Russian Rarities
The works that appear on this 2-CD set are the result of research and performance into a particular era of Russian music. Although the musical distance between the Rubinstein Op.88 Variations and the other later Russian works is often vast, the chronological time is actually fairly short.
The amazing leap of style form Rubinstein to the other composers recorded here happened in the space of only a few short years. Russia was in turmoil, the verge of revolution, and given such a state, it was inevitable that music would change rapidly and probably extremely.
This group of composers led the world avant-garde in their day. I am certain that they were seen as Bolsheviks and extremists by the West. Some managed to get published through some Viennese firms, but generally, they were a local product, and eventually, when Stalin came to power in the late 1920s, he banned them totally, because art was there to serve the proletarian ideal, and had to be accessible to the masses. Ironically, the revolution resulted in the suppression of what was seen as the extreme left! The composers were certainly in advance of their counterparts in Europe, for a number of years.
Rubinstein represented the end of the romantic era in Russian piano music, but an era in which he personally chose to ignore the nationalistic school and the ethos of the Mighty Five group of composers, who wished for a truly patriotic school of composition based on Russian folk music; Rubinstein, instead, used European models for his own work, moreover models who represented the more classical aspects of European art (Mendelssohn is a fine example) rather than the more progressive composers such as Liszt. The musical upheavals in Russian music began less than a decade after Rubinstein's death. Were it not for the eventual Stalinist suppression, the group of composers represented on these CDs could well have led and surpassed their European counterparts in their sheer audacity and exuberance. (Larry Sitsky)
The Rubinstein Variations are performed on the Rönisch piano at the Canberra School of Music. The rest of the program is played on a Steinway Model D (not RR3 as the CD box states).
Artist
Larry Sitsky
Larry Sitsky's activities as a composer, pianist, writer, broadcaster and teacher place him inevitably to the fore among today's ambassadors of contemporary Australian piano music. Through his work to date he has made a significant contribution to the Australian music tradition.
Press quote
“ONE of Australia's most neglected senior composers, mainly because of his long-time academic and performing concentration in the ACT, Larry Sitsky made a name for himself through controversy in the 1960s. His compositions have rarely travelled to Melbourne but his reputation as a pianist has, if
anything, grown over the past half-century. This double CD is dedicated to one of Sitsky's main areas of interest: Russian composers prior to and in the decades after the 1917 Revolution. The vast selection begins with Anton Rubinstein's substantial, late Romantic Variations Op. 88 and concludes with miniatures by Vladimir Rebikov and Nikolai Obukhov. In between, Sitsky gives expert and character-loaded interpretations of music by unknowns such as Vladimir Shcherbachev and Leonid Polovinkin, as well as more well-regarded composers such as Artur Lourie and Aleksandr Mosolov. Assisted by Sitsky's virtuosity and insights, these action-packed discs offer both bewildering variety and a surprisingly adventurous spirit of exploration and experiment”
— Clive O'Connell, The Age A2, 26 June 2010
Track Listing
- Theme: Lento, Moderato 2:25
- Variation I: Allegro, Moderato 2:20
- Variation II: Andante con moto, tempo rubato 3:16
- Variation III: Tempo di Marcia 3:02
- Variation IV: Andante con moto 3:20
- Variation V: Moderato assai 4:11
- Variation VI: Vivace 2:20
- Variation VII: Moderato assai 3:12
- Variation VIII: Moderato con moto 6:07
- Variation IX: Moderato 5:19
- Variation X: Moderato, patetico 3:28
- Variation XI: Allegro 2:36
- Variation XII: Allegro moderato 9:37
- Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 7 Vladamir Shcherbachev 18:28
- Rel'sy (1926) Vladamir Deshevov 1:14
- I 1:59
- II 2:28
- III 2:51
Variations Op. 88 Anton Rubinstein
Forms in the Air Artur Lourie
- I :50
- II 1:23
- III 1:58
- IV 1:32
- V :52
- Sonata No. 2 (1916) Nikolai Roslavets 13:36
- No. 1 Andante affettuoso (1919) 1:21
- No. 2 Allegretto con moto (1919) 2:07
- No. 3 Lento (1920) 2:08
- No. 4 Lento (1922) 1:40
- No. 5 Lento rubato (1922) 2:07
- Sonata No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 3 Aleksandr Mosolov 11:51
- No. II :40
- No. III :44
- I: Pressentiment, Andante tranquillo 1:28
- II: L'Action, moto tranquillo 2:19
- III: Souvenir, Allegro 1:50
- Preparing the Lesson :53
- Strolling Musicians 1:07
- Dance of the Little Ones :47
- Cradle Song :58
- The Lame Witch Roaming the Forest 1:14
- The Bear :41
- In the Forest :35
- The Devil's Amusement :55
- The Faun 2:11
- In the Forest 1:56
- The Tolling from Beyond 1:50
- Death 1:18
- The Void 3:09
- Immortal 2:42
- The Distress of Satan :35
- Truth 1:15
- The Temple is Measured: The Spirit is Incarnate 3:00
- Peace for the Reconciled: Towards the Source of the Chalice 3:45
Syntheses Artur Lourie
Five Preludes Nikolai Roslavets
3 Pieces & 2 Dances, Op. 23a Aleksandr Mosolov
Ereignis VII Leonid Polovinkin
Music for Children Vladamir Rebikov
3 Pieces from Melomimiques, Op. 15 (1889) Vladamir Rebikov
Revelation (1915) Nikolai Obukhov
Two Pieces Nikolai Obukhov
Performers
Availability
Russian Rarities can be purchased online through Buywell Just Classical or the Australian Music Centre who both offer secure online ordering.
This title is also available in (or can be ordered through) many fine music retailers across Australia, including Thomas’, Discurio and Readings.
