In my previous
review
of volume 3 in this series I said I was finding the wait between
‘fixes’ of Tcherepnin’s music difficult to bear. Imagine
my joy that hard on the heels of volume 3 of the 8 that will eventually
comprise the complete solo piano music of this marvellous composer comes
volume 4 (see also reviews of
Volume
1 &
Volume
2). The superlative standard of both the music and the playing continues
to enthral.
Despite the year given to his
Entretiens as being 1930 it is
thought by experts at the wonderful
Tcherepnin
Society that they were taken from different parts of his life and
presented later as a collection. This may explain the late opus number
in comparison with the
4 Romances which as a group was given
the opus number 31 and
dated 1934. Incidentally we have the New
York-based Tcherepnin Society to thank for their continued support which
has enabled these recordings to be made.
Entretiens is a perfect example of Tcherepnin’s mastery
of the miniature with ten pieces that take a mere twelve minutes to
play. Each little gem has its own characteristics that fascinate and
delight; just listen to number 4 and you’ll see what I mean as
it is absolutely delicious and destined to become my new ear-worm. I
agree with the booklet writers that these little pieces have a cinematic
quality which serves to emphasise Tcherepnin’s ability to make
tiny utterances so telling.
The
12 Preludes.op.85are from the 1950s when Tcherepnin
was living in the US and travelling frequently between there and Europe.
While they show a mature composer at the height of his powers they still
inhabit the same sound-world from which the earlier pieces came. Once
you get to know that world you will easily identify his musical signature.
These preludes are all highly individual and are all in a more serious
vein than the light and playful
Entretiens. That said, there
is plenty of beauty on show, number 5 being a particular case in point.
Though many categorise these works as being part of his neo-romantic
period there is always in his music a contemporary edge which firmly
places his music as having been composed in the twentieth century. It
was interesting to read that Tcherepnin particularly enjoying playing
his number 9
Allegro which deploys the sort of stentorian outburst
that often characterises his music. Sometimes I felt I could detect
nostalgia for Russia, for example in number one in which snatches of
a Russian folksong can be heard, and in the melancholy final piece.
Each release in this wonderful collection has included one or more world
première recordings. Volume 4 is no exception with the
4 Romances,
op.31 making their first ever appearance on disc and clearly not
before time. However, the title is somewhat misleading since there are
plenty of abrupt and strident chords to disrupt any apparent calm. Still
they are so inventive that you cannot fail to enjoy them and admire
their creator.
The
5 Concert Etudes, op.52, “Chinese” which date
from 1936 are sub-titled “Chinese” because they were inspired
by folk music and folk instruments and were composed during a long stay
in China from 1934 to 1937. During this time he helped young composers
develop ways to preserve “native styles in modern forms”
as the booklet notes explain. What better way is there to show how to
do this than by practising what you preach. Number 3 has a particular
relevance as “Homage to China” was dedicated to a young
Chinese pianist Lee Hsien-Ming, the first female pianist to graduate
from Shanghai University. Tcherepnin made her his second wife and she
helped found the Tcherepnin Society. They are wonderfully effective
pieces that cleverly combine the essence of China in an immediately
recognisable way interlaced with Tcherepnin’s unique style.
As composer Virgil Thomson said of Tcherepnin’s music that it
"has at all periods been filled with poetry and bravura" a combination
that makes his work so special and infinitely rewarding that it is easy
to become hooked. It is an addiction to which I am pleased to have fallen
victim.
The four remaining discs of the set of 8 are due out by the middle of
2014 so I can look forward to being drip-fed until then. As with the
previous three discs Giorgio Koukl is the perfect advocate and it is
hard to imagine that his interpretations will be surpassed. He inhabits
the composer as he plays and it is as if Tcherepnin were playing the
works himself.
This is another adorable disc of scintillating music brilliantly played
and cannot be praised highly enough.
Steve Arloff
