Tatiana Nikolayeva - P.I. Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.2, Op.44; Concert Fantasy, Op.56 (2008) [The Russian Piano Tradition]

Posted By: Designol

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.2, Op.44; Concert Fantasy, Op.56 (2008)
Tatiana Nikolayeva, piano; USSR State Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Nikolai Anosov & Kyrill Kondrashin

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 203 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 201 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Appian | # APR5666 | Time: 01:16:08

These three titles inaugurate the Goldenweiser School, the last of the three great teaching traditions to be covered in this comprehensive survey of the many great pianists who worked in Russia in the Soviet era. Along with Goldenweiser himself we start with Nikolayeva and Ginzburg. The bulk of the issues in THE RUSSIAN PIANO TRADITION will be divided into 'schools' which represent the three main teachers of this period - Neuhaus, Goldenweiser and Igumnov, - and their pupils. Today Nikolayeva (1924-1993) is remembered mainly as a Bach player and also as the definitive performer of Shostakovich's 24 Preludes & Fugues, which were inspired by, and written for, her after the composer heard her play Bach in the 1950 Leipzig Bach competition (which she won). However, to limit Nikolayeva's reputation to these two composers would be doing her a great disservice. She had a vast repertoire and her recordings include concertos by Bartok, Medtner, Prokofiev Stravinsky and several Soviet composers - including her own concerto, as she was also a composer! Further, she recorded the complete Beethoven sonatas and much other standard repertoire from the 19th century. This CD presents two recording premieres - the first ever recording of the Tchaikovsky Concert Fantasy Op56 and the first recording of the original version of Tchaikovsky's 2nd Piano Concerto. At the time of its premiere the work had been deemed too long and until relatively recently the work has always been performed in a drastically cut revision by the pianist Alexander Siloti. Here Nikolayeva reveals that not only was she an intellectual pianist but also a virtuoso who could 'barnstorm' with the best of them.

Perhaps it was because her premiere in the west did not come until the 1980s, and that her first and only U.S. tour in 1993 culminated in her untimely death from a stroke, that pianist Tatiana Nikolayeva is not a household name the way others from the Russian Piano School are. In her own country, she was every bit as venerable a player as Emil Gilels or Sviatoslav Richter, possessing an extensive repertoire and equally broad discography. For all her talents as a pianist, she was also active and successful as a composer, distinguishing herself by graduating from the Moscow Conservatoire in both piano and composition. This album features performances of Tchaikovsky's Second Piano Concerto, as well as the Concert Fantasy, two works that, like Nikolayeva, have spent limited time in the spotlight of American audiences. Recorded with the USSR State Symphony Orchestra in 1951 and 1950, respectively, the overall sound quality of the album is about what one would expect from a Russian recording of that era: far from superb. The orchestra's playing is almost noisy at times, interfering with the piano any time the two are playing together. Apart from these issues, however, Nikolayeva's playing is quite satisfying. She plays with the muscularity and power of three pianists without ever seeming to force her instrument; conversely, she is able to deliver moments of the utmost tenderness and sensitivity. Her enthusiasm for the score is infectious and quite successful at drawing in and maintaining the listener's attention.

Review by Mike D. Brownell, Allmusic.com

Tatiana Nikolayeva (1924-1993), usually remembered both as a Bach specialist and as an authoritative and authentic voice in Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, ventured much further afield. Her discography includes concertos by Bartók, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and several of her countrymen. She was a composer and recorded her own Piano Concerto. A famous set within the Soviet Union was her traversal of the complete Beethoven sonatas. We should not forget a 1970s recording of Medtner’s Third Piano Concerto – let’s have that reissued please. She was a highly respected Soviet artist and a player of considerable power and subtlety. In the case of the present disc it is perhaps inevitable that the impression that lasts is of her thunderous attack. This should not however efface the poetic eloquence to be heard in the middle movement of the Second Concerto and the Andante Cantabile of the Concert Fantasy.

These are the first recordings of the Concert Fantasy and the first recording of the unexpurgated version of the Second Piano Concerto. For years that work was known only in Alexander Siloti’s bowdlerised version. While there are some moments in the first movement where the grand manner begins to sound vacuous they are transient and overall it is best to hear the work as Tchaikovsky originally intended. It is an epic work of imperial mien and grandiloquent rhetoric. Its ideas are not quite top-drawer Tchaikovsky but they do have some staying power. Anosov (Rozhdestvensky’s father) and Nikolayeva are blessed with clean sound achieved courtesy of Brian Crimp and transcribed from Melodiya LPs. The transfers have been well done with all rustle and clicks removed yet with a wholly believable intrinsic sound preserved. The piano tone is very secure and stable if slightly boxy. That stability is evident even at those exposed moments where the only thing to be heard is the bass note decay of the piano. The original engineers zoom in on particular instruments but the effect overall is very satisfying. Some soloistic moments such as the dialogue of flute and piano in the first movement are very poetic indeed. In the second movement - including the long piano trio contribution - the playing stays passionate and only just the right side of a sob. The finale combines grandeur and frivolity recalling at times the Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2. Nikolayeva spills scree-loads of notes with the best just as Tchaikovsky prescribed. The orchestra proves itself superior and a match for Ormandy’s Philadelphia in weight and unanimity. Their sound is remarkable also for the passion with which its playing is irradiated. As for the Concert Fantasy, this is the least convincing of Tchaikovsky’s works for piano and orchestra. Here the effect is further weakened by an audio image that is muffled and afflicted with spalling distortion. Its second section (tr. 5) sounds better when the playing is intimate but returns to sub par when the full orchestra enters. As a performance it’s certainly fiery but the overall effect of the work is more effectively conveyed on Peter Katin’s CFP recording with Boult.

On this evidence I hope that this series ‘has legs’ and that Brian Crimp has access to yet more Soviet LPs.

Review by Rob Barnett, MusicWeb-International.com







Tatiana Nikolayeva, piano
USSR State Symphony Orchestra
conducted by
Nikolai Anosov (1-3)
Kyrill Kondrashin (4-5)

Tracklist:

Peter Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)

Piano Concerto No.2 in G major, Op.44
01. I. Allegro brillante (22:21)
02. II. Andante non troppo (16:46)
03. III. Allegro con fuoco (7:32)
Recorded in Moscow c.1951 LP: D 0749/50

Concert Fantasy in G major, Op.56
04. I. Quasi rondo (Andante mosso) (15:52)
05. II. Andante cantabile - molto vivace (13:38)
Recorded in Moscow c.1950 LP: D 403/4


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Analyzed: Tatiana Nikolayeva, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Kyrill Kondrashin / Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.2, Concert Fantasy
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================================================================================

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Analyzed: Tatiana Nikolayeva, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Nikolai Anosov / Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.2, Concert Fantasy
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

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