Elisaveta Blumina - Valentin Silvestrov: Piano Works (2013)

The piano music of Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937) is somewhat mystifying to behold: Listening to the very earliest examples from this recital— Naïve Musik from the mid 1950s, though reworked some 40 years later when the composer formed the present cycle—one is struck by the sheer innocence of this music. At this young age the composer was obviously and unashamedly infatuated with the piano music of Chopin, Grieg, Schumann, and Brahms, among others. One can hear all of these composers in his highly influenced yet still decidedly individual music. In a sense this entire recital is dream music—it is as though one is hearing this music for the first time because it is not Brahms, it is not Chopin (though there are moments when Silvestrov does quote his predecessor’s music in his own— Naïve Musik No. 6 is a perfect example) but it is their spirit reawakened a century later.

Der Bote (The Messenger), inspired by the philosophy of the Russian Jakov Druskin, exists in two versions, one for piano solo, the other for piano and chamber orchestra. In the former, performed exquisitely here by Elisaveta Blumina, Mozart is used as the basis of the composition. According to Druskin the messenger is representative of the relationship between two worlds—this one and the other one. What better means of evoking this one than Mozart and the other as Mozart perceived anew?

The other major cycle performed here, Kitschmusik (1977), is another set inspired by the masters of the 19th century. These works too seem simple upon first hearing, yet as the intriguing program notes reveal, much of the interest is generated through the subtle manipulation of meter, of tempo, of agogics, of pianistic attacks (half-legato, half-staccato, half-tenuto), the use of the una corda pedal, and the softest possible dynamics ( pppp to a “gentle mf ”). Once again the composer creates a hazy sound world through his carefully chosen means, ones which, according to him, impinge “gently on the memory of the listener” and “[resound] in his deepest consciousness.” This is not unlike Schumann’s music from afar.

The other smaller works are no less intriguing nor less beguiling in these performances. I will single out the Two Waltzes, op. 153, as they are dedicated to Blumina. Though simple in character, they are enchantingly played: The pianist takes nothing for granted, every nuance carefully captured, yet never over-calculated in effect; there is always a lovely naturalness to her playing, a wonderful sense of ebb and flow. Throughout the entire recital Blumina proves an inspired guide in Silvestrov’s highly personal and highly evocative sound world. Her muted quality suits much of this music well, often as per Silvestrov’s instructions ( Der Bote , according to the composer should be played “with the lightest of touches. The piano lid should be completely closed. The pedal should be used immediately so that the previous sound can resonate.”). Perhaps the only disappointment with this recording is that there is not more of it: I can only hope that Blumina will take some of the composer’s larger works into the recording studio in the near future—I’m thinking, in particular, of the three piano sonatas! But for now, I’ll have to suffice with this highly enticing little jewel.

Review by Scott Noriega, FANFARE Magazine

Valentin Silvestrov’s output has been on my to-hear shortlist - actually quite a long page - ever since, in the late 1990s, I heard his Fifth Symphony. I was not likely to resist hearing the present selection of his piano music.

The same BMG Melodiya disc that offered the ecstatic psychedelia of the Fifth Symphony also included some solo piano pieces in a strangely parodic Chopin style. In any event they were at no point anywhere near the surreal undulations and eruptive dream visions of that symphony.

Naive Musik is a cycle of seven piano pieces with two waltzes enclosing the remaining five. There are two affecting Nocturnes,one at a fairly quick tempo, a gracious Fairy Tale à la Medtner, a liquid pearlescent Idyll and a fancifully meditative Prelude placed penultimate in the cycle. This is all in a settled late-romantic style with nostalgia at play among lucid textures. Silvestrov invests in the power of gentle ingratiation rather than cliff edge passion. In general this music is written in styles that will be familiar if you are at all attuned to the piano works of Schubert, Schumann, Chopin and Brahms. It occasionally strikes backwards in time to Mozart. What we hear is gentle and quiet: undulating and moonlit. This is music apt to disorientate those who expect modern music to inveigh against the fates with angularity, dissonance, temperamental dramatics and percussive assaults.

It is all played and recorded with close and calmingly fervent engagement. Silvestrov's surprising but pleasing commitment is to a vocabulary chronologically distant from the predominance of the twentieth century, let alone the twenty-first. If he occasionally sounds briefly like Einaudi it is only to remind us that once we listen for more than a couple of minutes Silvestrov is not a minimalist. In this context he is just a composer, one strand of whose creativity is inextricably in thrall to a style that, while familiar, serves his expressive needs better than any other. It is one dimension of the man.

Silvestrov seems well served by Elisaveta Blumina whose playing drew from the composer the words '70 minutes happiness set against 1000 years of misery'. The Two Waltzes are dedicated to Elisaveta Blumina.

The useful programme note is by Tatjana Frumkis.

Review by Rob Barnett, MusicWeb-International.com

Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 1 from 15. November 2010

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Valentin Silvestrov / Piano Works

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foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2018-05-28 16:07:21

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Elisaveta Blumina / Valentin Silvestrov: Piano Works
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR14 -12.46 dB -32.96 dB 3:40 01-Naive Musik - I. Waltz
DR12 -13.36 dB -29.62 dB 2:36 02-Naive Musik - II. Nocturne
DR15 -6.36 dB -28.41 dB 6:54 03-Naive Musik - III. Fairy Tale
DR13 -11.44 dB -29.28 dB 4:42 04-Naive Musik - IV. Idyll
DR12 -9.64 dB -28.42 dB 2:14 05-Naive Musik - V. Nocturne
DR14 -2.03 dB -24.30 dB 2:07 06-Naive Musik - VI. Prelude
DR13 -12.01 dB -30.82 dB 4:32 07-Naive Musik - VII. Waltz
DR15 -15.14 dB -35.96 dB 7:30 08-Der Bote
DR11 -13.80 dB -32.26 dB 1:48 09-2 Waltzes, Op.153 No.1 Allegro assai
DR10 -16.67 dB -33.27 dB 2:36 10-2 Waltzes, Op.153 No.2 Allegretto
DR11 -19.42 dB -36.30 dB 2:38 11-4 Pieces, Op.2 No.1 Lullaby: Moderato
DR12 -11.84 dB -29.37 dB 2:02 12-4 Pieces, Op.2 No.2 Pastorale: Vivace
DR12 -19.39 dB -37.19 dB 2:13 13-4 Pieces, Op.2 No.3 Bagatelle: Moderato
DR12 -13.48 dB -32.93 dB 2:09 14-4 Pieces, Op.2 No.4 Postludium: Moderato
DR12 -15.41 dB -33.75 dB 1:18 15-2 Bagatelles, Op.173 No.1 Moderato
DR11 -18.55 dB -34.12 dB 2:16 16-2 Bagatelles, Op.173 No.2 Andantino
DR12 -16.82 dB -33.35 dB 3:15 17-Kitschmusik - I. Allegro vivace
DR13 -10.86 dB -30.97 dB 3:57 18-Kitschmusik - II. Moderato
DR11 -16.11 dB -32.18 dB 3:02 19-Kitschmusik - III. Allegretto
DR12 -16.63 dB -33.22 dB 2:43 20-Kitschmusik - IV. Moderato
DR11 -15.61 dB -33.10 dB 1:46 21-Kitschmusik - V. Allegretto
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 21
Official DR value: DR12

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 265 kbps
Codec: FLAC
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