The quantity of piano studies published in the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries is enormous and, whatever their benefits may
be, many are of mainly academic interest. Standard collections, such
as Czerny, Hanon and Bürgmuller, are not without musical value,
but primarily aimed at developing technical proficiency. The études
on this disc certainly contain keyboard gymnastics, but many have emerged
from the conservatory onto the concert platform. EMI’s Debut Series
is dedicated to young artists on the brink of their professional careers,
and Saitkoulov is well equipped to meet the wide range of technical
demands made in these short pieces. With the exception of Chopin’s and
Scriabin’s, few feature prominently in present-day recitals, and this
is a welcome opportunity to hear them.
The Arensky group, though attractive, comes closer
to the didactic purposes of the Classical piano étude, than others
on this disc. Naturally the Chopin covers far more interesting, and
challenging, territory, since the playing demands expressive freedom
as well as the technical mastery. Saitkoulov gives a youthful, performance
that combines a strong feeling for the poetry as well as the fluent
technique that these miniature masterpieces require.
Some of the Scriabin studies have merited inclusion
in the repertoire of famous pianists and are representative of the later
Russian romantic school. Here they are played with a bravura that measures
up to their histrionic style. The Prokofiev and Stravinsky sets,
both apparently early works, were unknown to me, but were
well worth including on this disc. The individual styles of these two
composers are already detectable, and provide a clue to one of the directions
the piano étude was taking: the care taken by some composers
(Bartók was one) to provide studies that deal with the specific
technical demands of their own music
An excellent addition to a worthwhile project by EMI,
my only complaint being that the recorded piano sound is somewhat woolly.
Roy Brewer
Roustem Saitkoulov (piano)