I knew only one
fact about these two composers before I opened this CD: Felix
Blumenfeld was Vladimir Horowitz’s piano teacher. I assume the
lessons were at an advanced stage and not ‘five finger exercises’.
The Hyperion website
makes the gloriously understated claim that Eduard Nápravník
is not a household name. Absolutely! Yet it is the general philosophy
of this great series of Romantic Piano Concertos that exploration
into the remotest comers of the music library will disclose
hidden masterpieces. So fame and glory is not a sine qua
non!
The problem is that
sometimes a work is discovered or revived that should have been
left on the shelf. Then again, every so often the work is truly
a lost masterpiece and well deserves accession to the canon
of concerted music for piano. But perhaps the most likely result
is that we find a work that is good or perhaps even great. However
it does not cross the threshold of genius. If for a moment we
think of the best known and loved piano concertos of the late
nineteenth/early twentieth century we must include Tchaikovsky
in B minor, Rachmaninov Second and Third,
Grieg in A minor. The rest lies in that vast area of
subjective opinion. What turns you on will leave me cold and
what bores me will move you to tears! But I think all will
be agreed that the above named works are timeless and essential
to musical history – even if they are not our particular favourites.
They are, if you like, the ‘gold standard’ of all works in this
genre.
I enjoyed the three
works on this CD immensely. The playing by Evgeny Soifertis
is exhilarating. He has breathed life into these long forgotten
works: all of them are premiere recordings. He reveals them
as exciting, immediate and full of poetry. Alexander Titov and
the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra take these works to their
hearts. They are played with great commitment. And Hyperion
have given an excellent sound recording and exceptional programme
notes. No works could be better presented to the public purview.
And yet ...?
Much as I enjoyed
these works; much as I appreciated the technical skill of the
composers and the pianist, I am left with little doubt as to
why these works were relegated to the archive whereas Tchaik
1 was not. Why? Sometimes both Nápravník and Blumenfeld are
trying just a little hard. Much of the musical fabric of these
works seems to me to be composed to order. Derogatory as this
may seem I feel that they perhaps lack integrity. They are quite
deliberately designed as ‘pot-boilers’. I am not sure that they
move me.
It is superfluous
for me to describe these works in detail. The programme notes
give an excellent musical and historical analysis. Furthermore
this is available for review on the Hyperion web pages.
However, to change
my tune completely: my criticisms do not matter. It is a false
premise that all musical works have to be suffused with genius.
It is not necessary for every concerto to enter protesting into
heaven. There is a huge space for works that are just enjoyable
and offer sheer listening delight and pleasure. These three
works fall into this category. They make life brighter and more
fun, even if they do not change the way we view the stuff of
the universe. And I suppose that there are probably many more
works just like this waiting to be discovered, dusted down and
given an airing. Hyperion must keep on doing this job that they
do so well. It is vital to ensure that the musical public is
not just fed a diet of a few hackneyed (albeit great) masterworks.
What I do wonder,
though is that if these three works will retain their
place in the piano concerto canon. That is perhaps where I have
my doubt.
John France
Romantic
Piano Concerto series
Evgeny Soifertis (piano)
