As is evident from the recording date, this is a re-issue, previously
released in 1994, and the second of two volumes of Lithuanian
composer Mikolajus čiurlionis's piano music originally
issued by Marco Polo, now part of the Naxos stable. Volume 1,
recorded at the same time and place, also featuring mainly Preludes
and a single second shorter than this recording, was released
a few weeks earlier (8.572659).
In 2010 Celestial Harmonies released a 5-CD boxed set of čiurlionis's
'Complete Piano Music Volumes 1-5', played by Nikolaus Lahusen
(19923-2). Volume 1 (13184-2) had first appeared in 2000, followed
at intervals by other volumes. The boxed set does not represent
a huge saving over five individual CDs, so the potential buyer
may wish to consider a pick 'n' mix approach, perhaps combining
the two Naxos/Marco Polo volumes with some by Lahusen. Indeed,
greater savings are possible because the first three Lahusen
volumes are available as MP3 downloads from Amazon at almost
half the CD price.
Presumably there are more volumes to come from Celestial Harmonies,
as čiurlionis's Piano Sonata VL 155, his key work from
Naxos vol.1, has so far not appeared, nor has the Prelude VL
182a from the same. The keys that the pieces were written in
were given in the Marco Polo original, but for some reason have
been omitted from the Naxos makeover. Keys and, where appropriate,
opus numbers are given in the Lahusen set, even if the
latter are not always strictly adhered to in playing orders.
That is probably the worst thing about the two Naxos volumes
- the dateless VL numbers are only meaningful to specialists,
and whatever the logic behind Vytautas Landsbergis's new catalogue*
- not explained in the booklet - čiurlionis's official
opuses, which presumably had some internal coherence, are scattered
to the winds.
However, by cross-referencing VL numbers, some of čiurlionis's
opuses can be reconstructed from the two Naxos volumes. The
following are available in their entirety:
op.3 (4 pieces): no.1: Prelude, VL 169; no.2: Humoresque, VL
162; no.3: Mazurka, VL 234; no.4: Prelude, VL 164 (all vol.1)
op.4 (2 pieces): no.1: Nocturne, VL 178; no.2: Impromptu, VL
181 (both vol.1)
op.6 (2 pieces): no.1: Prelude, VL 184; no.2: Nocturne, VL 183
(both vol.1)
op.7 (4 Preludes): no.1: Prelude, VL 185; no.2: Prelude VL 187;
no.3: Prelude, VL 186; no.4: Prelude, VL 188 (all vol.1)
op.8 (2 pieces): no.1: Prelude, VL197; no.2: Mazurka, VL 222
(both vol.1)
op.11 (2 pieces): no.1: Prelude, VL 230; no.2: Dainelé, VL 199
(both vol.1)
op.20 (3 Preludes): 3 Autumn Pieces (Preludes) on a Theme, VL
271-269 (vol.2)
op.45 (1 Fugue): Fugue in B flat minor, VL 345 (vol.2)
The following are incomplete to greater or lesser degrees:
op.12 (3 pieces): no.1: Prelude, VL 239 (vol.2)
op.13 (3 Preludes): no.1: Prelude, VL 241 (vol.2)
op.16 (4 Preludes): no.2: Prelude, VL 259; no.3: Prelude, VL
256 (both vol.2)
op.17 (3 pieces): no.1: Pater Noster, VL 260; no.2: Autumn,
VL 264 (both vol.2)
op.21 (4 Preludes in D minor): no.1 Prelude, VL 294; no.2: Prelude,
VL 295 (both vol.2)
op.22 (5 Preludes): no.5: Prelude, VL 304 (vol.2)
op.31 (4 Preludes): no.1: Prelude, VL 325; no.2: Prelude, VL
327 (both vol.2)
op.32 (3 Preludes): no.3: Prelude, VL 335 (vol.2)
op.33 (6 Preludes): no.1: Prelude, VL 338; no.3: Prelude, VL
340; no.5: Prelude, VL 343; no.6: Prelude, VL 344 (all vol.2)
Not all čiurlionis's pieces have opus numbers - that was
doubtless Landsbergis's motivation behind his catalogue. In
the many such cases the VL number remains an invaluable aid
to identification.
