With these two discs, we have reached the end of one of my most enjoyable
musical journeys. I’m wondering how I’m going to cope
now that it is over: see below for reviews of the earlier volume.
Voeux, written in 1927 at the same time as his Message
(see
Volume 2) bears the opus no. 39B and since Message is
Op.39 there is the suggestion that there is some kind of connection.
As the booklet writers of the entire series, Cary Lewis and Mark Gresham
put it, “One wonders idly if there could be a hint in these
pieces as to what the meaning of the Message might be.”
That said, with their subtitles, these ‘wishes’ are complete
in their captivating musical descriptions from the first "Pour
mon Saint" (for my Saint) through those for his "family,
for feeling, middleclass happiness, work, life" and closing with
"for peace in the Middle East". The latter was withdrawn
at first following the defeat of an “Islamic leader who was
viewed as a threat to Western civilisation”, an example, if
ever there was one, of the saying “what goes around comes around”!
These pieces confirm Tcherepnin’s total mastery of the miniature.
None of them runs much over two minutes; "For Peace in the Middle
East" is a mere 45 seconds long.
Polka comes from the wartime years that the Tcherepnin family
was forced to spend in Paris following the Occupation. The composer
admitted that this was his least productive period during which he
described what he did write, often for revues, music halls and dancers,
as “trash”. When you listen to this polka which he at
least relented about, orchestrating it later, you can only come to
the conclusion that he was being too self-critical. Composers often
take this excessively severe line, in many cases leading to the destruction
of certain works. Thankfully this was not the fate of this charming,
witty, knockabout piece that Lewis and Gresham understandably compare
to Shostakovich’s polka from The Golden Age which was
premièred in 1930.
The Étude de concert, here receiving its world première
recording thanks to the Sacher Foundation's Tcherepnin Archive,
is an exceptional piece. It dates from 1920 when the composer was
still in Tbilisi before finally settling in Paris. It requires a certain
deftness because of its requirement for the left hand to keep leapfrogging
the right, as explained in the notes. Canzona from four years
later incorporates mood-swings from the capricious to a serious and
darkly declared feeling of menace. It ends with a cheeky little scherzo.
It was fascinating to read of the back-story surrounding the next
piece Autour des montagnes Russes (Riding the roller-coaster).
It concerns Tcherepnin hearing of a commission given eight French
composers to celebrate the Paris International Exhibition of 1937.
Tcherepnin suggested that a group of foreign composers then living
in Paris should do the same. This was agreed to and both he and Martinů
ended up composing pieces concerning the roller-coaster - known as
Russian Mountains in France and American Mountains
in Russia. This clever and witty piece was his contribution and his
explanation of its meaning is a great aid to the listener, involving
someone chickening out and instead watching it buck and ride from
the sidelines.
One of Tcherepnin’s longest pieces for piano comes next in the
shape of his Toccata No.2 from 1922. This calls for a huge
amount of dexterity with the pianist’s hands having to leap
about across the length of the keyboard. The following Pastoral
is another miraculous miniature in which we are taken to China where
Tcherepnin spent some time. It was where he met the woman who was
to become his second wife. In a mere 1:44 we have oriental melodies
and a splash of jazz in a delightful mixture of innocuous fun.
After the posthumous Canon, making its debut on disc, we
have a beautiful work, the Dialogue from his Suite Géorgienne
which incorporates a delicious Georgian melody. This he used at various
times in different guises and for different instrumental combinations
with this solo piano version working extremely well. From Georgia
we are then transported back to Old St. Petersburg, another
piece whose manuscript was generously provided by the Sacher Foundation
for this project. In it the then 18 year old composer encapsulates
in waltz form the grandeur that existed in certain circles in the
then capital city that was about to be so momentously transformed.
