Boris Tchaikovsky Edition, Vol. 1

Track Listings

1. Cello Concerto

2. Suite for Solo Cello

3. Piano Trio

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Albany Records has undertaken a series of recordings devoted to the music of Boris Tchaikovsky in honor of what would have been his 80th year. The series will contain forgotten masterful performances by famous musicians, some of them now deceased, including recordings from the private archives of the performers as well as brand new world premiere recordings organized by the Boris Tchaikovsky Society in Russia. The perception of contemporary Russian music in the West is currently under revision. The post-Shostakovich era was once thought of as no more than a haven for the avant garde, with names such as Edison Denisov, Alfred Schnittke, and more recently, Sophia Gubaidulina, Galina Ustvolskaya, and others, claiming the limelight. But times are changing. A handful of lesser-known composers whose work stands at a stylistic crossroads between Shostakovich and their more celebrated counterparts are gradually coming into focus. These composers – they include such figures as Mieczeslav Weinberg, Andrei Eshpai, Boris Tishchenko, Georgi Sviridov, Gavriil Popov, Nikolai Peiko, and Revol Bunin – demonstrate that Russian music in the latter half of the 20th century is far richer and more varied than was previously imagined. Included in this distinguished company is Boris Tchaikovsky, hailed by such eminent figures as Shostakovich and Rostropovich as one of the most original voices of his generation (he bears no family relation to his famous 19th century namesake). His work offers an ever-fresh source of lyrical inventiveness and new formal possibilities, written in a contemporary style that embraces beauty, depth of expression, and accessibility. He was trained at the Moscow Conservatory at the worst of times: during Stalin’s notorious postwar assault on the arts. To his credit, he refused to take part in the officially authorized tirades against the terrorized Shostakovich, who was banned from the Conservatory at the time, and whose former students, Tchaikovsky being one of them, were branded as "contaminated." He graduated in 1949, not totally unscathed himself, yet having studied under three of the most prominent masters of instrumental music of the time – Shostakovich, Miaskovsky and Shebalin. The cultural thaw of the early 1960s opened many doors for Soviet composers. Tchaikovsky’s own artistic development was also in flux. The lyricism that lay at the base of his musical thinking was undergoing profound metamorphosis. That lyricism was progressively becoming couched within a fresh, mosaic style whereby the music’s surface is carved into a succession of bold, accentuated utterances. The curious rhythmic rigidity of these utterances – a Tchaikovsky hallmark – is offset by considerable flexibility in the music’s other variables, such as increased levels of dissonance and colorful instrumental contrasts. He had now found his own mature voice, which allowed him to create a powerful new language that was distinctly Russian in sound, thoroughly up-to-date, and capable of a wide range of expression. It is the language for all his future compositions and can be heard in this wonderful new CD.

Boris Tchaikovsky Edition, Vol. 1, Music, Valetin Feigin, Boris Alexandrovich Tchaikovsky, Edward Serov, Leningrad Orchestra of Early and Modern Music, Igor Mikhailovich Zhukov, Grigory Feigin, Cello Concerto, Cello Solo, Chamber, Chamber Music, Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Composers, Concerto

Boris Tchaikovsky Edition, Vol. 2
Average customer rating:

Excellent performance

Boris, Not Pyotr Ilyitch

Boris Tchaikovsky Edition, Vol. 2

Manufacturer: Albany Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Boris Tchaikovsky Edition, Vol. 1

Boris Tchaikovsky: Chamber Symphony; Sinfonietta for Strings

Boris Tchaikovsky: The Wind of Siberia; Sebastopol Symphony; Music for Orchestra

Tchaikovsky: Trio in Bm; Sextet in F

ASIN: B00080LEIO
Release Date: 2005-04-01

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No. 1
Piano Sonata No. 2
Eight Pieces for Children
Pentatonica
Natural Modes
Sonatina

