Search - Lera Auerbach, Ksenia Nosikova :: Flight and Fire

A Great Russian Pianist-Composer of the 21st-Century

Hexameron | 09/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lera Auerbach (b. 1973) is an acclaimed poet, pianist, composer, and surely one of the most promising talents of the 21st-century. Although she was born in Russia, she emigrated to the United States and studied composition and piano at Julliard. In Russia, she is renowned for her poetry, which is often mandatory reading in Russian colleges. She has won numerous awards for both her contributions to literature and music, and I am astounded that her music is not better known. She is a composer with compositional prowess, a strong personal expression, and an original voice; she continues the line of Russian pianist-composers stemming from Scriabin.



The BIS label has been the major force in promulgating Auerbach's music and I encourage exploring both of her magnificent sets of preludes (Auerbach: Preludes and Dreams | Auerbach: 24 Preludes for Violin & Piano), in addition to her Violin Sonata composed in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks (Auerbach: Ballet for a Lonely Violinist; Violin Sonata No. 2). The present CD issued from the Haenssler label features world-premiere recordings of Auerbach's lesser-known piano music, including the two hefty Piano Sonatas, a Fantasia, her powerful "Memento Mori," and a suite entitled "Images from Childhood." The "Fantasia" and "Images from Childhood" suite are excellent compositions, but not Auerbach's strongest statements: her two sonatas and "Memento Mori" are the masterpieces here. I've never heard pianist Ksenia Nosikova, but she has the chops and passion to communicate Auerbach's music; Nosikova also consulted with Ms. Auerbach on matters of tempi, pedaling and interpretation, so I expect I'm hearing composer-approved renditions.



For those unfamiliar with Auerbach's idiom, it is one that straddles both the Romantic and Modern tradition. Her music is highly virtuosic, but without needless bombast or embellishment. What is most notable about Auerbach's musical language is the darker emotions she prefers to convey: incessant melancholy, anger, and pessimism. Auerbach is also a gifted melodist and her juxtaposing of lush Romantic harmonies with jarring modern dissonances makes her music accessible. Her First Sonata, subtitled "The Phoenix," was written in 2005 and cradles a sound world similar to the volatile Scriabin or Feinberg. Auerbach divides this 20-minute work into six movements, all of which supposedly (according to the liner-notes) suggest an overall single sonata-form movement, but I did not detect such a structure to verify that. Regardless, each movement is characteristically distinctive and oozes with expressive power.



The Second Sonata written a year later shows maturity and a real depth of profundity. Auerbach chooses a four-movement scheme for this nearly 15-minute work of monumental pathos and angst. Tempo markings like "Adagio tragico" and "Grave" indicate the emotional gravity involved, but much of the piano-writing is exciting and dramatic, too. Auerbach's "Memento Mori" is another weighty piece based on a single theme, but each of the three movements exhibit sharp contrasting styles and moods. The opening "Requiem" is typically despondent and angry with a flavor of late Liszt. The "Back to Childhood" movement reveals glimmers of Rachmaninovian melancholy until a playful Shostakovich-like section takes over. "Adulthood," the last movement, begins with furious repetitive chords that gradually increase in rapidity and force; performer Ksenia Nosikova says this virtuosic climax is the "main technical challenge" of the work and "requires a great deal of physical and emotional stamina." The movement concludes with a prolonged elegy using, what sounds like to me, a motif from the famous "Dies Irae."



Bottom line: Anyone interested in late-Romantic and early 20th-century pianist-composers, especially Rachmaninov, Scriabin, and perhaps the darker canvases from the Russian avant-gardists (Mosolov, Feinberg, Roslavets), will appreciate Auerbach's music. It is tonally accessible despite the prevalent dissonance, features gorgeous and memorable melodies, but is decidedly grim and morose; be warned or be encouraged."