This is volume two in a reissue series of music featuring wind instruments
from Melodiya’s cavernous back catalogue. Volume one comprising quintets for
piano and winds by Anton Rubinstein and Rimsky-Korsakov was well received by
reviewer
Jonathan Woolf.
I am especially fond of this area of Russian repertoire and I hope there
are further instalments including, fingers crossed, Rubinstein’s early
Octet in D major for flute, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello, double
bass and piano, Op. 9.
The programme is enjoyable and well selected and could be said to provide
a basic outline in tracing the development of Russian chamber scores for
wind instruments. A period of a hundred years separate the earliest and the
most recent of these four works commencing with Glinka’s
Trio
Pathétique from 1832 (sometimes erroneously given as 1827) to the
Glazunov
Saxophone Quartet composed in 1932.
I am especially fond of two of Glinka’s beautifully crafted chamber works:
the
Grand Sextet for piano and strings and also his
Viola
Sonata. He is represented here by the
Trio Pathétique in D minor
for clarinet, bassoon and piano (also version for violin, cello and
piano) his final chamber music score. It was composed in 1832 during
Glinka’s trip to Italy and premièred in Milan with the composer at the
piano. In four movements the opening
Allegro moderato with its
sunny disposition is played with vivacity followed by a lively and
optimistic
Scherzo. In truth the
Allegro moderato feels a
touch too fast and
Scherzo didn’t really seem quick enough, making
the movements too similar in tempi and lacking sufficient contrast. The
Largo is reflective with a touch of yearning and the brief
Finale:
Allegro con spirito is fresh and is effervescently
executed by the trio.
Next comes Balakirev’s
Octet for piano, flute, oboe, horn, violin,
viola, cello, double bass, Op. 3. Composed during the years 1853-55
with some advice from Glinka, Balakirev left the score unfinished,
completing only the first movement, an
Allegro molto. The music is
splendid and highly melodic, and considerable, approaching fourteen minutes
to play here. Elegant and tastefully performed with a lovely interplay of
instruments I relish the disarming piano part and admire the reedy oboe but
find rather less agreeable the sour sounding horn.
Ippolitov-Ivanov is remembered predominantly for a single score, the
Caucasian Sketches for orchestra. His musical picture
An
Evening in Georgia for quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and
harp (or piano), Op. 71 is a late work which I believe retains traces of the
influence of his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov. Composed in the mid-1920s the
divertimento-like writing for harp and woodwind quartet, must have seemed
extremely out of step with the progressive music of the time. A stylish,
miniature score lasting around five minutes it reveals a distinct essence of
the Middle East. For much of the duration the oboe is prominent with the
harp which turns out to be an effective if unusual combination.
The final work on this reissue is Glazunov’s
Saxophone Quartet in B
flat major, Op. 109. It's a late piece from 1932 written during
his years in Paris. With regard to its unusual scoring for soprano, alto,
tenor and baritone saxophones Glazunov wrote “the novelty of this work
thrills me.” Dedicated to the Saxophone Quartet of the Republican Guard in
Paris (led by Marcel Mule) it is in three movements. The opening
Allegro is reasonably memorable being melodic and appealing. The
second movement boasts a hymn-like theme with a set of five inventive
variations. The
Finale:
Allegro moderato is vivacious and
engaging yet overall there is too little variety of tone colour to make this
a firm repertoire work.
Recorded on dates between 1975 and 1981 there is no information given
about any of the recording locations. However, I was certainly satisfied
with the sound quality which is reasonably consistent across each recording.
On a minor point I found the liner notes basic but relatively helpful.
This highly desirable Melodiya reissue should prove fascinating for
chamber music lovers in general not just those with a particular interest in
Russian music.
Michael Cookson
Performers:
Glinka: Vladimir Sokolov (clarinet), Sergey Krasavin
(bassoon), Lyubov Timofeyeva (piano)
Balakirev: Valentin Zverev (flute), Anatoli Lyubimov
(oboe), Boris Afanasyev (horn), Andrei Korsakov (violin), Michael Tolpogo
(viola), Fyodor Lozanov (cello), Rifat Komanchov (bass), Alexei Nasedkin
(piano)
Ippolitov-Ivanov: Valentin Zverev (flute), Anatoli
Lyubimov (oboe), Vladimir Sokolov (clarinet), Sergey Krasavin (bassoon),
Emilia Moskvitina (harp)
Glazunov: Lev Mikhailov (soprano saxophone), Alexander
Oseichuk (alto saxophone), Yuri Vorontsov (tenor saxophone), Vladimir
Yeryomin (baritone saxophone)
