Dumka
Mikhail GLINKA (1804-1857)
Souvenir d'une mazurka [3:34]
Nocturne in E flat major (1828) [4:51]
La Séparation (1839) [4:38]
Leokadiya KASHPEROVA (1872-1940)
Deux Roses [5:54]
Alexander BORODIN (1833-1887)
Petite Suite – 3 excerpts (1878-85) [11:20]
Piotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Romance in F minor Op.5 (1868) [6:15]
Dumka – Russian rustic scene Op.59 (1886) [8:46]
Ella ADAYEVSKAYA (1846-1926)
Sarabande [2:54]
Gavotte [2:52]
Aram KHACHATURIAN (1903-1978)
Toccata in E flat minor (1932) [5:01]
Tatiana NIKOLAYEVA (1924-1993)
Album pour enfants Op.19 [13:05]
Jasmina Kulaglich (piano)
rec. 2021, Studio Stephen Paulello, France
CALLIOPE CAL2194 [69:23]
A Dumka, pianist Jasmina Kulaglich explains in her introduction to the CD, was originally a Ukrainian epic ballad, often thoughtful and melancholic. Whilst this recital ranges beyond those moods it does mostly eschew the super virtuosity that Russian programmes often contain, instead concentrating on elegance, lyricism, drama and playfulness. Even the more overt works here, sections of Tchaikowsky's Dumka or Khatchaturian's well known Toccata, are more about grandeur and dark turbulence.
Tchaikowsky's Dumka is at the heart of this recital. A strong sense of melancholy hangs over the modal opening theme, almost heart-breaking at times. There is a different feel to the next section that has something of a folk dance about it before breaking into a trepak – a similar device is used in the central section of his Romance in F minor that also appears on the disc. A mini cadenza leads to a grand treatment of this dance tune but ultimately the piece dies down into melancholy once more. Around this romantic rhapsody are ranged a host of romantic miniatures. Glinka's are the earliest; his Souvenir d'une mazurka is startling and delightful in its homage to Chopin and if the E flat nocturne is more suggestive of John Field there is nonetheless something of Chopin in the bittersweet central section. His nocturne La Séparation could quite easily be a transcription of an opera cavatina sung by some lovelorn character. Borodin is represented by three excerpts from his Petite suite; Au Couvent with its contrapuntal lines and imitation of convent bells plus two dances, the bright, breezy mazurka and the languid Intermezzo.
Fitting beautifully alongside these romantic miniatures are pieces by composers new to me; St. Petersburg trained Leokadiya Kashperova and St. Petersburg born Elisabeth Von Schultz-Adayevskaya. The Two Roses by Kashperova are from her In the midst of nature cycle and comprise a lilting nocturnal barcarolle and a lyrical quasi-gavotte. Adayevskaya studied as a pianist with Adolf von Henselt and Anton Rubinstein but concentrated on composition and ethnomusicology; her output includes a Greek Sonata for clarinet and piano written in 1881, complete with microtones. Nothing unusual about her sarabande and gavotte which are homages to baroque style with the former's contrapuntal dance growing grander and more romantically inclined as it develops and the latter having a faster central section booked-ended by a a stately dance that, like the sarabande, belies the baroque stylings with octave doublings in the left hand passages. Another female composer that I only knew as a pianist until very recently is Tatiana Nikolayeva; I heard three extracts from her album for children a few months ago and I am delighted to hear more of the collection now. Like Adayevskaya's dances the pieces hark back to an earlier age; the old waltz could be a Schubert Ländler as could the mazurka. Several give away their relatively traditional make-up with hints of piquancy thrown into the otherwise relatively straightforward harmony, the modulations of the Valse for instance. This is a lovely set of pieces and they bring a playfulness to this recital, notably in the polka and the short galop that ends the set.
Jasmina Kulaglich was born in Belgrade and has won many awards in her native country. She now studies in Switzerland and France whilst her performances have taken her across Europe and the United States. A review described her effervescent playing but this is where I find this recital lacking. I know that not everyone would appreciate the high voltage interpretation of Horowitz in the dumka or Moiseiwitsch in Khatchaturian's Toccata but I find Kulaglich too restrained, lacking the dynamic contrast that would really set these pieces alive; in the toccata for instance the pulse of the piece is pulled back at the semiquaver descending runs after the triplets and it's that caution that makes these dramatic moments – the climax of the central section of Tchaikovsky's Romance is another – just a little too subdued for my taste. However from a lyrical and elegance point of view this album is wonderful; marvellously balanced in terms of repertoire and style and Kulaglich has all the lyricism, warmth and spaciousness that one could desire.
Rob Challinor