The booklet notes are more or less identical to the first volume,
and not very informative at all about the works played here
by Paris-based Lithuanian pianist Muza Rubackyte. Only the incomplete
String Quartet's original date of composition is given, and
note made that the Fugue in B flat minor was čiurlionis's
last piano work. Here the Celestial Harmonies edition is little
help - only volume 1 includes dates.
As with the Naxos Volume 1, this is primarily a disc of miniatures
- most of the 16 Preludes are under two minutes long and, in
light of the above remarks regarding opuses, many must be considered
on their strength as individual items. The Preludes on volume
1 bore a VL number in the late 100s, whereas these are late
200s and 300s, an indication, confirmed by the notes, that these
are later works. The Grieg-like lyric pieces of volume 1 have
been replaced by more impressionistic and harmonically ambiguous
items, particularly in the last four or five, where the influence
of Szymanowski's now published early piano pieces can be heard.
Nevertheless, there is still everywhere lovely melody in abundance,
and echoes of Chopin are still apparent. Like Chopin and Szymanowski,
čiurlionis can pack an awful lot of music - and not necessarily
notes - into two minutes.
The only substantial work length-wise is a filler, but a fine
one: an intelligent transcription of čiurlionis's incomplete
but attractive String Quartet by Rubackyte herself. The String
Quartet has been recorded once before in its original form,
by the Vilnius Quartet on a 1998 Russian Disc release (10008),
a 48-minute recording of the composer's 'Complete String Quartet
Music'. Happily, čiurlionis's music is beginning to crop
up with increasing regularity on various labels - some of his
organ works were recorded in a Lithuanian programme by the German
organist Martin Rost for MDG, released in 2009 (review),
for example.
As there is no mention of re-mastering, the Naxos volumes are
presumably undoctored 1993 recordings. Sound quality is very
good, if perhaps mildly tinny. A good five seconds of silence
have thoughtfully been allowed at the ends of tracks, and included
in the timings on the track-listing, as given above. All Naxos
appear to have done to the original, in fact, is give it a new
coat of paint - mainly a new cover picture - one of čiurlionis's,
wearing his painter's hat - for their white-look booklet. The
notes have not been updated, and Rubackyte's photograph shows
her as having aged remarkably little for a 52-year-old!
Rubackyte, a former child prodigy, made this recording at a
relatively early stage in her career. Nowadays she is widely
considered an outstanding performer of Liszt. Recently she has
recorded Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues for Brilliant Classics,
as well as Franck's Quintet in F minor with the Vilnius Quartet
for the same label (review).
čiurlionis's piano music is a fair bit more straightforward
than that of Liszt or Shostakovich, admittedly, but she nevertheless
pays it great respect and her lovely lyrical tone, discipline
and expressiveness ensure a persuasive performance. What would
be good would be for Naxos to now ask her to record the rest
of čiurlionis's worthy piano music.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at reviews.gramma.co.uk
Complete track listing
Prelude, VL 239 [2:15]
Prelude, VL 241 [1:26]
Prelude, VL 256 [4:04]
Prelude, VL 259 [0:49]
Pater Noster, VL 260 [2:35]
Autumn, VL 264 [1:58]
3 Autumn Pieces (Preludes) on a Theme, VL 271-269 [6:46]
Prelude, VL 294 [1:15]
Prelude, VL 295 [1:51]
Impromptu, VL 298 [1:05]
Prelude, VL 304 [1:04]
Prelude, VL 325 [2:57]
Prelude, VL 327 [1:08]
Prelude, VL 330 [1:25]
Prelude, VL 335 [1:42]
Prelude, VL 338 [2:41]
Prelude, VL 340 [1:18]
Prelude, VL 343 [1:07]
Prelude, VL 344 [2:10]
Fugue in B flat minor, VL 345 [5:45]
String Quartet, VL 83 (1901-02) (incomplete; 3 movements arr.
Muza Rubackyte) [24:12]
* Editor’s Note: Vytautas Landsbergis, one time Lithuanian
head of state, recorded a selection of Ciurlioni’s piano music
in 1998. This was issued on EMI Classics 7243 5 66791 2 2 under
the title Born of the Human Soul. Landsbergis returned
to the project again in 2009 with a two CD set of Ciurlionis’s
piano solos issued by the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society.
Muza Rubackyte (piano) 
