~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following review and commentary was written by Dr. Andrey Kasparov, Associate Professor of Piano at Old Dominion University, Norfolk Virginia, after a performance at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Concert Series, Norfolk, Virginia. Previous, upcoming, and subsequent lecture-recitals and solo performances include Asuza Pacific University, Los Angeles, CA, Ohio State University, Lima, OH, Bluffton University, Bluffton, OH, and the Schwartsche Villa Concert Series, Berlin, Germany.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| On Sunday evening, April 22, the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Concert Series hosted a recital with the American pianist Gary Barnett. The program included Soviet-Russian piano music spanning the first three decades of the 20th Century. The opening piece was a one-movement Sonata in E flat minor by Alexei Stanchinsky (1888-1914). Although conceived in the late Romantic scriabinesque style of Russian polyphonic piano music prevalent at the turn of the 20th century, this composition introduces a few harmonic and textural “surprises,” revealing the individuality of the composer. Stanchinsky’s later musical style changed from his early romantic leanings to a more individualized compositional language and texture, especially in his search for “pure” polyphony. The young composer died tragically at a very early age in an accident near a friend’s estate after years of suffering from schizophrenia and depression. The oeuvre by Isai Dobrowen (1891-1953) is rather small due to the fact that his career was mostly centered around conducting and concertizing as a pianist. As kindly described by Barnett, Dobrowen might be considered the “other” Rachmaninoff. Indeed, Dobrowen’s early work, Youth Sonata, Op. 15, revealed the unmistakable influence of Rachmaninoff, albeit with much more dense contrapuntal textures throughout the work. Barnett’s playing displayed strong technical command, as well as wonderful nuances, intricate shadings, and a long-line phrasing of this richly melodic work. Alexander Krein (1883-1951), a Russian-Jewish composer, grew up in a family of musicians. Krein’s prodigious talents as a violinist and composer were fostered by his father, who collected rare Jewish musical manuscripts and folk songs. One of the works featured in this recital, Two Poems, was characteristic of Krein’s intrinsic melodical talent. It combined his penchant for Ravel-like tertian chords, his nostalgic moods and frequent emotional outbursts. Barnett captured the contrasting pianissimo of the impressionistic sections with grace and sensitive lyricism. Arthur Lourier (1892-1966), upstart and composer. He was Soviet Russia’s first music minister of state but cut a very controversial figure in the early Soviet musical era. Initially, his compositional style drew upon popular Avant-garde trends of the early 20th century, such as serialism and microtones, but it eventually evolved into a more accessible and tonal idiom. His experimental piece, Forms in the Air, is primarily based on the graphic design of the score and is dedicated to Pablo Picasso. He resigned as minister of state due to persecution for his earlier uses of “decadent” Western trends. Ultimately, Lourier permanently settled in the United States, where his musical style ironically shifted to impressionism, tonality, and sacred choral music. Lourier once wrote, “The European conscience was born of Christianity. Music, for centuries, has drawn for its nourishment exclusively upon Christian sources. Today, if these sources are dried up, music will die in Europe. Where there has appeared a break with Christianity there has immediately and infallibly occurred a breakdown in music. The most characteristic phenomenon of our time is the fact that art manifests itself only in the aspect of evil and ugliness. Diabolic ugliness is the only esthetic reality of our epoch.” As part of this program, Barnett performed Shalost, the last composition in a five-piece Piano Suite typifying various tendencies of Lourier’s impressionistic period during his travels throughout Europe and the United States. The title of this piece translates from Russian as “mischief,” and this reflects its unpredictable colors and textural/harmonic juxtapositions. The work ends with a dreamy coda featuring widely spaced sonorities and expanded melodic lines. In 1940, four piano preludes were discovered in the Scriabin State Museum in Moscow and attributed to the son of Alexander Scriabin, Julian (1908-1919). The second of the three children born to Skriabin’s second wife, Tatiana Scholoezer, the young Julian grew up after the completion and publishing of his father’s Poem of Ecstasy. Julian was known as one of the great virtuoso prodigies of his time and often performed his father’s piano music. Barnett pointed out that some scholars and pianists have argued that these four preludes could not have been the work of an eleven-year-old boy, but were actually composed by the father while Julian was still in his mother’s womb! An experienced ear, however, could identify some sonorities, as for instance C Major triads in the first prelude, atypical of the father’s compositional style of that period. In addition, Reinhold Gliere, a renowned Russian composer, attested to the fact that these works were indeed by the young prodigy who died tragically in a drowning accident in the Dnieper river near Kiev. One of Russia’s eminent 20th century composers, Alexander Mosolov (1900-1973), has been sadly neglected. A prolific composer of orchestral, vocal and piano music, Mosolov witnessed the changes from Tsarist Russia through several Russian revolutions and coups d’état. He began his career as a loyal Soviet man volunteering for the Red Army. Yet shortly thereafter, he encountered serious problems due to his unique compositional style, which was despised by Soviet authorities and critics. One critic condemned Mosolov’s music, stating that “There is no organized will to victory, in fact very little besides petty-bourgeois anarchy.” But Mosolov had friends and allies such as Nikolai Myaskovsky and Gliere, who used their influence to reduce his eight-year sentence in a forced-labor camp to just under a year. Mosolov’s monumental Fifth Sonata is a powerful testament to the musical and political troubles of the 1920's. It doesn’t compare to the great piano masterpieces of the 20th century, as it lacks the finesse of sonic and textural design. But this work nevertheless makes some powerful statements by using lapidary phrase structures and multilayered textures and sonorities. After several curtain calls at the conclusion of the recital, Barnett spoke briefly to the audience about his recent travels in Armenia. He then performed an encore, Vocalise by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian. Completed shortly before the composer’s death, this introspective lyrical transcription of Desdemona’s Vocalise from the incidental music to the film Othello (1955) provided a meditative after-word to the predominantly virtuosic and intense repertoire of the recital. It was indeed a unique treat to hear a piano recital consisting entirely of rarely-heard works of such startling and austere beauty. Barnett’s control of the keyboard, musical flow, and lyrical gifts were suited well to the sundry qualities of the pieces on this program. Dr. Andrey Kasparov Associate Professor of Music Old Dominion University |
|---|
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Funeral March (In Memory of Alexei Stanchinsky) Op. 31 No. 2 (1915)........Nicholas Medtner (1880-1951)
Sonata Number One in Eb Minor (1905) .......................................................Alexei Stanchinsky (1888-1914)
"Mischief"(1915)....................................................................................................Arthur Lourier (1892-1966)
Youth Sonata Op. 5 in B Minor (1926)................................................................Isai Dobrowen (1891-1953)
Two Poems for Piano Op. 11 (1910).................................................................Alexander Krein (1883-1951)
Sonata Number Five in D Minor (1925)........................................................Alexander Mosolov (1900-1973)
I. Lento Grave-Allegro Affanato: AUDIO
II. Elegia-Lento: AUDIO
III. Scherzo-Marciale-Presto con Fuoco: AUDIO
IV. Adagio Languente e Patetico: AUDIO
Piano Sonata Number Two (1995)............................................................................Andrey Kasparov (1966- )
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
| PICTURE GALLERY |
|---|