The next work, also provided by the Sacher Foundation and thus also
making it onto disc for the first time, is the Ballade, the
second longest work Tcherepnin wrote for piano. It is one that clearly
involves a story we can only guess at but which is full of drama and
hints at themes from Grieg’s Piano Concerto. It is a work packed
full of contrasting styles from graceful, dancing rhythms to towering
moments full of anxiety that seek fruitlessly for solution. The work
ends on a tragic note.
What a contrast we find in the penultimate piece. Souvenir de
Voyage is a real tongue-in-cheek, fun-packed and breathless whirlwind
musical tour of as many countries as Tcherepnin could allude to in
under three minutes. As the booklet writers point out this is a veritable
exercise of ‘name that tune’ at which I failed miserably
though I thought detected eleven possibilities among which Britain,
France and Italy were represented. Tcherepnin wrote this to send to
his wife explained pianist Giorgio Koukl by way of a musical postcard
- how charming. The very last piece on the disc is Badinage.
This sported the original title of Cloches et Clochettes.
It is a measure of Tcherepnin’s personality that he could rise
above the horrors of occupied Paris to pen this little delight in
1941.
This disc is another piece in the jigsaw that makes up the picture
of a composer who wrote in so many varied styles ranging from the
apparently frivolous nature of the last two pieces to the weighty
drama of the Étude de concert and the Toccata
No.2. Here stands a man that could let his hair down as well
as write extremely serious works that never fail to amaze. Giorgio
Koukl is, as ever, a brilliant exponent of this fascinating music.
Over the eight discs there are 309 different pieces from 62 works,
33 of them recorded for the first time. The series is a true voyage
of musical discovery. Moving on to the eighth and final disc in the
series Koukl has chosen to turn his attention to music written with
children in mind. It will come as no surprise to learn that the master
of the miniature could pen the most genuinely delightful and charming
music — works that children could both enjoy listening to as
well as playing. There are 83 pieces here and all but one, Sunny
Day ‘Forgotten Bagatelle’ are world première
recordings.
The first set is diplomatically entitled For Young and Old
so as not to marginalise the older listener or pianist. Each of the
twelve pieces has a separate title. It is unclear as to whether these
pieces were meant to be attempted by children or just to be enjoyed
by them. They sound pretty difficult to play though there are a number
of videos posted on YouTube that show plenty of talented young pianists
who could no doubt manage them. Certainly there is a great deal to
enjoy here for adults and I’d be over the moon if I could play
them as they are played here.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse
Martin, (2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), or Saint
Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy
Face, O.C.D. was the inspiration behind the next set which was written
in 1925, the year she was canonized. These pieces seek to illustrate
in music episodes in her life from birth through her first communion
to the taking of orders and beyond. While it is true that they are
reverential their charm comes through even where they are also introspective.
Episodes (Priskaski) were written at various times
from the age of 13 to 21. Since they have been arranged in a random
order you cannot tell which was written at which age. The earliest,
Scherzando, belies the young age of its composer. All of
these pieces Tcherepnin brought to Paris with him in his suitcase.
Fortunately his teacher Isidor Phillip encouraged him to seek their
publication. They are all charming as well as inventive and Tcherepnin’s
preferred title for the collection Priskaski which translates
as 'short stories' is a much more accurate description
than Episodes which had been suggested by Phillip. As mentioned
in relation to some of his wartime compositions on Volume 7 there
were pieces that Tcherepnin suppressed considering that these were
part of his juvenilia. We are lucky he did not destroy them. Papillon
in particular is such a perfect musical representation of a butterfly
and is typical of his thoroughly original way of thinking.
The next 26 pieces are collected in three suites that have an overall
title of Piano Study on the Pentatonique Scale. Although
particularly associated with music from the Orient including the folk
melodies of China, Korea, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Japan, and Vietnam the pentatonic scale is also
found throughout the world: from Celtic to West African music, from
Bluegrass to Albanian folk and Jazz. Debussy among others found that
its use in Indonesian gamelan inspirational and deployed it in several
of his compositions to great effect. I’m aware that I keep emphasising
Tcherepnin’s incredible facility for creating miniatures but
it is simply astonishing that he can endow something that lasts a
mere 11 seconds (Chanson des Marins) with such personality.
