This disc has been my introduction to
the work of Tabakov. The liner-notes for this release rather amusingly
describe the composer as someone “who used to be an excellent
double bass player.” Tabakov has quite a number of recordings
to his credit, almost exclusively with the Sofia Philharmonic
under his baton; he was conductor for the Sofia Philharmonic,
according to the information found on his website, from
1988 until 2000. More recently, he is the conductor of the Ankara-based
Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, the ensemble we have here for this
disc. Tabakov currently has six symphonies to his credit, four
of which have been recorded, as well as a number of concert pieces
for various instruments. The two works on this disc are among
his most recent. If they are representative of his oeuvre, this
reviewer is certainly interested in hearing more.
The opening Concerto for Two Flutes was
written for and dedicated to one of the flautists for this release,
Patrick Gallois, who has recorded various discs for Naxos recently,
both as flautist and as conductor. The piece begins very quietly,
with the flutes coming in a minute into the piece in a call-and-response
intonation of the thematic material. The piece as a whole seems
to emerge from a dense fog, rather in the same way various pieces
by Valentin Silvestrov do, with their sustained quiet notes
in brass and strings. Shostakovich is also here, certainly,
as is Rodion Shchedrin’s more brooding orchestral music. One
gets the sense rather early on that this is not a concerto in
the typical sense of the term — the first movement makes few
great technical demands on the soloists, and there is no cadenza
to speak of. The entire first movement has the feeling of an
arduous ascent, and is, in its own right, quite riveting music.
The movement has a morendo ending, but this dying away
is found throughout the piece as the thematic material gains
energy and then flags, builds again, then flags again.
The second movement shows itself to be
a far more jittery creature. The thematic material here is
again minimal, essentially a descending three note motif. The
antsy obsessiveness of this movement is heightened by the use
of maracas and various percussion to add to the itch. Things
still are quite tautly restrained until with a resounding blow
to a large Bulgarian drum, the whole thing spins off into a
true danse macabre which soon shows its teeth, and a
quite frightening aspect. All stops dead at about 9:30, whereupon
the flutes peep out again from under the wreckage and soon set
to quarrelling, which only gets the orchestra started again,
with the flutes in an ever-quickening pace. An interesting
and impressive work I plan to revisit often.
The Piano Concerto has a few more of the
hallmarks of a traditional concerto, with the orchestra coming
in with the bravado first movement’s thematic material, which
is a tottering monster of a march. The piano staggers in afterwards,
with jolting syncopations in the left hand. Here again, as
we heard in the last movement of the two-flute concerto, we
have a certain obsessiveness in the treatment of the thematic
material, always with an edge. The main theme is a depiction
of a crushing force, and indeed, it turns out the piece was
commissioned to celebrate the anniversary of the Turkish army.
The cadenza is a fleet-fingered treatment of the main theme
which soon becomes fragmented, then alternated with its quieter
version of itself heard earlier.
Quite interesting is the use of timbre
in the second movement, which opens with the piccolo and a quietly
rolled cymbal, which makes a wonderful imitation of wind, adding
greatly to the impression of an almost Maxfield Parrish-like
open, peaceful tableau before the concerto moves toward more
disquieted areas. The virtuosic third movement has the pianist
making an entrance with rapidly-repeated single notes. This
section of the movement is certainly a call to arms, with jangling
alarms and whoops from the brass. Surrounded by menace, the
second theme comes in a rather frightened tender moment exchanged
between the violin and the piano, after which things spin back
off into the melee of the first theme. Shostakovich’s battle
music is certainly an influence here
Having listened to this disc, I certainly
am interested in hearing more of Tabakov’s music. Those who
enjoy the work of Prokofiev and especially that of Shostakovich
and Shchedrin certainly wouldn’t go wrong here. The recording
quality is quite good, as is the balance of the orchestra with
the soloists in both works presented.
David Blomenberg
Patrick Gallois and Philippe Bernold (flutes)*