Product Description

The pianist Olga Solovieva writes about the piano music of Boris Tchaikovsky. If I were to formulate what is most important to me in this music, I would say: sincere, straightforward, and simplicity in expressing ideas, feelings and states of mind that are far from being simple, unambiguous or superficial. A remarkable feature of his works is their saying just what is needed to be said, without any regard for the conventions of music. Once Boris Tchaikovsky was asked about his favorite composer. Having a chance to avoid the question, he nevertheless answered: If I had to choose, I would choose Mussorgsky. Olga Solovieva graduated from the Russian Academy of Music named after Gnessins (Moscow) in 1998 and took a post-graduate course in the same Academy as an assistant to Professor Leonid Blok in 1998-2000. At the XII International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 2002, she won a special prize and was awarded a special diploma The Best Accompanist (accompaniment to cello). Currently she teaches at the Gnessins Musical College and works at the Moscow Conservatory.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent performance.......2005-09-01

Noble, accurate and sensitive performance of outstanding music. Second Piano Sonata is a real masterpiece. One should know better other Boris Tchaikovsky works to understand the real uniqueness of his stile. Put your attention on small pieces for children! You could find a lot of hidden treasures there both in terms of music and playing. Olga Solovieva deserve real appreciation for hard-hitting simplicity of her performance.

Boris, Not Pyotr Ilyitch.......2005-06-11

Boris Tchaikovsky (1925-1996) was no relation to his illustrious fellow-composer, P. I. Tchaikovsky. But he was a talented composer nonetheless. He trained at the Moscow Conservatory during the worst of the Stalin years, studying under Shostakovich, Shebalin and Myaskovsky. He wrote relatively little piano music as an adult, although he first published some piano pieces at the age of 13. The First Piano Sonata, presented here, was written while still at the conservatory in 1944, at the height of the War. The most obvious influence on the sonata's style is that of Shostakovich. There is humor, caustic at times but generally fairly boisterous and naïve, and inexhaustible invention. The first movement is a dramatic sonata-allegro and it is followed by a slow middle movement that is rather like one of Shostakovich's passacaglia movements, although the dramatic tension is nowhere near as wrenching. Indeed, this movement is most notable, in its ten variations, for emotional arch it outlines and the limpid polyphony. The finale is an onrushing allegro molto which slams straight into a coda that recapitulates some of the opening movements elements. For a student work, this sonata is astonishingly assured.

The Second Piano Sonata, written in 1952, was never played during Tchaikovsky's life partly because the composer remained dissatisfied with some parts of it. It was first played a year after his death. Throughout there is emphasis on the lyrical line, but rhythmically it is more complex than its predecessor and indeed there are some jazzy effects, especially in the outer movements. Much of the writing is in two- or three-voices, again reminding us of Shostakovich's piano style. There are more obviously 'public' utterances in this sonata and one has the sense at times that Tchaikovsky is making some sort of 'statement' although its import is not clear.

The Sonatina (1946) is a one-movement work that reminds one rather of the first sonata's first movement. It has both inventive two-part polyphony and faux-naïve harmonies, complete with Alberti basses, at times that make one wonder if the composer was cocking a snook at the edicts about 'composition for the people' that were rife at that period of Soviet music. One hears a definite tongue-in-cheek quality. Whatever the case, it is clearly and yet cunningly concocted.

The remaining works on this disc -- 'Eight Pieces for Children,' 'Pentatonica' (subtitled 'Six Light Piano Pieces') and 'Natural Modes,' the three sets comprising 20 miniatures, most of them very brief -- are of a lesser order. Presumably they are meant rather as Bartók's miniatures were, for pedagogic purposes. Interestingly, 'Pentatonica' was written for a Korean Children's Music Festival, a fitting use of pentatonic scales and harmonies in their natural habitat. These works are modestly charming but of little import.

