Oleg Marshev seems
born to play music of this ilk. Emil
von Sauer comes in at the end of the
great Romantic composer-pianist tradition
(he was a pupil of Liszt) – collectors
may also wish to investigate Hyperion’s
‘The Romantic Piano Concerto, Volume
11’, which couples Sauer’s First
Concerto with Scharwenka’s Fourth (Stephen
Hough is accompanied by the CBSO under
Lawrence Foster, CDA66790). Sauer himself
left a fair number of 78rpm discs to
posterity.
Danacord here present
two first recordings – the Suite
and the Galop de concert. Suite
moderne, dedicated to Sgambati,
is fairly typical Romantic fare, the
initial ‘Prélude passioné’
exemplifying this perfectly, gestural
in its essence (although a cynic may
refer to clichés …). The only
reservation comes with the recorded
sound, which seems a little lacking
in depth, a suspicion confirmed in the
ensuing ‘Air lugubre’. Marshev’s evident
belief in his charge sees the music
through though, dragging one in after
a while (at 9’57 duration it could so
easily seem over-languorous). The third
movement ‘Scherzo grotesque’ does not
begin as such, rather easing into its
malevolent cheekiness (and how Marshev
seems to enjoy this!).
In his notes, Farhan
Malik refers to the fourth movement
Gavotte as ‘somewhat reminiscent
of Glazunov’, although the connection
does not seem overly pronounced to this
reviewer. The finale is the most clearly
Schumannesque movement.
Aus lichten Tagen
is subtitled ‘Five Miniatures’. This
is straight out of the salon. Marshev
plays when appropriate in a light, throwaway
style, yet displays superb tonal variety
in the final ‘Capricietto’. His virtuosity
is breathtaking in ‘Am Spinnraden’ (‘At
the Spinning Wheel’, the fourth movement).
Sauer’s 29 Concert
Etudes were recorded by Marshev
earlier in this series. The Three
Concert Etudes presented here are
not in fact intended as a supplement
to this - rather their character is
truer to the essence of the ‘etude’.
Marshev does his best to shape the first
(a cripplingly difficult study in thirds).
Similarly, his Etude-Caprice (No. 2)
is full of laughter, and the final ‘Moto
perpetuo in Octaves’ sparkles delightfully.
Finally, the Galop
de Concert in E flat minor. This
begins almost as a Lisztian parody –
it is an effective encore piece, with
its contrastive elements and Marshev
in teasing mode around 5’38. But the
piece is over-long at six and a half
minutes.
A thoroughly enjoyable
disc. Marshev’s flair and seemingly
limitless technique sees the project
through in high style.
Colin Clarke
.
Oleg Marshev (piano) 
