Dmitri Kabalevsky - Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3; Colas Breugnon Overture; The Comedians (Kathryn Stott; Vassily Sinaisky)

Information

Composer: Dmitri Kabalevsky

1. Colas Breugnon, Op. 24: Overture
2. Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 23: I. Allegro moderato - Tempo I
3. Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 23: II. Andantino semplice - Tempo I
4. Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 23: III. Allegro molto - Poco piu mosso
5. Komedianti (The Comedians), Op. 26: I. Prologue. Allegro vivace
6. Komedianti (The Comedians), Op. 26: II. Galop. Presto
7. Komedianti (The Comedians), Op. 26: III. March. Moderato -
8. Komedianti (The Comedians), Op. 26: IV. Waltz. Moderato
9. Komedianti (The Comedians), Op. 26: V. Pantomime. Sostenuto e pesante
10. Komedianti (The Comedians), Op. 26: VI. Intermezzo. Allegro scherzando
11. Komedianti (The Comedians), Op. 26: VII. Little lyrical scene. Andantino semplice
12. Komedianti (The Comedians), Op. 26: VIII. Gavotte. Allegretto
13. Komedianti (The Comedians), Op. 26: IX. Scherzo. Presto assai e molto leggiero
14. Komedianti (The Comedians), Op. 26: X. Epilogue. Allegro molto e con brio
15. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D major, Op. 50: I. Allegro molto - Poco piu mosso
16. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D major, Op. 50: II. Andante con moto - Tempo I
17. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D major, Op. 50: III. Presto - Tempo I (Prestissimo)

Kathryn Stott, piano (2-4, 15-17)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Vassily Sinaisky, conductor

Date: 2003
Label: Chandos
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2010052

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Review

Kabalevsky’s piano concertos present easy targets for critical demolition, such is their ease of assimilation. And uncritical hyperbole is not a helpful corrective; reviewing the listed comparison on Olympia, Bryce Morrison was rightly peeved by the over-sell of the booklet note. Still, that disc, for all the commanding pianism on display, is sonically challenged, and no one, surely, would begrudge Kabalevsky’s modest but genuine talents the fine playing and luxurious recording lavished on them in this new Chandos issue. 

In the Second Concerto – a close contemporary of Khachaturian’s sole Piano Concerto from the mid-1930s, but a good deal less inflated – Kathryn Stott takes a far gentler approach than Nikolai Petrov, and the recorded balance sets her in a more realistic perspective. This is all to the good, because it enables her to tease out subtleties of character that the imperious Russian rather glosses over, and it also helps to disguise somewhat Kabalevsky’s huge debt to Prokofiev. Rather than steam-rollering on, Stott allows space for wit and gracious lyricism to register, and where necessary her accompanying textures are mellow and fine-graded. 

She brings similar virtues to the Third Concerto, which, however, can hardly help but sound rather small beer by comparison. This ‘Youth’ Concerto is brilliantly designed for aspiring pianists whose fingers are perhaps more highly developed than their musicianship; as Eric Roseberry’s excellent notes remind us, it was actually premièred by the 17-year-old Ashkenazy. Like Shostakovich’s Second Concerto, which it predates by four years, there are some splendid in-jokes, such as the Emperor-style passagework in the finale, followed by a comically inflated ‘big tune’ (at least I hope it wasn’t intended seriously). 

The catchy Overture to Colas Breugnon – in an honourable line from Glinka’s Ruslan to Shostakovich’s Festive Overture – opens the disc with a swing, and the two concertos are separated by the pleasantly brainless Suite from The Comedians: high-class light music from the same stable as Shostakovich’s ballet-scores. Kabalevsky was always happy to graze where others had planted. But such is the class of the BBC Philharmonic’s playing for their principal guest conductor that by the end of the disc I felt that I had at least been shown facets of his art that I had never before appreciated.

-- David Fanning, Gramophone

More reviews:

ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=1221

http://www.amazon.com/Kabalevsky-Concertos-Breugnon-Overture-Comedians/dp/B00008NRJI

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Dmitri Kabalevsky (30 December [O.S. 17 December] 1904 – 14 February 1987) was a Russian composer. He helped to set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures. He was a prolific composer of piano music and chamber music; many of his piano works have been performed by Vladimir Horowitz. Kabalevsky wrote for all musical genres and was consistently faithful to the ideals of socialist realism. In Russia, Kabalevsky is most noted for his vocal songs, cantatas, and operas while overseas he is known for his orchestral music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Kabalevsky

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Kathryn Stott (born 10 December 1958 in Nelson, Lancashire) is a British classical pianist. She attended the Yehudi Menuhin School, where her teachers included Nadia Boulanger, Marcel Ciampi, Barbara Kerslake and Ravel specialist, Vlado Perlemuter, and then studied at the Royal College of Music with Kendall Taylor. Her specialities include the English and French classical repertoire, contemporary classical music and the tango. She teaches at the Royal Academy of Music and Chetham's School of Music, and has organised several music festivals and concert series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathryn_Stott

http://www.kathrynstott.com/biog.htm

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Vassily Sinaisky (born in Abez, Komi Republic, April 20, 1947) is a Russian conductor and pianist. He studied conducting with Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory and began his career as assistant to Kirill Kondrashin at the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. Sinaisky was Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic from 1996 until January 2012. He made several recordings with them for Chandos and now has the title of conductor emeritus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vassily_Sinaisky

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