Myaskovsky Comparison: Repin/Gergiev/Philips
This gem of a disc
features two masterful violin concertos
that are infrequently recorded and have
never been paired together on record.
Both Nikolay Myaskovsky and Mieczyslaw
Vainberg were born in the Warsaw area
and eventually immigrated to Moscow.
Although different in age, the two composers
became good friends. Vainberg went on
to forge a close relationship with the
famous composer Dmitri Shostakovich
to the extent that they would share
their respective musical drafts with
one another.
Myaskovsky’s music
has been criticized for its backward-looking
nature and lack of great tunes. It is
true that his music is steeped in the
heart of 19th century romanticism,
and there is little in his compositions
that indicates he lived under the weight
of the Soviet regime. However, there
is sometimes a slight bow to 20th
century aesthetics.
As for the "lack
of great tunes" criticism, Myaskovsky’s
three-movement Violin Concerto clearly
puts that premise to rest. The abundance
of memorable themes in this rapturous
work is astounding, and the music flows
beautifully throughout. Composed between
March and June 1938, Myaskovsky dedicated
the work to David Oistrakh who performed
the premiere in Moscow on 10 January
1939. Being Myaskovsky’s first concerto,
the results are all the more remarkable.
The 1st
Movement Allegro is a 20-minute feast
for the mind and heart replete with
a 4-minute solo violin cadenza placed
right in the middle of the movement.
In the Introduction, Myaskovsky displays
great strength and determination, giving
way to the multi-faceted personality
of the solo violin that takes us from
tears and dismay to the heights of exhilaration.
Although less than half the length of
the 1st Movement, the 3rd
Movement Allegro molto also contains
a host of thematic material ranging
from playful folk-dance numbers to pleadings
of desperation. The central Movement
Adagio molto cantabile is quite successful,
but is limited in material compared
to the outer movements. In any case,
its primary theme is a lovely one of
rapturous proportion.
Those of you who know
Myaskovsky’s music through his symphonies
will be surprised at the personal nature
of the Violin Concerto. The symphonies
were largely written for public consumption,
but Myaskovsky clearly composed his
Violin Concerto from the depth of his
soul.
Dmitry Yablonsky has
been recording the Russian repertoire
for Naxos at a fast pace. Previous releases
have included the Arensky Orchestral
Suites, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky,
and two of Myaskovsky’s Symphonies.
Yablonsky’s performances have tended
to be on the serious side with some
lack of exuberance. I am glad to report
that there’s certainly no lack of aplomb
or exuberance in his conducting of the
Myaskovsky Violin Concerto, and some
of the credit has to go the engineering
which places the orchestra more forward
than in most of Yablonsky’s past recordings.
Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra
push the music faster, but Yablonsky
generates plenty of heat when needed.
Further, Gergiev’s fast pacing in the
outer movements sometimes results in
a glossing over of important accent
points.
Violinist Ilya Grubert
doesn’t have the name recognition afforded
to Vadim Repin, but he has excellent
credentials and has also recorded for
Chandos and Channel Classics. This is
my first exposure to his artistry, and
I am highly impressed. Intonation is
excellent, rhythmic patterns compelling,
and he does a great job with the myriad
of themes in the solo cadenza of the
1st Movement and the playful
nature of the 3rd Movement.
Actually, I prefer Grubert to Repin
who is high on the vibrato scale; generous
doses of vibrato are not in my comfort
zone, and Grubert’s gritty projections
are more to my liking than Repin’s sweetness.
A more concrete advantage for the Naxos
offering is the adventurous coupling
of the Vainberg Concerto over the Philips
programming of the war-horse Tchaikovsky
Violin Concerto as the disc’s coupling.
Concerning other recordings
of the Myaskovsky Violin Concerto, let’s
go back to the man who premiered the
work. The Pearl label offers the Violin
Concerto from a 1939 recording from
Oistrakh with Alexander Gauk conducting.
Anyone impressed with the work needs
to have this historical performance,
but the Naxos gives us a wonderful reading
in modern sound.
Turning from Myaskovsky
to Vainberg is like entering a different
world. Instead of romantic utterances
of 19th century sensibility
we get hard-as-nails music fully reflecting
an illogical, debilitating, and brutal
dictatorship. You know you’re in for
a tough listening experience when the
work immediately begins with a tremendously
concentrated force of energy marching
forward and out for blood. Given that
Vainberg was arrested in 1953 as an
"enemy of the people", it
isn’t far-fetched that the composer
might have been thinking of himself
as the intended prey. The second subject
of the 1st Movement provides
some relief highlighted by the accompaniment
of a celesta and harp.
The 2nd
Movement is an Allegretto and offers
a theme subjected to a series of sonorities;
this is bleak music that only becomes
more desolate as it progresses. By the
end of the Movement, the solo violin
cadenza has shut down any trace of hope.
Next comes the 3rd
Movement Adagio that also has a bleak
demeanor, but there are a few rays of
light and frequent yearnings that show
that the heart still beats. Vainberg
finishes his Violin Concerto with a
4th Movement Allegro risoluto
that compellingly blends irony and humor
in a powerful package.
I’m not quite as enthusiastic
about Yablonsky’s performance of the
Vainberg as I am with the Myaskovsky.
When white-hot intensity could be forthcoming,
Yablonsky is a little reserved. However,
both he and Grubert get to the heart
of Vainberg’s despair in the middle
movements. There are no alternative
modern-day recordings, but Olympia offers
the performance by Leonid Kogan who
Vainberg dedicated the work to in 1960.
As with Oistrakh’s Myaskovsky performance,
the Kogan is essential listening.
Overall, this new Naxos
disc will receive some consideration
as one of my Discs of the Year. The
programming is an adventurous stroke
I greatly appreciate, and it isn’t likely
that the same coupling will be offered
within the next few years. The performances
are splendid, with the reservation I
noted that Yablonsky’s intensity in
the Vainberg Concerto is slightly lacking.
As for Ilya Grubert, he is a first-class
violinist who always gets inside the
psyche of the composer and offers technically
commanding readings. My recommendation
is to snap up this inexpensive disc
immediately.
Don Satz
We also offer
reviews by Terry
Barfoot, Kevin
Sutton and Rob
Barnett
Ilya Grubert, violin