Information
Composer: César Cui
- 25 Preludes, Op. 64
Jeffrey Biegel, piano
Date: 1992
Label: Naxos (Marco Polo)
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.555557
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Review
Cesar Cui was a notoriously sharp critic, less acute as a self-critic. Many of these Preludes are charming, but it is ironic to remember his withering reviews of Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky and then to hear an opening C major Prelude that would not have been the same without thePictures at an Exhibition ''Promenade'', not to mention some of the most delightful of the set (such as Nos. 5 in F and 13 in F sharp) that owe everything to the example of various of Tchaikovsky's piano pieces. There is almost a straight allusion, in the 5/4 'waltz' of No. 14, to Tchaikovsky's ''Valse a cinq temps'' of the 1893 Op. 72 set. Moreover, by 1903, when the Preludes were published, a great deal had happened in music since the heyday of the romantic piano, to which Cui harks back wistfully. His preference of Mendelssohn over Wagner is well known: there is Mendelssohnian elegance in several of these pieces, and still more an affection for Schumann. The Preludes Nos. 8 and 9 are entirely Schumannesque, not to their disadvantage, and the wandering 7/8 melody of No. 5 is a brother to his Eusebius (a gentler critic than Cui ever was). Many of the pieces have a central 'trio' section to act as contrast, and perhaps to cover up the fact that often Cui can set off with an interesting idea, and then have difficulty in sustaining it, only to take refuge in fancy progressions and modulations. Tchaikovsky, who was often very tolerant of Cui's criticism, made an accurate return to Cui's volleys when he wrote of ''intended originalities of harmony which do not suit him''.
For the curious, the set is valuable as a glimpse of the least known of the 'mighty handful' who is not all that well represented in the domestic lists. Jeffrey Biegel gives intelligent performances that appreciate the nature of the influences on Cui, though he can be a little heavy-handed in some of the more vigorous of these works.
-- John Warrack, Gramophone
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César Cui (18 January [O.S. 6 January] 1835 – 13 March 1918) was a Russian composer and music critic of French and Lithuanian descent. He was a member of group "The Five", although Cui's works are not so nationalistic as those of the other members. As a writer on music, Cui contributed almost 800 articles between 1864 and 1918 to various newspapers and other publications in Russia and Europe. As an officer of the Imperial Russian Army he rose to the rank of Engineer-General (compared to full General), taught fortifications in Russian military academies and wrote a number of monographs on the subject.
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Jeffrey Biegel (born 1961) is an Ameican pianist. He studied music at Juilliard with the iconic Adele Marcus. In 1985 Biegel won the William Kappell International Piano Competition, and four years later captured first prize at the prestigious Paris-based Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition. Biegel's first recording was issued in 1993, a Marco Polo disc of César Cui's 25 Preludes.
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FLAC, tracks
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Enjoy!
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Благодарю!
ReplyDeleteSome nice gems in Op.64. Thanks!
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