MYASKOVSKY : Violin Concerto in D Minor | VAINBERG : Violin Concerto in G Minor (Ilya Grubert · Russian Philharmonic Orchestra · Dmitry Yablonsky) (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Without fail, these are two works that should jump to the top of any list of alternatives to the warhorse violin concertos. Here are two powerful works that possess every quality that defines `classic' except perhaps the passage of sufficient time. Bold, lyrical, rhythmic, charming, dramatic and thought-provoking are just a few of dozens of adjectives that could describe this music. Add to that a superb performance at a fantastic price and you have your newest must-own compact disc.

Myaskovsky's fame lies predominantly in his work as a symphonist. With twenty-seven such works to his credit, he is considered by many to have been one of the leading exponents of the genre in the twentieth century. His violin concerto was his first attempt at such a work, and he spent considerable time studying the similar works of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, his friend and schoolmate. The late 1930s were a fertile time for violin music in Russia, due mostly to the rise of the so-called "Russian violin school," with David Oistrakh and Leonid Kogan at its helm, winning competitions all over Europe.

Myaskovsky wrote his concerto for and dedicated it to Oistrakh. A large sweeping work in three movements, the first of which is longer than the latter two combined, the concerto owes far more to the composer's nineteenth century predecessors Rimsky-Korsakov and Balakirev, than to any sort of modernist ideal. The opening movement is both dramatic and lyrical and as its title implies, passionate. The adagio is tuneful and circumspect, while the rollicking third movement is very dance-like.

Although Mieczylaw Vainberg was a disciple and pupil of Myaskovsky, his style, although still conservative, leans more toward his friend and colleague Shostakovich than to any nineteenth century composer. Born in Poland in 1919, Vainberg's early promise was as a pianist, but his hopes for a major career were dashed by the Nazi invasion of Poland during the Second World War. He fled to, and was accepted warmly in Russia, although on more than one occasion he ran afoul of the authorities. At one time he was arrested for being an "enemy of the state" only to be rescued by Shostakovich’s intervention and ultimately, the death of Stalin.

His concerto is of much tighter construct than the Myaskovsky, consisting of four movements nearly equal in technical challenge, musical expression and length. Of particular note is the passionate, melancholy Adagio. Although not particularly melodic, (you are not likely to leave the room whistling the tunes) there is a formal and thematic unity about the work that makes the listener eager to find out what comes next.

And what of Ilya Grubert’s playing? In short, it is utterly refreshing. Here is a soloist that takes command of the stage, is not afraid of a risk or two, and plays in a manner that reflects his feelings for the music. When called for, his playing can be as lyrical as the finest soprano, yet he never shies away from putting forth a bit of gypsy abandon, allowing his tone to even at times be a bit gritty. This is by no means a criticism. Grubert digs into the strings, coaxing every last ounce of sound and spirit out of them. This is indeed a player worth watching, and if this recording is harbinger at all, there are great things yet to come.

Dmitry Yablonsky leads a finely honed instrument in the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra. Gone is the customary Russian blatting and out of tune wailing in the brass section. His strings are warm and lush, and there is a rhythmic tautness to the playing. He paces both concerti perfectly, never hurrying the fast passages and never belaboring the slow ones.

Recorded sound is excellent. Program notes by Per Skans hold the reader’s interest, and provide the correct balance of analysis, historical background and anecdote.

