After an impassioned
performance of the Rubinstein sonata
enhanced by Zemtsov’s dusky and husky
tone we come to two viola solos. And
that is not the last we hear of the
solo instrument: the disc also includes
solos by Mikhail Kugel and another arranged
by him. However let’s not skip over
the Rubinstein sonata just yet.
Anton Rubinstein has had a rather flaccid
press. Frankly from what I have heard
of the five piano concertos on Marco
Polo he probably merits it. In the case
of this work and specifically this heroic
performance he deserves better. This
sonata is no thin-lipped salon bloom
but carries a genuine emotional charge
floridly spanning the boundaries between
Schumann and Tchaikovsky. The music
is ardent and is here presented with
both passion and a breathless yet disciplined
awe. Time after time Zemtsov can be
heard shaping each note with utmost
care yet always keeping in touch with
the ‘line’ of the piece. Shishkina’s
piano is not perhaps the most luxurious
of instruments but its bass qualities
are unflinchingly captured and she is
unfailingly responsive to the score
and her partner. Not to be missed by
admirers of early Rachmaninov or of
Tchaikovsky.
Speaking of romantic
afflatus the Russian transcriptions
of piano solos by Scriabin are
saturated with feeling and not to be
missed. The Mazurka lacks that
febrile and volatile spontaneity but
the flanking movements carry the authentic
voice of the composer.
Evgeny Zemtsov is
the violist’s father. His unassumingly
titled Melodia has both simplicity
and pathos mixed with the faintest hint
of Mid-European folk influence. It’s
a very likeable piece.
Michael Radulescu’s
soliloquy opens in an atmosphere of
haunted sepia-toned melancholia with
modest excursions into dissonance. It
becomes increasingly vehement and is
strongly tinged with Balkan flavours.
Its parabola curves down into the pensive
material with which the piece opened.
Kreisler’s Recitativo
is not a piece I had heard before. Again
it is for viola and puts the instrument
through the sort of hoops set by Bach
and Paganini. The Ysaye Prelude by
Kugel again puts the instrument
through its paces but takes a little
more time than the Kreisler to present
poetic substance. The Ernst Variations
on ‘The Last Rose of Summer’ put
the well known piano-stool theme through
the Paganinian mincer. Listen to the
superbly skeletal double-stopping at
7:20 onwards.
The bonus track is
of Mikhail Zemtsov’s twelve year old
daughter in the cantabile first
movement of the Handel concerto for
viola and piano. She gives a securely
rounded and satisfying performance -
remarkable for its constancy of motion.
Zemtsov clearly has
no time for the lithe-toned viola school.
He rapturously draws from the instrument
its rosin-sticky celloistic qualities.
There are no background
notes nor are dates or playing times
given for the works. These details should
be picked up in what I hope will be
future enterprising releases from Zemtsov.
Mr Zemtsov was also
kind enough to send me a private CDR
of the Viola Sonata by Scharwenka a
composer whose chamber works have appeared
on Hyperion: review
We must all hope that a recording
of the Scharwenka sonata will soon be
issued by Mr Zemtsov or that it will
be taken up by another company. Quite
apart from anything else I would recommend
that he looks long and hard at Arthur
Benjamin’s wartime Viola Sonata (especially
in its guise with orchestra) - a spirited
work preoccupied with the sort of troubled
emotional material and stormy conflict
that marks out the Benjamin Symphony
as one of the finest symphonies since
Prokofiev 6.
Rob Barnett
see also review
by Jonathan Woolf
Mikhail Zemtsov (viola) 