Our pianist is a young Russian, Olga Solovieva, a product of the Gnessin Academy in Moscow where she now teaches. Her playing is limpid and musical. This CD apparently is the second in a series on the Albany label devoted to the music of Boris Tchaikovsky, the earlier issue containing a piano trio, cello concerto and suite for solo cello; I have not heard that release.

TT=55:00

Scott Morrison

The Chaliapin Edition, Vol. 3: 1911-14, La Scala Recordings

Average customer rating:

The Chaliapin Edition, Vol. 3: 1911-14, La Scala Recordings

Manufacturer: Arbiter
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Chaliapin Edition, Vol. 5: 1921-1923, American & British Recordings
Edition 4 1913-1921
Chaliapin Edition, Vol. 2 1908-1911
The Chaliapin Edition, Vol. 1, 1902 - 1908

ASIN: B00005KAVS
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Average customer rating:

Neglected 20th-century masterpieces

Boris Tchaikovsky Edition, Vol. 1

Manufacturer: Albany Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Boris Tchaikovsky Edition, Vol. 2
Boris Tchaikovsky: The Wind of Siberia; Sebastopol Symphony; Music for Orchestra
Boris Tchaikovsky: Chamber Symphony; Sinfonietta for Strings
Tchaikovsky: Trio in Bm; Sextet in F
Pavlova: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4

ASIN: B0007RI70G
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Tracks:

Cello Concerto
Suite for Solo Cello
Piano Trio

Album Description

Albany Records has undertaken a series of recordings devoted to the music of Boris Tchaikovsky in honor of what would have been his 80th year. The series will contain forgotten masterful performances by famous musicians, some of them now deceased, including recordings from the private archives of the performers as well as brand new world premiere recordings organized by the Boris Tchaikovsky Society in Russia. The perception of contemporary Russian music in the West is currently under revision. The post-Shostakovich era was once thought of as no more than a haven for the avant garde, with names such as Edison Denisov, Alfred Schnittke, and more recently, Sophia Gubaidulina, Galina Ustvolskaya, and others, claiming the limelight. But times are changing. A handful of lesser-known composers whose work stands at a stylistic crossroads between Shostakovich and their more celebrated counterparts are gradually coming into focus. These composers - they include such figures as Mieczeslav Weinberg, Andrei Eshpai, Boris Tishchenko, Georgi Sviridov, Gavriil Popov, Nikolai Peiko, and Revol Bunin - demonstrate that Russian music in the latter half of the 20th century is far richer and more varied than was previously imagined. Included in this distinguished company is Boris Tchaikovsky, hailed by such eminent figures as Shostakovich and Rostropovich as one of the most original voices of his generation (he bears no family relation to his famous 19th century namesake). His work offers an ever-fresh source of lyrical inventiveness and new formal possibilities, written in a contemporary style that embraces beauty, depth of expression, and accessibility. He was trained at the Moscow Conservatory at the worst of times: during Stalin's notorious postwar assault on the arts. To his credit, he refused to take part in the officially authorized tirades against the terrorized Shostakovich, who was banned from the Conservatory at the time, and whose former students, Tchaikovsky being one of them, were branded as "contaminated." He graduated in 1949, not totally unscathed himself, yet having studied under three of the most prominent masters of instrumental music of the time - Shostakovich, Miaskovsky and Shebalin. The cultural thaw of the early 1960s opened many doors for Soviet composers. Tchaikovsky's own artistic development was also in flux. The lyricism that lay at the base of his musical thinking was undergoing profound metamorphosis. That lyricism was progressively becoming couched within a fresh, mosaic style whereby the music's surface is carved into a succession of bold, accentuated utterances. The curious rhythmic rigidity of these utterances - a Tchaikovsky hallmark - is offset by considerable flexibility in the music's other variables, such as increased levels of dissonance and colorful instrumental contrasts. He had now found his own mature voice, which allowed him to create a powerful new language that was distinctly Russian in sound, thoroughly up-to-date, and capable of a wide range of expression. It is the language for all his future compositions and can be heard in this wonderful new CD.

