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Georgi VINOGRADOV (tenor) sings Arias, Duets and Songs Peter Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-93) Yevgeni Onegin, Op. 24 -Act II, No. 17 Faint echo of my youth. VRK Orchestra Nikolai Semyonovich Golovanov (conductor) Recorded 1945 Modest MUSSORGSKY (1839-81) Sorochintsy Fair -Act I Why, my sad heart? Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra Samuel Abramovich Samosud (conductor) Recorded 1948 Anton RUBINSTEIN (1829-94) The Demon -On desire’s soft, fleeting wing. Mikhail IPPOLITOV-IVANOV (1859-1935) Ole The Norseman -Ole’s Arioso — In the Wonderful Night Georgi Vinogradov – Arias, Songs and Duets Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908) Beauty, Op. 51, No. 4 Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Georgi B. Orentlikher (piano) Recorded 1947 Anton RUBINSTEIN (1829-94) The Azra, Op. 32, No. 6 Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Georgi B. Orentlikher (piano) Recorded 1946-53 Sergey RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943) The night is sad, Op. 26, No. 12 Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Sergey RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943) Beloved, let us fly, Op. 26, No. 5 Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) From Melodiya 12981 (78) Peter Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-93) The mild stars shone for us, Op. 60, No. 12 Peter Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-93) Songs (16) For Children, Op. 54:No. 3 -The grass grows green Peter Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-93) Songs (16) For Children, Op. 54:No. 4 -My little garden Peter Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-93) Songs (16) For Children, Op. 54:No. 9 Spring ("The snow is already melting") Peter Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-93) Songs (16) For Children, Op. 54:No. 10 - Lullaby in a storm Peter Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-93) Songs (16) For Children, Op. 54:No. 13 - Spring song Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Georgi B. Orentlikher (piano) Peter Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-93) Romeo And Juliet - duet Valeria Vladimirovna Barsova (soprano) Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra Alexander Ivanovich Orlov (conductor) Recorded 1948 Mikhail GLINKA (1804-57) O say, why did you come? "Tell me why" Mikhail GLINKA (1804-57) How sweet to be with you Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Alexander Borisovich Goldenweiser (piano) Mikhail GLINKA (1804-57) I am here, Inezilla. "Spanish Serenade" Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) K. Vinogradov, piano Mikhail GLINKA (1804-57) Do not say your heart aches Mikhail GLINKA (1804-57) Poor singer Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Mikhail GLINKA (1804-57) You will never come again Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Andrei Alexeievich Ivanov (baritone) Georgi B. Orentlikher (piano) Anton RUBINSTEIN (1829-94) Volkslied, Op. 48, No. 12, "The Sun is shining" Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Andrei Alexeievich Ivanov (baritone) Georgi B. Orentlikher or K. Vinogradov (piano) Aleksandr DARGOMYZHSKY (1813-69) Vanka-tanka Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Andrei Alexeievich Ivanov (baritone) Naum Gennadievich Walter (piano) Gioacchino ROSSINI (1792-1868) Il Barbiere Di Siviglia - Act I, No. 2, Ecco ridente il cielo Gioacchino ROSSINI (1792-1868) Il Barbiere Di Siviglia - Act I, No. 5, Se il mio nome Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra Vassili Vassilievich Nebolsin (conductor) Recorded 1946 Karl MILLÖCKER (1842-99) DER BETTELSTUDENT - Ich knüpfte manche zarte Bande, (Simon’s couplets) Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Charles GOUNOD (1818-93) ROMÉO ET JULIETTE - Act I, No. 4, Ange adorable Valeria Vladimirovna Barsova (soprano) Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra Alexander Ivanovich Orlov (conductor) Recorded 1947-48 Ambroise THOMAS (1811-96) Mignon (excerpts) Nadezhda Kazantseva (soprano) N. Alexandriskaya (mezzo-soprano) Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) G. Titz (baritone) Georgi Andreievich Abramov (bass) Vsevolod Tyutyunnik (bass) Moscow Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Ivanovich Orlov (conductor) Matvey BLANTER (1903-90) In the Forest by the Front Line Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Red Army Chorus and Ensemble A.V. Alexandrov (conductor) Recorded 1950 Vasily SOLOVYEV-SEDOY (1907-79) Golden lights Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Traditional (Russia) The grass in the meadow Traditional (Russia) By the river, in the meadow Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Red Army Chorus and Ensemble, A.V. Alexandrov, conductor Traditional (Russia) The steppe all around Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Red Army Chorus and Ensemble, A.V. Alexandrov (conductor) Recorded 1945 Traditional (Russia) The grass withers on the steppe Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) M. D. Mikhailov (bass) Anatoly NOVIKOV (born 1896) Roads, Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Red Army Chorus and Ensemble, A.V. Alexandrov (conductor) Recorded 1950 Sergey VASSILENKO (1872-1956) Armenian Serenade; Malayan Serenade Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Nikita BOGOSLOVSKY (born 1913) Dark night Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Red Army Chorus and Ensemble A.V. Alexandrov (conductor) Recorded 1944 Robert SCHUMANN (1810-56) Meine Rose, Op. 9, No. 2 Robert SCHUMANN (1810-56) Myrthen, Op. 25 - No. 3 — Der Nußbaum Robert SCHUMANN (1810-56) Liederkreis, Op. 24 - No. 9 — Mit Mythen und Rosen Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Georgi B. Orentlikher (piano) Recorded 1950 Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Die Schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795 Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Georgi B. Orentlikher (piano) Recorded 1954 B. BARON The weeping willows slumber Piotr BULAKHOV (1822-85) Glitter, my star Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) N.N. Kruchinin (guitar) Piotr BULAKHOV Little lips that pout Piotr BULAKHOV On parting she spoke Piotr BULAKHOV Do not awaken memories Grigori DEMIDOV (1838-71) It was only a dream Alexander DUBUQUE (1812-98) Do kiss me, my darling Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Alexander Mikhailovich Ivanov-Kramskoi (guitar) Alexander DUBUQUE (1812-98) Do not repeat those words M. GUBKIN When you look at him Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) N.N. Kruchinin (guitar) Alexander GURILYOV (1803-59) The little bird flew away Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Alexander Mikhailovich Ivanov-Kramskoi (guitar) M. NISNEVICH My guitar Yakov PRIGOZHI (1840-1920) Darling N. SHIRYAIEV Moonlit night M. SHISHKIN Always and everywhere I follow you Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) N.N. Kruchinin (guitar) Vladimir SOKOLOV (1830-90) The sea and my heart Alexander TITOV I knew her as a child Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Alexander Mikhailovich Ivanov-Kramskoi (guitar) Traditional (Rom) Black eyes Traditional (Russia) You never loved me Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) N.N. Kruchinin (guitar) M. VOLOSHIN A twig of lilac V.V. ABAZA (1861-1918) Hazy morning Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) K. Vinogradov (piano) Mikhail YAKOVLEV (1798-1868) Elegy Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Andrei Alexeievich Ivanov (baritone) Naum Gennadievich Walter (piano) Traditional (Rom) Look at me Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) I. Medvedev (bass-baritone) N.N. Kruchinin (guitar) Traditional (Albania) The Black-eyed girl Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Sergey TANEYEV (1856-1915) How you caress, silvery night, Op. 18, No. 1 Zara Alexandrovna Dolukhanova, mezzo-soprano Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Alexei Kovalyov, conductor Alexander VARLAMOV (1801-48) Oh, do not kiss me Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Alexander Mikhailovich Ivanov-Kramskoi (guitar) Alexander VARLAMOV Grass Georgi Vinogradov (tenor) Georgi B. Orentlikher (piano) GUILD - THE RUSSIAN LEGACY SERIES - GMCD 2250-53 [4CDs:77.08+74.11+64.18+73.33]   BUY NOW  Crotchet   AmazonUK   AmazonUS

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This set opens with a performance of Lensky’s aria from ‘Eugene Onegin’ which incarnates the melancholy poet perfectly. Vinogradov’s honeyed voice is one of the most beautiful tenor voices that I have come across. The singer uses his voice’s rather melancholy cast to illuminate the character of Lensky. And he manages to combine a wonderful sense of line with superb diction (in Russian), no mean feat. The flexibility of his phrasing is notable as is the evenness of his voice over the whole range. These superb characteristics carry over into all the other tracks on these discs. In many ways, each track is a vocal revelation. After hearing his voice, my response was to wonder why I had not heard more of Vinogradov. Born in 1908 and living until 1980, you would expect that he would crop up on the many operas recorded during the Soviet period, but he does not. This 4 CD boxed set is a magisterial survey of his surviving recordings, but there are only four arias from Russian opera. In fact, Vinogradov never seems to have performed on stage and worked for Moscow Radio. Though he did perform a number of operas for them, the bulk of his recording career seems to have been involved with lighter items. Also, it