These are two composers who deserve further attention. Hopefully, a few more successful recordings such as this one will propel this music off the silver disc and into the concert hall. Go buy this one and enjoy some unusual yet highly accessible delights. (Kevin Sutton, naxos)
Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881-1950)
1-3.  Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 44
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)
4-7.   Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op. 67
Credits:
Orchestra – Russian Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor – Dmitry Yablonsky
Violin – Ilya Grubert

KABALEVSKY : Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (Dmitry Yablonsky, In-Ju Bang) (2006) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Kabalevsky was born two years before Shostakovich and likewise studied with Myaskovsky among others, but he was the Good Boy, the Rollo, among Soviet composers: not once publicly reprimanded for deserting the party line, not even in Zhdanov’s denunciation of Shostakovich and Prokofiev among others in 1948. He composed solo works, concertos and symphonies during his lifespan of 83 years, and was celebrated as a teacher in later decades. His two best-known works in the west are the Overture to Colas Breugnon (a favorite of Toscanini and Reiner) and The Comedians, a lightweight suite of which Arthur Fiedler and his Boston “Pops” audiences were especially fond. The piano concertos were more conventional stuff for their time – No 1, written when Kabalevsky was 24, echoes Rachmaninov without comparable tunes, while No. 2 (1935, revised in 1972) is a virtual homage to Prokofiev’s Soviet-style sauciness (meaning easy on the hot sauce). In-Ju Bang, a prodigiously gifted Korean who was just 14 when she recorded these in 2004 – the year she won the gold medal in conductor Yablonsky’s Puigcerda Festival on the French-Spanish border, founded in 1998. Her program bio says that Bang (who doesn’t, although she can produce a formidable sonority) is studying this year at The Juilliard School. Yablonsky, whose mother (Oxana Yablonskaya) was a widely-praised pianist, and whose father was the Moscow Radio-TV Orchestra’s principal oboist, began his musical career as a cellist but started conducting in 1990, and by 1999 was appointed principal guest conductor of the Moscow Symphony. Three years later he was named Principal Conductor of the Russian Philharmonic (which raided several Russian orchestras for their best players), and obviously knows his business. At age 44, he deserves the kind of podium career other former-cellists have enjoyed, and Naxos has been making the most of him. The Russian State recording studio handles both dynamics and tonal extremes from top to bottom creditably. ClassicalCD

Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904-1987)

1-3    Piano Concerto No. 1 In A Minor, Op. 9 (1928)    (31:35)
4-6    Piano Concerto No. 2 In G Minor, Op. 23 (1935, Rev. 1973)    (24:26)

Conductor – Dmitry Yablonsky
Orchestra – Russian Philharmonic Orchestra
Piano – In-Ju Bang

KHACHATURIAN : Spartacus, Suite No. 4 • Masquerade • Circus (André Anichanov) (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This 1994 Naxos release offers a sampling of Aram Khachaturian's ballet music. Colorful and exciting on the surface, yet banal, predictable, and ultimately shallow, these works are characteristic of Khachaturian's acquiescence to conservative Soviet taste and represent nothing so much as a surrender of personality. The Spartacus Suite No. 4 is full of exotic and martial moods that give a flavor of the ballet's ancient setting and heroic struggle. Even so, this epic score seems as generic and forced as a bad Hollywood soundtrack, especially in its hackneyed fanfares, tiresome climaxes, and overly lush writing for the strings. Khachaturian's incidental music for Lermontov's Masquerade hearkens back to romantic models, ostensibly with an ironic purpose. While the music is inoffensive, it is nonetheless as faceless as any pastiche must be. "Circus," a gaudy suite without a trace of inspiration or even one memorable melody, is the program's low point. The St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, led by André Anichanov, performs the first three selections with vigor and sincere involvement, yet that is not enough to make these works captivating. The Moscow Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dmitry Yablonsky, gives Khachaturian's innocuous Dance Suite an effective reading, oddly making this slight student work the most interesting item on the disc. by Blair Sanderson  

Aram Khatchaturian (1903-1978)

Spartacus Suite No. 4    
Conductor – André Anichanov
Orchestra – St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra

Masquerade (Suite From The Drama)
Conductor – André Anichanov
Orchestra – St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra

Circus (Music From The Ballet)    
Conductor – André Anichanov
Orchestra – St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra

Dance Suite
Conductor – Dmitry Yablonsky
Orchestra – Moscow Symphony Orchestra