Having reviewed the Arensky
and Balakirev
concertos from Yablonsky and the Russian Philharmonic I was
impatient to hear their Lyapunov. As with so many composers
trapped in another’s shadow – in this case that of Balakirev
– the mentor’s passing would pay artistic dividends. The three
works on this disc precede Balakirev’s death in 1910 so one
might expect a degree of imitation born of admiration and undue
influence. Indeed, Lyapunov went on to completed his master’s
Second Piano Concerto which, like his own, is also in the key
of E.
Yablonsky’s pianist, Moscow-born Shorena Tsintsabadze, certainly
makes the most of her opening flourishes. That comes after a
slightly ragged orchestral introduction, but then the Russian
Philharmonic’s playing does settle down after a while, the strings
especially ardent. In the main the piano sound is perfectly
acceptable, despite a bright edge to the extreme treble, most
noticeable in the work’s many declamatory passages. As for the
orchestra, there’s a brazen, somewhat overdriven quality to
the tuttis that rather suits the all-or-nothing nature of this
most extrovert concerto. That helter-skelter finale does push
players and engineers to the limit though, earlier warmth and
weight supplanted by fatiguing brightness. A pity, as this is
an otherwise entertaining piece, enthusiastically presented.
Thank goodness for the soothing balm that is the introduction
to the second concerto. This is altogether a less febrile work,
and one soon registers a much wider range of orchestral colours.
Tsintsabadze has a persuasive musical personality, and I really
warmed to her playing in the work’s more inward moments. As
for the Russian brass, they’re characteristically imprecise
at times, but that bothers me much less than the piano’s tendency
to jangle in the frequent climaxes, not to mention the ill-defined
bass. Not so pronounced if you’re listening to a compressed
MP3 on a packed rush-hour train, but much less desirable on
a half-decent domestic stereo. As I mentioned in my Arensky
review, this hard-working conductor and his forces seem to be
on the musical equivalent of a fast-moving conveyor belt, a
process that doesn’t always yield the most refined results.
That said, these concertos are worth exploring, but before you
decide sample Hamish Milne’s versions of both – and Howard Shelley’s
of the Second – on piano-friendly Hyperion. As for the Rhapsody
on Ukrainian Themes it has a raw energy that is most arresting;
what a shame the recording is equally so, notably in that riotous
finale Despite the super-budget price tag Naxos can – and does
– do better than this, so I’ll leave it to readers to decide
whether the curiosity value of these works outweighs their technical
shortfalls. No such ambivalence about Keith Anderson’s admirably
concise and informative liner-notes, though.
Very much a case of what might have been, I’m afraid. Caveat
emptor.
Dan Morgan
See also reviews by Ian
Lace and Kevin
Sutton
Shorena Tsintsabadze (piano)
