Possibly unique amongst 20th century composers, every
work composed by Nikolai Medtner includes his own instrument –
the piano. Whilst his output isn’t large, in comparison with some
who lived into their seventies, Medtner’s is a rich catalogue.
It includes fourteen Piano Sonatas – some of them very
large pieces full of Beethovenian turmoil and stress. There are
also many miniatures for the instrument. Especially remembered
are the various series of Skazki, or Fairy Tales;
not to mention three magnificent Concertos, three Violin
Sonatas, a Piano Quintet and 108 songs. Like the songs
of his lifelong friend Rachmaninov, Medtner’s songs are glorious
settings of various poets. Again like his compatriot, these pieces
should be given by our young singers looking for interesting vocal
repertoire. Kilpinen’s songs are as fine and should also be investigated.
Medtner
was the youngest of five children, born in Moscow on Christmas
Eve 1879 (Julian calendar)/ 5 January 1880 (Gregorian calendar).
He took piano lessons from his mother until he entered the Moscow
Conservatory in 1890 when aged 10! His teachers were Pavel Pabst,
Vassily Sapellnikoff, Vasily Safonov and Sergei Taneyev. In
1900 he took the Anton Rubinstein prize. Despite his keyboard
prowess, Medtner preferred a career as composer and he remained
in Russia after the Revolution. He finally settled in Golders
Green, in north London, in 1935, spending his time teaching
and composing.
Towards
the end of Medtner’s life the Maharaja of Mysore sponsored a
series of recordings. This was intended to be a complete issue
of Medtner’s works – with the composer performing. However his
death cut short the project. These 78s were long sought after
by collectors. Now they are out of copyright they have been
re–issued on CD. They should be heard by anyone interested in
the Russian piano school and are some of the most fastidious
and subtle compositions created.
In
1990 the BBC broadcast all Medtner’s works for violin and piano
with that great violinist Manoug Parikian, accompanied by one
of Medtner’s best interpreters, Hamish Milne. Even this exposure
failed to encourage public performances and these works have
never caught on as repertoire pieces, probably because they
don’t conform to any established form. Earlier, in 1985, the
BBC also broadcast a series of nine of the Piano Sonatas
in, mainly, studio performances. Again, concert performances
never materialized.
Only
the 1st Violin Sonata, a relatively early
piece, falls into the conventional three movement sonata-structure.
This is an innocent, romantic piece, well wrought with the young
composer flexing his compositional muscles. Kayaleh and Stewart
perform it as if it was the Franck Sonata – richly and
romantically, emphasizing the melodic aspects of the work. They
point towards, what at the time must have seemed like, a new
sound-world. This is a lovely performance.
The
2nd Violin Sonata of fourteen years later
is an altogether different prospect. Playing for nearly three-quarters
of an hour, with a virtuoso piano part of almost Concerto dimensions,
here is the mature composer, fully in command of his art, creating
music of heroic dimensions. Indeed, heroic is a word which ably
describes Medtner’s largest works, such as the Sonata
reminiscenza, op.38/1 (from the Forgotten
Melodies: Volume 1) (1919)
or the towering Sonata in E minor, The Night Wind, op.25/2
(1913). This work, in three movements, an Introduction,
Theme and Variations and a rondo finale, is an
emotionally exhausting experience, so complex are Medtner’s
argument and thick textures. Those who claim that Medtner’s
was a smaller talent than Rachmaninov’s need only to hear this
work to be disabused of such a misguided thought. That Medtner
didn’t possess Rachmaninov’s overt passionate outpourings is
irrelevant - this is simply very fine music. I am sure that
that is one reason why this fabulous music has been ignored.
Kayaleh and Stewart’s understanding, and very
obvious passionate advocacy shines through every bar of their
performance. They never lose sight of the ultimate musical goal.
They throwing off of the complexities of the music and bringing
out the glowing, and very sunny, conclusion to the work. It’s
not a moment too long and at the end I would quite happily have
spent another half hour with it had the composer thought this
necessary!
Between
the two Sonatas is the lighter Two
Canzonas with (two) Dances, a delightful concoction which makes no pretense at profundity. It
is there simply to please.
This
is a super disk well worth getting hold of. Medtner’s art is
very special and our lack of hearings of his works has robbed
us all of something extraordinarily wonderful. With very good
recording and fine notes this is a release to return to again
and again.
Bob
Briggs