Customer Reviews:

Neglected 20th-century masterpieces.......2007-01-13

Now that we have largely shaken off the dogmatic and ideological attitudes that dogged evaluation of music in the twentieth century we are in a better position to appreciate the music of relatively neglected composers such as Boris Tchaikovsky, who traced his own independent, original path in the great tradition running from Bach through the second Viennese school and on.
The cello concerto on this disc is a magnificent example. It has a certain affinity with Britten's Cello Symphony, composed shortly before, and with Shostakovisch's second cello concerto, which came not long after. The long first movement is powerfully sombre, the orchestration tending to the sparse, but there is no monontony, no monochromatic brooding. The three short movements that follow are rich in invention and wit. Evidently Shostakovich was much impressed by this work, and one can see why.
The cello suite is Bachian in its sense of powerful propulsion (and again one senses an affinity with Britten, too), while the early trio is reminiscent of the more lyrical works of Shostakovich.
What marks these three works despite the differences in scale and complexity is a profoundly individual, authentic voice.

Average customer rating:

Rich and Soulful

Sergej Larin - Russian Arias, Vol. 1
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky , Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov , Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky , Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomizhsky , Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , Alexander Borodin , Sergei Larin , Ambrosian Opera Chorus , Marie-Francoise de Meeus , Bernd Muller , Dave Partridge , London Philharmonia Orchestra , Marie-Stella Paris , and Stephen Orton
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000005Z6L
Release Date: 1998-03-17

Tracks:

'I love you, I love you Olga...'
Monsiuer Triquet's song from Eugene Onegin (Act III)
Lensky's Ara from Eugene Onegin (Act II)
Hey there! Boys!
How calm, how cool it is here....
Just One Last Tale
In bloody battle, on the field of honour
The Prince's cavatina from Rusalka
Song of the Hindu Merchant from Sadko
Does you heart, maiden...
There is a deserted land...
Slowly the day was fading...
I do not know her name...
Forgive me, divine creature...
What is our life? A game!

Customer Reviews:

Rich and Soulful.......1999-10-02

Sergei Larin is excellent and he has a voice that pleases, but the delicious and haunting main attraction is the music, the music, the music! We can only be grateful that Russian music is becoming more and more available to us. This recording is beautifully support by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Rozhdestvensky. Chandos has given us another wonderful release. One quibble...the Russian lyrics are not transliterated from the Cyrillic, so we non-Russian speakers cannot follow along. I'll live with it. A CD to treasure.

Average customer rating:

Russian Arias, Vol. 2

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000007MY6
Release Date: 1998-06-16

Tracks:

Song Of The Viking Guest From Sadka: Scene 4 'The Waves Break With A Roar...'
Sobakin's Aria From The Tsar's Bride: Act IV, Scene I 'Sleep Has Overcome Her...'
Prince Igor's Aria From Prince Igor: Act I, Scene 1 'It Would Be A Sin To Conceal It'
Prince Igor's Aria From Prince Igor: Act II 'There Is Neither Sleep Nor Rest...'
Khan Konchak's Aria From Prince Igor: Act III 'Are You Well, Prince?'
Varlaam's Song From Boris Godunov: Scene 4 'It All Happened In The Town Of Kazan'
Gypsy'sTale From Aleko: 'By The Magical Power Of The Signing...'
Aleko's Cavatina From Aleko: 'The Entire Encampment Sleeps.'
Kochubey's Aria From Mazeppa: Act II, Scene 1 'So This Is My Reward...'
Prince Gremin's Aria From Eugene Onegin: Act III, Scene 1 'All Ages Succumb To Love...'
Mozart And Salieri 'Everone Says: There Is No Justice On Earth': Salieri's First Monologue
Mozart And Salieri 'Everone Says: There Is No Justice On Earth': Salieri's Second Monologue
Mozart And Salieri 'You Will Fall Asleep...': Salieri's Third Monologue