Vasily KALAFATI (1869–1942)
Symphony in A minor, Op. 12 (1899–1912) [45:23]
Légende, Op. 20 (1928) [28:04]
Polonaise in F major, Op. 14 (1905) [7:21]
Choir of the Music Department of the University of Athens, Athens Philharmonia/Byron Fidetzis
rec. 2017-18, Artemis Concert Hall, Athens
NAXOS GREEK CLASSICS 8.574132 [81:48]
Vasily Pavlovich Kalafati, who has found his first ever niche in a Greek Classics series, was a Russian nationalist romantic. His likeable works keep stylistic company with those of Glazunov, Kopylov, Steinberg, Dobrowen, and Bortkiewicz. Further afield I think of Americans such as Griffes, Coerne, Farwell, Parker and Hill. There are likely parallels also with the music of two unknown Russian ‘quantities’ Yuri Shaporin (a 1933 symphony awaits a contemporary champion) and Ivan Dzerzhinsky (two piano concertos likely deserve their place in the queue).
Kalafati was born in the Crimea and became a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov. He taught at the St Petersburg Conservatory and died in the city during the Nazi siege. His students included Stravinsky, Asafiev, Scriabin, Gadzhibekov, Gauk, Prokofiev, Slonimsky, Heino Eller and Barkhudarian. His CV has, as far as I can see, yet to be fully documented, but some of its fragments bode well, including the two-piano arrangement of Liadov’s
The Enchanted Lake and an orchestration of part of Schumann’s
Carnaval. His list of works is not a long one. It nevertheless features an overture, piano quintet, two quartets, other chamber music, piano solos (including two sonatas) and songs. There’s also a 1939-41 opera based on Pushkin’s 1824 poem Cygany (or Tsygani - Gypsies). It’s the same poem that also inspired Leoncavallo's 1912 Zingari and Rachmaninov’s Aleko (1893).
Kalafati’s 45-minute Symphony is in four lanky movements. It comes as a surprise that it stands alone in his catalogue. It’s a full-on romantic work recalling Kalinnikov’s dancing lyricism, Glazunov’s uproarious pomp and some of Rachmaninov’s tortured longing. Sixteen years after the Symphony came his 28- minute symphonic poem Légende for choir (used delicately and ecstatically) and orchestra. This drew on - but did not directly reference - themes from the works of Schubert. It was composed just as he was being nudged out of the Conservatory as being too conservative a voice. The International Columbia Graphophone competition, held in 1928, marked the century anniversary of Schubert’s death. With Glazunov as chair of the competition’s Russian committee and with Gliѐre, Myaskovsky and Steinberg also there, this ambitious single-movement Légende ranked in second place. This is more exotic and densely romantic than the symphony. It is an ingenious and nicely textured work which commemorates Schubert by thematic transformation. Schubert’s themes are blended into a colourful late-Romantic symphonic poem that earned Kalafati some well-deserved distinction at its premiere. The Polonaise tracks back from about the same time as the Symphony and is dedicated to Glazunov. It has that celebratory ebullience of character associated with Polish confidence and grandeur tipping into bombast. If you are already in tune with Glazunov’s Concert Waltzes or the more outgoing of Karlowicz’s tone-poems then nothing here will be an obstacle to resilient enjoyment.
Byron Fidetzis has previously ventured into the music of Kalomiris (Naxos) and Skalkottas (principally Bis). He proves a committed adept of this music and has presided over concert revivals of it in Athens. It is good to see that this conductor continues to spread his wings to revive such totally neglected music in the recording studio. His labours have been nicely responded to by Naxos engineering choices and documentation for this 81-minute CD.
Rob Barnett
