A belated thank you for your support, Antonio.

Friday, August 31, 2018

Anton Arensky - Piano Works (Anthony Goldstone)


Information

Composer: Anton Arensky
  • (01-12) 12 Préludes, Op. 63
  • (13-18) Essais sur des rythmes oubliés, Op. 28
  • (19-30) 12 Études, Op. 74
  • (31-36) Arabasques (Suite), Op. 67
  • (37-39) 3 Morceaux, Op. 42

Anthony Goldstone, piano
Date: 2001
Label: Divine Art


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Review

Russian encore gems, short in length but great in their virtuoso demands

Heard in quantity, Arensky’s piano works can seem limited and occasionally facile. But heard separately, many of the 38 pieces on this fine CD acquire the status of gems. Salon music in the best sense, such writing is raised by Anthony Goldstone to a still higher level. And, as he points out in his admirable accompanying essay, if Rimsky-Korsakov was dismissive (“he will soon be forgotten”), such disparagement was countered by enthusiasm from both Tchaikovsky and Taneyev.

Here, then, is a stream of encores to surprise and delight an audience. The first of the Op 63 Preludes is indelibly Russian and so is the peal of bells commencing No 2. No 6 looks ahead to Medtner’s exquisite Fairy Tale, Op 9 No 3, also in G (Arensky’s work must surely have lingered in Medtner’s prodigiously well stocked mind), while the Forgotten Rhythms are more exploratory, though with memories of Brahms in No 5. Chopin, too, is remembered in the fourth of the Op 74 Etudes (his Op 25 No 12 study), yet, more generally, Arensky runs the gamut of an essentially Russian Romantic pianism. Short in length but often sizeable in virtuoso demands, all this music is played by Goldstone with unflagging musical energy and brio. Volume 5 in Divine Art’s Russian Piano Music series is admirably recorded and presented with fine photographs of both composer and pianist.

-- Bryce Morrison, Grammophone

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Anton Arensky (12 July [O.S. 30 June] 1861 – 25 February [O.S. 12 February] 1906) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Arensky was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his students there were Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Gretchaninov. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was the greatest influence on Arensky's musical compositions. Arensky are best known for his chamber music, including two string quartets, two piano trios, and a piano quintet. Despite a long-term neglect of his music, in recent years a large number of his compositions have been recorded.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Arensky

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Anthony Goldstone (July 25, 1944 - January 2, 2017) is an English pianist. He studied music at the Royal Manchester College of Music, where his most important piano teacher was Derrick Wyndham. He had later studies with Maria Curcio. Goldstone was a versatile pianist whose all-encompassing technique, interpretive acumen, and broad repertory, which included many works for piano duo, placed him in a category nearly by himself among English pianists of his generation. He was prolific in the recording studio, appearing on more than 80 CDs for such labels as Chandos, Naxos, Toccata Classics, Meridian, Amphion, and Olympia.
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/anthony-goldstone-mn0000799796/biography

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  2. Very nice surprise! Thank you :)

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