Alexander GLAZUNOV (1865-1936)
Piano Concerto No.1 in F minor Op.92 [29:31]
Piano Concertos No.2 in B major Op.100 [19:09]
Carnaval Overture Op.45 [10:38]
Karl-Andreas Kolly (piano)
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra/Howard Griffiths
Rec. September 1995, Concert Hall of Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava, Slovakia
CHRISTOPHORUS CHE02012 [59:26]
Glazunov’s First Piano Concerto (1911) has an unusual form. It has only two movements (which here are twelve and seventeen minutes long respectively), the second of which combines aspects of slow movement, scherzo and finale within a single set of variations. The work opens with a chromatically inflected sombre theme for strings and winds, which draws the listener at once into a world of quiet pathos. The first movement indeed has plenty of that expressive chromaticism and a second subject that recalls the slow movement of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.2 (heard three years before in St Petersburg, where Glazunov directed the Conservatory). But while it builds powerfully, it is not quite developed over a long repetitive paragraph to a huge climax in Rachmaninov’s manner, for Glazunov’s musical aims here are more muted. Though there is little suggestion in either of these concertos of the soloist as heroic combatant pitted against the orchestra, they do combine pianistic bravura with orchestral refinement, characteristic of Glazunov’s skilful instrumentation. Glazunov dedicated the Piano Concerto No.1 to the Polish piano virtuoso Leopold Godowsky, so there are plenty of moments of keyboard pyrotechnics for the soloist.
The Piano Concerto No. 2 (1917), also has a rather unusual form. It has just one movement, but structured in four parts, so is essentially an integrated work with distinct sections but no breaks between them. Thus early themes mutate into new forms in Liszt’s manner, crowned by a peroration of more energy and excitement than might have been expected at the unassuming and appealingly lyrical opening of the work. Despite being a product of the year of the Bolshevik revolution there are no hints of the Russian avant-garde music of Stravinsky, Scriabin or Prokofiev here. But Glazunov’s conservatism matters little now, any more than J.S. Bach’s does. The mystery is why such enjoyable concertos are never heard any longer.
Glazunov’s untutored piano playing mightily impressed his pupils, and Shostakovich recalled that his teacher saw no need to remove the cigar from between the third and fourth fingers of his right hand. I doubt that soloist Karl-Andreas Kolly did that while recording, but he certainly identifies with Glazunov’s music. The composer told his pupils that polyphony was the most important element in composition, and would bring out the inner lines of a piece when he played, and here Kolly can often be heard to do the same, though retaining the right balance between leading and secondary voices. He has the technique for the numerous bravura passages, and the lyrical feeling for the tender passages. The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, familiar from many recordings on the Naxos label, sound as good as ever, but then they have all the ability expected from a national broadcasting orchestra. Conductor Howard Griffiths accompanies expertly, keeping a good balance with his soloist but giving the music its head when an orchestral climax arrives. The high spirited, occasionally noisy but very effective filler, the Carnaval Overture written in 1893, really lets the band show what it can do. There is good recorded sound and a helpful, albeit brief, booklet note in German and English.
Hyperion recorded these concertos with Stephen Coombs as soloist in their “Romantic Piano Concerto” series in 1996, the same year as this CD was made. I have not heard that well received version. But at its very low price, this Christophorus disc is a tempting way to get to know some very attractive music.
Roy Westbrook
