Magical Russia
Efram Alexandrowitsch ZIMBALIST (1889-1985)
Fantasie on themes from Rimsky-Korsakov's opera “The Golden Cockerel” [8:33]
Pjotr Iljitsch TSCHAIKOWSKI (1840-1893)
Valse sentimentale Op.51 No.6 (1882) [1:54]
Alexander ALYABIEV (1787-1851)
Introduction and theme with variations (?) [9:35]
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)
2 Stücke Op.6 (1893) [11:08]
No.1 Romanze No.2 Hungarian dance
Anton RUBINSTEIN (1829-1894)
3 Salonstücke Op.11 (1854) [19:31]
No.1 allegro appasionato No.2 andante No.3 allegro
Michail GLINKA (1804-1857)
Albumblatt [3:06]
Igor STRAVINSKY (1884-1971)
Suite Italienne (1934) [17:51]
Alexander KOPYLOV (1854-1911)
Reminiscence of the Peterhof Op.29 (1895) [5:02]
Duo Natalia
rec. 2019 at Schloss Conjoux
ARS PRODUKTION ARS38571 [77:02]
If magical in the title refers to the fantasy and legends of Russia then in this recital of Magical Russia the only work that actually references magic is the first item, the Fantasie on themes from the“The Golden Cockerel” by celebrated violinist Efrem Zimbalist, a pupil of Leopold Auer (1845-1930). The remainder are a collection of salon pieces from the highways and byways of musical Russia including familiar items such as Stravinsky's homage to the old masters, his Suite Italienne and the valse sentimentale by Tschaikowski alongside rarities by Glinka, Rubinstein and Kopylov.
Efram Zimbalist's grand fantasie opens with the violin playing the trumpet's fanfare-like statement from the opera's prologue and spends some time on the famous Hymn to the sun before continuing with the music of the beautiful Tsaritsa of Shemakha, the dance and seduction from Act 2. It builds to a gripping virtuosic trepak full of double stopping and octaves. The nostalgic strains of Tschaikowski's Valse sentimentale follow it and give way to a rarity, the Introduction and theme with variations by Alyabiev. Born to a wealthy family he studied music early in life but followed a military career and a successful one at that until an fatal incident during a card game saw him banished by the Tsar to his home in Tobolsk. He wrote operas, many musical comedies, string quartets and a large number of songs but he is best known for his song The nightingale; The theme here has similarities to that song though it has less character. The variations are a standard mix of virtuoso writing and styles, dotted rhythms, running semiquavers, triplet arpeggios etc whilst the finale mixes the faster elements with music from the introduction and a brief reprise of the slower seventh variation. Unlike many works of this style the piano is not just providing support; Alyabiev writes some nice interplay between piano and violin. There are two youthful works by Rachmaninov, his Romance and Hungarian dance. The former, if not absolutely characteristic of the mature composer is at least a wonderful example of his melodies-without-end; a sorrowful, passionate song without words. For me the Hungarian dance could more accurately have been titled Russian dance; all the exciting and colourful elements of a trepak are here and the central melody sounds more like a Russian folksong than anything of Hungarian origin. To my ears there are echoes of his version of Powder and paint or his Three Russian Songs op.41. Rubinstein's Salonstücke are from a set of nine pieces, three each for violin, cello and viola respectively. The allegro appasionato has hints of Schumann and Brahms in its figurations and its broad sweeping syncopated melody. Neither do I detect any particular “Russian-ness” in the soulful andante. Again the over-riding influence is of a Germanic song without words, this time Mendelssohnian. There is a magical moment in the middle where the violin plays low in its register and the piano accompanies with high syncopated chords, fragile and gentle. The allegro is an extended scherzo, light-hearted and elfin. All three are attractive works but stand out as distinctly Western in style and sound in a programme that is supposed to portray Magical Russia. Glinka's inclusion here is to be expected as the father of Russian classical music but his Albumblatt sounds like an italianate aria, a beautiful cantilena reminiscent of Bellini or Donizetti, its melody singing over a triplet accompaniment. In a more Russian vein is Kopylov's Reminiscence of the Peterhof; though Alexander Kopylov never entered a music conservatory he did study with Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov and Anatoly Liadov. His musical portrait of the Tsar's magnificent palace near St Petersburg is dramatic and full-bloodied. It opens with a rich, yearning melody, with hints of Tschaikowsky. The accompaniment is full of swirling arpeggios that die down, revealing a more sparse foundation for the violin's second theme, calmer but still passionate. Stravinsky's Suite italienne is based on the music of his 1920 ballet score Pulcinella purportedly based on the music of Pergolesi though this has since proved false and the actual composers include Domenico Gallo and Carol Ignazio Monza. Stravinsky retained much of the musical outlines of the pieces but added his personal stamp to bring them up to date. The Suite, comprising six numbers, followed several years after the ballet and was put together in collaboration with Polish-American violinist Samuel Dushkin (1891-1976). The study introduction is followed by the melancholy strains of the lilting serenade. A virtuosic tarantella precedes the stately gavotte with its jaunty variations which then leads to scherzino (marked Menuetto e Finale: moderato in the booklet I have). The minuet and finale close the work in stark and occasionally humorous style.
Despite my questions about how Russian some of the repertoire is Duo Natalia have put together a rounded and appealing programme. Natalia Kovalzon is a sensitive and accomplished pianist but what spoils the disc for me is Natalia van der Mersch's violin sound. I am put off by the ever-so-slightly under the note intonation in much of the playing and especially in the more overtly virtuosic sections. Compare van der Mersch with Kirill Troussov in the Zimbalist fantasy (EMI Classics 573212-2) and the difference is outstanding; Troussov fairly bounces out of the speakers with clarity and character, sadly missing in the current recording. The opening phrase of the first of Rubinstein's Salon pieces is just one other example; swooping up to notes that are not quite reached and notes like the A flats in bars 2 and 8 that are not comfortable listening. There is much to admire in van der Mersch's phrasing but that is overshadowed by her intonation and this is not a disc I shall be returning to.
Rob Challinor
