Bertrand Chamayou GOOD NIGHT!

GOOD NIGHT!

 

Konstantin Scherbakov 24 TRANSCENDENTAL ETUDES

                                                  24 TRANSCENDENTAL ETUDES

Florian Noack SERGEI LYAPUNOV Works for Piano Vol. 2

My acquaintance with the piano music of Sergei Lyapunov has, until recently, been confined to the recording of the Transcendental Études by Konstantin Scherbakov on Marco Polo 8.223491. Then, in the space of a month, Louis Kentner’s 1949 recording of the Études came along, followed by this latest disc from Ars Produktion in Florian Noack’s Lyapunov series. The more I listen to the piano music of this composer, the more I fail to comprehend its unjust neglect. For me it’s an amalgam of the Russian nationalism of his mentor Balakirev and the virtuosity of Liszt. Undoubtedly much of it is technically challenging, yet its intense lyricism and rhapsodic narrative is positively compelling.

Three of the pieces here are receiving their premiere recording. Lyapunov purloined Schumann’s title Novelette for his Op. 18, closely following the structure of the second of the older composer’s Op. 21 set of eight. Clearly Schumann’s influence lurks in the background, but the piece also has a strong Russian accent. It’s characterized by unbridled virtuosity, Noack injecting plenty of energy and power into his bold rendition. The Humoresque Op. 34 truly lives up to its name. Frolicsome, humorous and even capricious, its pointed staccatos invest it with a mischievous quality. The sombre and plaintive disposition of Chant du Crépuscule, Op. 22 is Russian through and through.

Dreamy and reflective aptly sums up the Barcarolle, Op. 46. The Three Pieces, Op. 1 consist of an Étude, an Intermezzo and a Valse. The Étude, my favourite, is beguiling, and Noack’s incandescent playing of it is seductive. His rhythmic buoyancy in the Valse is also a convincing and winning element. The Seven Preludes, Op. 6, despite their brevity, encompass a wide emotional range. They should be played as a set due to the tonal relationship of each being linked by a pattern of descending thirds. No. 3 is quite bleak and gloomy, whilst No. 5 effuses geniality and charm, the pianist’s diaphanous finger-work glistening and evoking sunshine. No. 7 ends the cycle with an energetic romp to the finishing line. With the four Fêtes de Noël, Op. 41 you’re in for a treat. They capture the wide-eyed innocence and wonder of Christmas. Noack relishes the lyricism of this surfeit of delights, his sensitive pedalling painting these appealing miniatures in varied pastel shades. The Variations and Fugue on a Russian folk theme Op. 49 I didn’t enjoy so much. As a work I find it a little dry and academic.

This generously filled disc comes in top of the range sound. I’m very taken by the piano, which has been expertly voiced. Its rich, resonant tone is complemented by a warm and sympathetic acoustic. Noack clearly has an affinity with this music and is to be lauded for championing these rarely aired scores. This is the second volume of Lyapunov’s piano music he has recorded; the first included the Valse-Impromptus, Mazurkas, a Tarantella and a Valse Pensive. We are told that his intentions are to record the composer’s complete piano oeuvre. I can’t wait for the Transcendental Études. (Stephen Greenbank)

Florian Noack SERGEI LYAPUNOV Works for Piano Vol. 1

The young Belgian pianist Florian Noack devotes Volume 1 of what promises to be the complete solo piano music of Sergey Lyapunov (1859-1924) to dance forms. Each of the three Valse-impromptus are placed judiciously between the eight Mazurkas grouped in pairs. He opens with Valse pensive, Op 20, whose influence is audible to the extent that, notwithstanding Lyapunov’s independent voice, there is in almost every piece what sounds like a thematic reference to Islamey: a figure of a quaver triplet/two quavers/crotchet appears almost like a leitmotif.

