Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891 – 1953)
Piano Transcriptions
Three Pieces from Cinderella, op.95 (1942) [10:35]
Ten Pieces from Cinderella, op.97 (1943) [18:56]
Six Pieces from Cinderella, op.102 (1944) [20:40]
Symphony No.1 in D, Classical, op.25 (1917) [14:28]
Temirzhan Yerzhanov (piano)
rec 20/21 May 2005, Mosfilm Studio, Moscow
CON BRIO CBR 28454 [64:53]
Prokofiev’s three act ballet Cinderella occupied him from 1940 to 1944.
He put it aside for two years after the German invasion of his homeland and
concentrated on his score for War and Peace. It’s scored for a fairly
large orchestra and plays for about 100 minutes. This music is not for children,
for it is spiky and acidic in places and, perhaps, shows us the seamy side
of the fairy-tale! It’s interesting that these three “suites” were created
as Prokofiev worked on the composition of the ballet whereas the three orchestral
suites – opp.107, 108 and 109 – all follow the first production of the work,
in 1946. And they are proper transcriptions, not simply piano arrangements
which the composer could use to play to the choreographer or the conductor
from the Bolshoi prior to the premičre.
They are certainly not easy to play, nor are they an easy listen, as I wrote
above, this is not children’s music in any way, and the insalubrious side
of life is often evoked. Attractive as this music is, despite what Prokofiev
is describing in his music it is always approachable (for adults!), I do have
a problem with these transcriptions. Lacking the orchestral colour they are
far too similar to give a satisfying variety of pieces. The orchestral suites
are most attractive but here I am afraid the dances and scenes simply loose
their appeal. It may be partly the fault of both the pianist and the recording.
Yerzhanov is obviously a fine pianist and it’s astonishing what he manages
to get his fingers round on this disk! If the Symphony isn’t wholly successful
here this is because it’s impossible to play the music at the required tempi,
it is not the fault of the performer. However, I do feel that Yerzhanov has
something to do with my dissatisfaction with the Cinderella pieces.
He tends to hit the piano with fingers of steel and even in a more relaxed
number, such as the Adagio (the last of the op.97 suite), there is
insufficient give and take and the music is hard and totally unaffecting.
I find his approach somewhat insistent and unrelenting. Yerzhanov isn’t helped
by the recording which is very close with no feel of the room in which it
was recorded.
There is no doubting Yerzhanov’s abilities as a pianist – he is obviously
headed for great things, and deservedly so, for his is a prodigious technique
but I don’t feel that he has been well served here nor is he heard at his
best. Oddly, there are no notes to speak of, just a few sentences on the back
of the front inlay.
Currently there appears to be no single disk available which contains all
these Cinderella transcriptions, so we must be grateful for this disk closing
that gap.
Bob Briggs