Information
Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone
Ivari Ilja, piano
Date: 2012
Label: Ondine
https://www.ondine.net/index.php?lid=en&cid=2.2&oid=4748
- 26 Romances
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone
Ivari Ilja, piano
Date: 2012
Label: Ondine
https://www.ondine.net/index.php?lid=en&cid=2.2&oid=4748
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Echoes of Hvorostovsky past for the baritone’s Ondine debut
Though Dmitri Hvorostovsky revisits repertoire he recorded in his 1991 ‘Russian Romances’ disc in the heady months following his sensational win at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition (Philips, 10/91 – nla), he has little to fear from comparisons with his more svelte-voiced younger self. Early in his career, he made his name more in recitals than in opera. Now a seasoned Verdi baritone some 20 years later, Hvorostovsky opens up these Rachmaninov songs with operatic fortissimos that add stature to the music as well as with pianissimos that can convey depths of quiet terror, both of which were quite beyond the grasp of his younger self. Vocal precision is sometimes compromised. Some of the high, softer notes fail to glow. But his long-admired breath control is, if anything, more impressive. Spot-check comparisons between the 1991 Philips disc and this new recital are telling: the all-in-one-breath phrase that ends ‘In the silence of the mysterious night’ is now even longer, more firm and infused with meaning beyond words. Also, when the younger Hvorostovsky went for vocal gravity – often demanded by the feverish texts the composer chose to set – he sometimes drove his voice so hard that the pitch tended to spread. That doesn’t happen now and doesn’t need to: his baritone has a far richer palette of vocal resources to call upon.
The songs are arranged in roughly chronological order, showing the composer sometimes trafficking in the sentiment of parlour music and at other times digging down into his young soul for a more personal mode of expression. But what sets certain Rachmaninov songs above the others is this: because the composer’s lyrical gifts didn’t translate into the more easy-going melodiousness of Tchaikovsky songs, these miniatures are best judged by their pianistic element. When you subtract the vocal line, do you still have a viable piece of music? Accompanist Ivari Ilja makes that distinction particularly obvious through the quality of his playing, which is appropriately romantic in sweep but Mozartian in detail.
In the larger landscape of Rachmaninov recordings, Sergei Leiferkus (Chandos, 4/96) has a more characteristic Russian bass sound but, even alternating songs with Joan Rodgers, doesn’t wear well over the course of a recital disc. Elisabeth Soderström’s complete song set (Decca, 5/94) shows a beloved singer whose rhetorical resources went way beyond the usual grasp of a mid-weight voice. However, in songs such as ‘Christ is risen!’, one of Rachmaninov’s best, a strong male voice really is preferable to convey the the big-boned vocal lines and the weight of the song’s utterance. Hvorostovsky brings an almost evangelistic intensity to this one. And why shouldn’t he, considering how the song describes Christ’s sadness at the current state of the world? This is as fine as any currently available single-disc collection of Rachmaninov songs.
-- David Patrick Stearns, Gramophone
More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2012/May12/Rachmaninov_Romances_ODE12072.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/feb/05/rachmaninov-romances-hvorostovsky-ilja-review
https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/rachmaninov-romances-dmitri-hvorostovsky/
https://www.allmusic.com/album/rachmaninov-romances-mw0002279102
https://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Romances-Hvorostovsky/dp/B006CAXQ6M
Though Dmitri Hvorostovsky revisits repertoire he recorded in his 1991 ‘Russian Romances’ disc in the heady months following his sensational win at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition (Philips, 10/91 – nla), he has little to fear from comparisons with his more svelte-voiced younger self. Early in his career, he made his name more in recitals than in opera. Now a seasoned Verdi baritone some 20 years later, Hvorostovsky opens up these Rachmaninov songs with operatic fortissimos that add stature to the music as well as with pianissimos that can convey depths of quiet terror, both of which were quite beyond the grasp of his younger self. Vocal precision is sometimes compromised. Some of the high, softer notes fail to glow. But his long-admired breath control is, if anything, more impressive. Spot-check comparisons between the 1991 Philips disc and this new recital are telling: the all-in-one-breath phrase that ends ‘In the silence of the mysterious night’ is now even longer, more firm and infused with meaning beyond words. Also, when the younger Hvorostovsky went for vocal gravity – often demanded by the feverish texts the composer chose to set – he sometimes drove his voice so hard that the pitch tended to spread. That doesn’t happen now and doesn’t need to: his baritone has a far richer palette of vocal resources to call upon.
The songs are arranged in roughly chronological order, showing the composer sometimes trafficking in the sentiment of parlour music and at other times digging down into his young soul for a more personal mode of expression. But what sets certain Rachmaninov songs above the others is this: because the composer’s lyrical gifts didn’t translate into the more easy-going melodiousness of Tchaikovsky songs, these miniatures are best judged by their pianistic element. When you subtract the vocal line, do you still have a viable piece of music? Accompanist Ivari Ilja makes that distinction particularly obvious through the quality of his playing, which is appropriately romantic in sweep but Mozartian in detail.
In the larger landscape of Rachmaninov recordings, Sergei Leiferkus (Chandos, 4/96) has a more characteristic Russian bass sound but, even alternating songs with Joan Rodgers, doesn’t wear well over the course of a recital disc. Elisabeth Soderström’s complete song set (Decca, 5/94) shows a beloved singer whose rhetorical resources went way beyond the usual grasp of a mid-weight voice. However, in songs such as ‘Christ is risen!’, one of Rachmaninov’s best, a strong male voice really is preferable to convey the the big-boned vocal lines and the weight of the song’s utterance. Hvorostovsky brings an almost evangelistic intensity to this one. And why shouldn’t he, considering how the song describes Christ’s sadness at the current state of the world? This is as fine as any currently available single-disc collection of Rachmaninov songs.
-- David Patrick Stearns, Gramophone
More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2012/May12/Rachmaninov_Romances_ODE12072.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/feb/05/rachmaninov-romances-hvorostovsky-ilja-review
https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/rachmaninov-romances-dmitri-hvorostovsky/
https://www.allmusic.com/album/rachmaninov-romances-mw0002279102
https://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Romances-Hvorostovsky/dp/B006CAXQ6M
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Sergei Rachmaninov (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered as one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Some of his works are among the most popular in the romantic repertoire. His style is notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colors. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff
***
Dmitri Hvorostovsky (16 October 1962 – 22 November 2017) was a Russian operatic baritone. He came to international prominence in 1989 when he won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, beating Bryn Terfel in the final round. His international careers began immediately, and he subsequently sang at virtually every major opera house, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Berlin State Opera, La Scala and the Vienna State Opera. Hvorostovsky was especially renowned for his portrayal of the title character in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. He made many CD recordings for Philips and Delos labels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Hvorostovsky
http://hvorostovsky.com/
Dmitri Hvorostovsky (16 October 1962 – 22 November 2017) was a Russian operatic baritone. He came to international prominence in 1989 when he won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, beating Bryn Terfel in the final round. His international careers began immediately, and he subsequently sang at virtually every major opera house, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Berlin State Opera, La Scala and the Vienna State Opera. Hvorostovsky was especially renowned for his portrayal of the title character in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. He made many CD recordings for Philips and Delos labels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Hvorostovsky
http://hvorostovsky.com/
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