The shortest work is the Second Valse-impromptu, a feather-light confection à la Moszkowski (‘a bibelot of exquisite craftsmanship’ says the booklet) with some delightfully casual canonic episodes that Noack invests with great charm. Here and elsewhere he gets to the heart of this music, responding to such instructions as quasi flauto and then quasi piccolo in the middle section of the Fifth Mazurka with finesse. The Tarantella, Op 25, in which Lyapunov’s pianistic heritage of Chopin, Liszt, Henselt and Balakirev is combined in one fearsome moto perpetuo, is thrillingly dispatched. The lush piano sound is a joy. ARS Produktion’s booklet is translated into a strange version of English with terms that will fox the uninitiated (eg the ‘Myxolydian pedal’ in the Fifth Mazurka) and confound even a Scrabble champion: the Seventh Mazurka is, apparently, ‘assuredly zal’.

No such head-scratching with Toccata Classics – Margarita Glebov is as fascinating on the composer as Donald Manildi is on the music, nine works which Glebov plays in chronological order, beginning with Three Pieces, Op 1 (1888). Like the later tumultuous Scherzo, Op 45 (1911) – with that Islamey-esque leitmotif again – and the Sonatina, Op 65 (1917), these are first recordings.

If her tone is marginally less effulgent than Noack’s, Glebov’s affinity with Lyapunov’s distinctive brand of lyrical virtuosity, couched firmly in the language of the late 19th century, is complete. The remainder of her programme duplicates the three Valse impromptus and four of the eight mazurkas played by Noack, though the two pianists differ significantly on some tempi: Mazurkas Nos 1 and 2, for instance, are 4'26" and 5'12" (Noack), 3'31" and 6'02" (Glebov). So which disc to choose? It would assuredly be zal to have both. (Gramophone)

Clare Hammond ETUDE Chin - Kapustin - Lyapunov - Szymanowski

The six études by the South-Korean composer, Unsuk Chin, form the centrepiece of this disc. Some of the most significant pieces to be written for the piano in recent years, these are natural successors to the piano études by György Ligeti and are already of international prominence. With their scintillating textures and inventive use of timbre, they are entirely absorbing and electrifying works which are rapidly becoming a keystone of the piano repertoire.

These have been combined with a variety of études from either end of the twentieth century. The three by Lyapunov are very much in a late-Romantic, Lisztian mould with descriptive titles and compelling narratives.The first, ‘Terek’, is named after a river which flows from Georgia into Russia and is prefaced with a dramatic poem by the Russian poet Lermontov. ‘Nuit d’été’ is more contemplative and is followed by the impassioned and explosive ‘Tempête’.

Szymanowski’s Op. 33 were written less than 20 years after Lyapunov’s yet they inhabit an entirely different sound-world. With mercurial timbres and fleet textures, they are similar to Debussy’s études, written in the same year. The programme ends with 5 Studies in Different Intervals by Nikolai Kapustin. Each study is structured around a specific interval yet, despite this rather rigid concept, they are in a free- formed jazzy style and provide an exuberant finale to the disc. 

Acclaimed by The Daily Telegraph as a pianist of “amazing power and panache” , Clare Hammond gave debut recitals at the City of London, Cheltenham and Presteigne Festivals, and made return visits to the Wigmore and Bridgewater Halls in 2013. The Guardian wrote of her performance of Ken Hesketh’s Horae at Cheltenham that she “displayed its scintillating passagework and poetic calm with great flair” . A passionate advocate of twentieth and twenty-first century music, Clare combines a formidable technique and virtuosic flair onstage with stylistic integrity and attention to detail. 

Clare’s first disc for BIS, Reflections , of the piano music of Andrzej and Roxanna Panufnik, was featured on BBC Radio 3’s ‘CD Review’ and her performance described as“commandingly virtuosic” in BBC Music Magazine. International Piano Magazine recommended the disc as a “fascinating compendium, expertly executed” and it was awarded 5 stars in Diapason who stated that “Hammond excels at instilling each piece with an atmosphere” . Highlights in 2014 include 3 BBC radio broadcasts, debut performances at 7 festivals across Europe, including the ‘Chopin and his Europe’ Festival in Warsaw, the world premieres of works by 10 composers, and a Panufnik Centenary tour of Poland under the aegis of the British Council’s ‘Artists’ International Development Fund’.