My Stanchinsky article got me thinking about untimely deaths in composition, and a name from the far side of the Iron Curtain came to mind - Valery Zhelobinsky (1913-1946), who was quite prolific in his short career. Stalin aside, the big reason most music from Stalin's oppressive policy haven't gained traction after the fact is primarily for being shallow, irritating populist pap. I can't say that Zhelobinsky's music totally escape the Stalinist tractor beam, as the music of his I've seen sits squarely under Shostakovich's wing, but some gemlets rise to the surface. His Six Short Etudes, op. 19 were performed by Vladimir Horowitz, and are among the only works of his to be recorded (at least the first one, here performed by Raymond Lewenthal on a pretty interesting album).
His 24 Preludes, op. 20 show the full scope of his skill for piano writing, and find their place comfortably among the long line of 24-strong Russian prelude sets alongside Cui, Shostakovich, Scriabin and many others. The problems arise with the overabundance of moto perpetuo pieces, with constant 16th notes in the right hand and boom-chik left-hand stride figures, like this:
In reality there should be more like this:
And there are some, but this one is far too gorgeous to ignore. It perfectly captures that turn-of-the-century Russian blend of expansiveness and melancholy, and seeing that this year is the centenary of Zhelobinsky's birth it's an all-too-convenient elegy to boot. It's almost enough to make one forget the political circumstances in which it was conceived, and Zhelobinsky was often able to use restrictions to his advantage. There's a subpar recording on YouTube that popped up for the centenary, but I made my own version, and with November almost gone it wasn't a moment too soon.
https://soundcloud.com/peter-nelson-king/valery-zhelobinsky-24-preludes
~PNK
His 24 Preludes, op. 20 show the full scope of his skill for piano writing, and find their place comfortably among the long line of 24-strong Russian prelude sets alongside Cui, Shostakovich, Scriabin and many others. The problems arise with the overabundance of moto perpetuo pieces, with constant 16th notes in the right hand and boom-chik left-hand stride figures, like this:
(Click for larger view)
And there are some, but this one is far too gorgeous to ignore. It perfectly captures that turn-of-the-century Russian blend of expansiveness and melancholy, and seeing that this year is the centenary of Zhelobinsky's birth it's an all-too-convenient elegy to boot. It's almost enough to make one forget the political circumstances in which it was conceived, and Zhelobinsky was often able to use restrictions to his advantage. There's a subpar recording on YouTube that popped up for the centenary, but I made my own version, and with November almost gone it wasn't a moment too soon.
https://soundcloud.com/peter-nelson-king/valery-zhelobinsky-24-preludes
~PNK
No comments:
Post a Comment