sergio
Fiorentino's version. It is
touching.
I will not analyse the rest of the CD, comprising more familiar
repertoire,
other than talk about the pianist herself. I was quite impressed with
the
honesty of her pianism. Honesty on a technical level (the playing is
accurate
and transparent, with a sense of subtle balance), honesty on a musical
level -
the rubato is elegant and understated, the playing is not rigid yet
never
cloyingly sweet either. There is feeling, but in an aristocratic kind
of
approach.
I am perhaps missing that dram of risk, that pinch of savagery, that
ounce of
applied wildness, especially in a piece like Liebesfreud -- which is,
still,
played quite competently and elegantly, not an easy thing to do. Yes,
I'm
missing that occasional "punchy" sound, in the few right places. On
the other
hand, it is hard to take issue with Ms. Vlaeva's masterful, tuneful,
never harsh
approach to Liapunov's Islame... sorry, Lesghinka. Nobody can please
all in
everything, after all.
However, given the scarcity of pianists of this level, if I had to
choose
between attending, say, a Kissin recital and a Vlaeva recital, I would
go for
the latter, with no hesitation. A gifted, sober and modest - despite
her
remarkable virtuosity, a music-focused - pianist, no doubt.
The piano is recorded warmly, naturally, pleasantly, and it is a good
instrument
(I have no idea which brand it is). A successful, well-conceived
repertoire-wise,
enjoyable CD.
regards,
SG
Bob Lombard
> I've received the Music and Arts CD "A Treasury Of Romantic Russian
> Music,"
> featuring pianist Nadeja Vlaeva. Liner notes are by Farhan Malik of
> distant rmcr fame -
> erudite, sober, and informative.
>
>
> SG
>
[Review snipped, because it's right there if you want to (and you
should) read it.]
Thanks, Samir, for a clear and useful review of the music and your
impression of the pianist. I don't expect to ever hear either, but that
is irrelevant.
bl
SGG...@gmail.com
No problem, Mr. Lombard, "it was an honor being nominated," as Joan
Crawford must have said, with clenched teeth, when Bette Davis got the
Oscar for "<whatever>...Baby Jane...<whatever>".
regards,
SG
Rugby
Many thanks, as I am a bit of a Bortkiewicz nut, having the Katsaris
cd of solo works (but not including the Sonata), and the somewhat
recent cd of his 2nd and 3rd piano concertos issued by the Netherlands
Institute. If your appetite was whetted a bit with the Sonata, I think
Katsaris' cd would be of interest, and at least represents Katsaris'
judgements of what worth hearing. The concerti are probably for nuts
like myself. Koji Attwood has several Bortkiewicz solo piano videos at
YouTube. My son graduated UI Urbana in 2005; I miss Murphy's
(GreenStreet) 1/2 pound cheeseburger with mushrooms and great fries. A
bit like Bortkiewicz music ? I also missed Pogorelich when he was at
Krannert in 2004 (?).
Regards, Rugby
Lena
> SG wrote:
> > I've received the Music and Arts CD "A Treasury Of Romantic Russian
> > Music,"
> > featuring pianist Nadeja Vlaeva. Liner notes are by Farhan Malik of
> > distant rmcr fame -
> > erudite, sober, and informative.
>
> > regards,
> > SG
>
> [Review snipped, because it's right there if you want to (and you
> should) read it.]
>
> impression of the pianist. I don't expect to ever hear either, but that
> is irrelevant.
>
Many thanks, Samir. (My horoscope this morning claimed that I have an
unfounded hearty suspicion of Russian Romantic music-- but that's
totally irrelevant as well. :) )
Lena
Anti-Spammer-101
SGG...@gmail.com
By the way, four tracks of Vlaeva can be heard at:
http://www.classicalconnect.com/user/275/view
Two of them are from the CD I'm mentioning, the Liszt pieces are
different recordings altogether.
regards,
SG