Every one of these 26 pieces that in total last a little over 16 minutes
is beguilingly attractive. Budding young pianists would love to play
them I’m quite sure. Their childlike innocence would win anyone
over. Anyone who has heard traditional Chinese instruments played
will recognise imitations of them here. The first ten of these were
dedicated to the ten young pianists who performed his Bagatelles,
Op.5 (1918) at a concert in Peking (see Volume
1 GP608) the eleventh to their teacher and the last to his pipa
teacher all of which sums up his enjoyment of his time spent in China.
The 17 piano pieces for beginners of 1957 again exude a charm
that is quite magical and the titles match each piece perfectly. Tcherepnin
wrote music that educated as well as enchanted children throughout
his life from the Episodes (Priskaski) from 1912 to the Two
pieces for Children of 1976. You can appreciate how much children
must have meant to him as well as his desire to help them appreciate
music as much as he did. It is a measure of the man as much as the
musician. The last pieces on the disc are equally lovely and it is
extremely poignant to read that Sunny Day ‘Forgotten Bagatelle’
(1915), the only piece that is not a world première recording,
was one that he found and copied out on the very day he died. It makes
a telling full stop to the whole 8 CD journey through the music of
this singularly irresistible and compelling composer. His music is
deservedly finding new devotees today but will doubtless draw new
admirers for decades to come. Taking us through this musical journey
Giorgio Koukl has demonstrated his prowess as a pianist from the most
demanding pieces to the most delicately tiny fragment. He also brings
with him a total commitment to the project, together with obvious
love for the music and determination to propagate new audiences. I
have been privileged to see this journey through from beginning to
end and have learned so much including discovering Tcherepnin's
four
symphonies and six piano concertos. As I said at the start I feel
somewhat bereft now it is over but I shall be revisiting this wondrous
music often.
Grand Piano is to be congratulated in its endeavours to put Tcherepnin
firmly on the musical map and for its continued determination to explore
and release music from composers that would rarely, if ever, otherwise
see the light of day on disc.
Steve Arloff
Track listings
Vol 7
Voeux (Wishes). Op.39B (1926) [9:58]
Polka (version for piano) (1944) [1:53]
Étude de concert (1920)* [4:10]
Canzona, Op.28 (1924) [3:25]
Autour des montagnes Russes (Riding the roller-coaster) (1937) [3:28]
Toccata No.2, Op.20 (1922) [8:07]
Pastoral (arranged by the composer from The Lost Flute, Op.89:Introduction)
(1955)* [1:44]
Canon, Op.Posth. (version for piano) (1923-24)* [2:44]
Dialogue (arranged by the composer from Suite Géorgienne,
Op.57:II.-) (1952)* [4:03]
Old St.Petersburg (Ca.1917)* [3:16]
Ballade (1917)* [8:57]
Souvenir de Voyage* [2:55]
Badinage (1941)* [2:56]
Vol 8
Pour petits et grands Op.65 (1940)* [13:17]
Histoire de la petite Thérèse de l’enfant Jésus
Op.36B (1925)* [9:35]
Episodes (Priskaski) (1912-20)* [10:27]
Étude du piano sur la gamme pentatonique:*
Première suite, Op.51, No.1 (1934) [2:23]
Deuxième suite, Op.51, No.2 (1934) [4:06]
12 Bagatelles Chinoises, Op.51, No.3 (1935) [9:52]
17 piano pieces for beginners (1957) [8:55]
Two pieces for children:*
Celebration (1976) [00:24]
Indian Trail (1976) [00:26]
Sunny Day ‘Forgotten Bagatelle’ (1915) [1:05]
*World première recordings
Reviews of previous volumes
Volume
1
Volume
2
Volume
3
Volume
4
Volume
5
Volume
6
