I’d just finished speaking with my son on the phone before
I began this review and he was telling me that he was about
to go into a pub in London where they served 23 real ales …
wow! I feel even more fortunate to be reviewing these two discs
which have 38 pieces of real quality on them which I’ll
be able to enjoy any time I like.
Some years ago when I first really discovered Medtner I felt
hugely exhilarated just as I imagine a beachcomber does when
he finds something quite unexpected and of great value. It comes
as no surprise to learn that no lesser a pianist-composer than
Rachmaninov said that Medtner alone ‘from the very beginning,
published works that it would be hard for him to equal in later
life’.
It is truly amazing to hear the first few notes of Prolog
from his opus one which he began composing when only 15 and
which are not only fresh but perfectly formed, sounding as if
it comes from someone who had already mastered his craft even
at that early stage. As my mother-in-law is fond of saying “he
must have been here before!” This is followed by a fantastic
tune Allegro con impeto, lasting a mere couple of minutes.
That’s what I particularly like and admire about Medtner:
his ability to say so much in such tiny frameworks. These are
the same reasons I love Satie and other miniaturists’
skill in economy, for they prove conclusively that less is
more. Medtner also magically creates musical worlds that
transport you to another plane as he does with his Andante
from the first set. He loves having notes cascade so beautifully.
You have to marvel at the amount of invention he could cram
into a piece such as the last of this set that lasts a mere
minute and a half. Published a year later in 1904 his opus two
Three Improvisations, contain some of the longest of
his short pieces.The first of them tells of the water nymph
famously written about by Dvořák in Rusalka
and by Ravel in Ondine;it was a theme Medtner
returned to more than once. These still short pieces by any
normal standards show the breadth of Medtner’s invention
when he allows himself more time to explore themes. The second,
entitled Memories of a ball, transport us back to a bygone
age of elegance glimpsed so often in the best costume dramas.
The last of the three, Scherzo infernale tells of the
“mischievous creatures of Russian folklore” rather
“than of the hell and damnation of Liszt’s ‘Mephisto’
pieces” as Hamish Milne explains in his excellent booklet
notes.
What is truly incredible about Medtner’s writing is that
his economy doesn’t equate to trifles that one might expect
from lesser composers of his era. They dashed off popular little
tunes to be played at home by those wealthy enough to buy pianos
in the early years of the 20th century when owning
a piano for such people was de rigueur. These short works
encompass whole worlds and emerge fully formed with nothing
left to be added.
It was fascinating reading Hamish Milne’s notes as I listened.
His explanations of the music help to increase the enjoyment.
I found this to be the case especially with the last of the
Four Pieces in which Medtner explores his German heritage
so effectively. Milne explains its complexity which is contained
within its mere two and a half minutes in such a way that only
makes me regret even more my inability to read music or play
the piano, the better to understand such wonderful music ...
in my next life. Then we come to his Three Arabesques
which, as Hamish Milne explains, were not written as such but
the publisher “bundled” the first entitled Ein
Idyll together with two pieces each entitled Tragoedie-Fragment
“under the absurdly incongruous title Arabesques”.
That’s how they are known today. The degree of incongruity
is evident as the lilting sounds of Ein Idyll fade from
its “gentle melancholy” to the weighty and serious
world described in the first of the Tragoedie. The second
is even more disturbed and tempestuous and a far cry from anything
bearing the title Idyll. However, whether we are listening
to a musical description of bliss or of sadness and despair
Medtner is able in a mere couple of minutes to encapsulate such
feelings so brilliantly.
The first of this two disc set is rounded off with Drei
Dithyramben about which meaning there is a certain unresolved
opinion. It could be connected to a general paean to the gods.
There is a stately nature to these pieces. They are extremely
serious in their treatment, not to say portentous, which note
is struck at the start of the first with its four gong-like
strokes; not for nothing is it marked Maestoso severamente.
The second and longest is similarly imbued with a commanding
grandeur while the third is like a postscript with a much lighter
tone to it.
Disc two is similarly packed with wondrous things, all, like
disc one, in the chronological order of their composition. All
confirm Medtner’s complete mastery of the piano miniature
in which a whole world of feeling can be portrayed in the shortest
imaginable time frame. From the three Novellen, through
the Four Lyrical Fragments and the solitary Étude
in C minor, written as a contribution to a 1916 collection
in aid of war victims, we are continuously reminded of this
composer’s incredible inventiveness and ability to make
every note tell with neither a note too many or too few. Whether
he is expressing joy or sadness, pride or regret he gets his
message across perfectly. A particular example is the second
of his Trois morceaux which he dedicated to a gifted
composer, Alexei Stanchinsky who tragically drowned in 1914
at only 26 and who was thought of as a genius in the making.
This is both a tribute to an artist as well as an expression
of sadness at the death of a talented young man and is expressed
so eloquently that it is truly affecting. The third of these
pieces is a Skazka or fairytale, a form he was especially
fond of and which he wrote no less than 34, all of which can
be heard on another excellent Hyperion 2 disc set from Hamish
Milne (CDA67491/2).
The Drei Hymnen an die Arbeit, the title of which no
one seems to have found the inspiration for, begins with an
absolutely beautiful piece marked Allegro molto tranquillo
which it most certainly is. All three were responded to in a
one word telegram from Rachmaninov ‘Superb’. Hamish
Milne may describe it as an ‘irrelevant digression’
but I loved his story that Medtner so often finished off his
piano practise with a C major cadence that his dog came to recognise
it and would show that he was ready to be taken for a walk upon
hearing it! The Theme and Variations in C sharp minor
at 9 minutes is the longest piece on these 2 CDs. It’s
nice to hear what Medtner could do when he allowed himself more
time as he takes his little minuet on an excursion of dazzlingly
virtuosic proportions.
The final offering on the second of these generously packed
discs is his very last solo piano piece, Zwei Elegien
op.59. His biographer, Barrie Martyn rates these as being ‘among
the composer’s finest creations’. The second of
them I find particularly fine. Nevertheless my response to all
of Medtner’s piano music is such that I can truthfully
say that my favourite piece is usually whichever I’m listening
to at the time. Having said that I must confess to adoration
of his Forgotten Melodies which were my introduction
to this brilliant composer’s works. However, I absolutely
agree with Hamish Milne’s closing remarks in his booklet
notes in which he says that should those devotees of Medtner’s
music neglect the works on this set because they are not considered
of such import as the major works - the Sonatas and Skazki
or the three piano concertos, then ‘we shall be a lot
poorer for it’ - how true! As Hamish Milne also points
out Medtner did die a disappointed man for whom widespread recognition
and appreciation still eluded him. Those of us who adore his
music and are convinced that ‘his day will come’
have every reason to be optimistic that that day is not far
off. Sets such as this will be further help in ensuring its
speedy arrival. Hamish Milne has done a superb job in helping
that process with superlative recordings of lasting value.
Steve Arloff
Hamish Milne (piano) 