is reported that shortly after the war Vinogradov got into a drunken brawl with some Polish officials and profoundly embarrassed the government so that he was effectively retired. Officially he kept singing until 1963, but there is no record of his activities and official records from the 1950s and 1960s virtually ignore him. This collection endeavours to cover all aspects of Vinogradov’s art. Some of his recordings have become exceedingly rare indeed, so we must be grateful to Guild for issuing this comprehensive survey, especially as Richard Caniell has gone to much trouble to ensure that all items are played at the correct speed, thus correcting errors that were perpetrated in previous issues of some of the discs. The first disc covers Russian opera and song, the second Italian and French opera recorded in Russian, including the celebrated excerpts from Thomas’s ‘Mignon’. In fact, the entire set is recorded in Russian, something which is not entirely clear from a summary reading of the notes. The second disc is completed with a group of folk items. The third disc is lieder and the fourth Russian romances. On the first disc, the quality of Vinogradov’s performances in the opera arias makes one long for more. Lensky’s aria is followed by a haunting performance of an aria from Mussorgsky’s ‘Sorochinsky Fair’ and an aria from Anton Rubinstein’s rarely heard ‘The Demon’. But the Russian songs are equally illuminating and Vinogradov’s performances of them are shapely, subtle and supple. The disc includes five items from Tchakovsky’s ‘Songs for Children’ which are not very well known in the west. A real curiosity on this disc is Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet duet, based on material from the Fantasy overture. This was left incomplete at his death and completed by S.I. Taneiev. Vinogradov sings with honeyed tones and fine ardour, but the soprano Valeria Vladimirovna Barsova does get rather shrill. Vinogradov himself is not perfect and his passage-work can be a little sketchy. On the second disc, though he acquits himself creditably in the Rossini items, he does not seem quite at home in the repertoire. The melancholy cast to his voice makes him seem more suitable as Romeo in the Gounod excerpt and especially as Wilhelm in the substantial excerpts from ‘Mignon’. Here Vinogradov sounds magical, but I am afraid that I ran up against a problem. Whilst welcoming recordings and performances in the language of the relevant listeners, I find that hearing Italian opera and German lieder performed in Russian limits the performances’ attractiveness. This is a purely personal matter, but one that potential buyers should bear in mind when considering this set. The folk items on the second disc include a number with the Red Army Chorus and Ensemble. I was quite surprised by these items; for all their vigour and overt populism, they prove surprisingly subtle. The third disc is devoted to a complete performance of ‘Die Schöne Müllerin’. Recorded in 1954, it is one of the latest items on the disc and shows Vinogradov still at the height of his powers, bringing a good range of colour and subtlety to his performance, aided ably by the accompaniment of Georgi B. Orentlikher. The final disc is entirely devoted to what could be called lighter items. Throughout his career Vinogradov produced recordings of Romances, generally with guitar accompaniments. These melancholy, folk-like songs suit Vinogradov admirably and their haunting simplicity enables him to make the most of the poetically musical Russian language. None of the composers are well known, but artless simplicity of the songs combined with Vinogradov’s technique mean that the songs stay in the memory. Guild have gone to a great deal of trouble to assemble the items for these discs and to ensure that the individual tracks are presented in the best way possible. Unfortunately this level of care does not seem to have been lavished on the notes. There are at least two places where the printed order of the tracks does not correspond to what is played on the CD. And, though the set comes with a fine set of notes, there are no words for any of the items. This is not disastrous for the more common pieces, but it would have been extremely helpful for some of the lesser known Russian items. This boxed set will be of great interest to anyone seriously interested in Russian singing. But the quality of the Russian items, particularly, make them essential listening for anyone interested in opera or the voice. The limitations in Vinogradov’s recorded legacy mean that not everyone will relish the entire repertoire of these discs and I cannot help feeling that Guild should consider a single disc to showpiece Vinogradov’s undeservedly neglected talents. Robert Hugill see also review by Robert Farr     Error processing SSI file

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