Search - Lyapunov, Goldstone :: Piano Music

A Survey of Balakirev's closest yet more eloquent disciple!

David A. Hollingsworth | Washington, DC USA | 09/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In reviewing the piano works of Catoire and Bortkiewicz, beautifully played by Andre Marc-Hamelin and Stephen Coombs respectively, and all sumptously recorded by Hyperion, I indeed have expressed hopes of either artist to survey the piano works of Lyapunov under the same recording company. Well, this survey by Anthony Goldstone recorded by Olympia is hardly at all disappointing. Coombs and Marc-Hamelin are perhaps a bit more suave and flowing in their priceless survey of Russian music for pianoforte. But Goldstone's playing captures the beauty, the innocence, and the passion behind Lyapunov's works admirably. This is true especially in the Sonata in F minor (1906-1908). Rarely do I hear an artist capture the magic behind the score so convincingly as he does here. I found myself hypnotized by the nobleness of the writing and Goldstone's dreamingly-like interpretation of it. This is true in the other works as well, like the Fetes de Noel (1910) where the picturesque quality behind the music is euphoniously well captured.Sergey Mikailovich Lyapunov (1859-1924) was in fact Balakirev's closest disciple and friend despite his training at the Moscow Conservatory of Music (where Tchaikovsky was among his teachers). And indeed he shared with Balakirev some of the coloristic qualities and orientalism behind much of the writing especially for piano while Chopin as well as Liszt were major influences behind much of their music. But, Lyapunov a derivative of Balakirev? Not really!! Balakirev writing is for the most part rigourous, relentless, sometimes with burning energy and inspiration. His sense of poetry is warm, but passionate and strong as well, sometimes without a hint of vulnerability (the slow movement of the First Symphony for instance). In "Masters of Russian Music" M.D. Calvocoressi, who was among the authorities of Russian and Soviet music, characterized Lyapunov's works as "more purely lyrical, less vehement, fundamentally contemplative. He was endowed with a keen sense of color and poetry, but not with the burning energy (and attendant restlessness of imagination) that characterized Balakirev." Indeed, Lyapunov's music is more liquid, delicate, and eloquent (sometimes heroically) as his Nocture demonstrates while others are somewhat urbane and cultivated in the vein of Rubinstein, Arensky, and even Glazunov. However, he works are also endowed with the Tchaikovskian/Rachmaninovian sense of full-blooded romanticism and passion that make the Sonata even more attractive. In terms of eloquence, Medtner may have acquired some acquaintances of Lyapunov's music. Small wonders then, that his piano works (for solo and for concerti) were held in high esteem in Russia and abroad. It's surprising, however, that prominent pianists especially of Russia did little to promote his music, let alone to record them.The CD is indeed very valuable, with Goldstone's playing highly idealistic and the recording agreeably spacious (true even in Arensky CD of his piano works). Is Volume II on the horizon, however?"