Composer: Vasily Kalafati
Performer: Jeremy Thompson
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0093
Release: 2021
Size: 1.18 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Nocturne, Op. 5 “La nuit à Goursouf”
5 Preludes, Op. 7
02. No. 1 in C Major, Allegro
03. No. 2 in F Minor, Andante
04. No. 3 in D-Flat Major, Andantino
05. No. 4 in A Major, Allegretto
06. No. 5 in B-Flat Minor, Lento
2 Nouvellettes, Op. 6
07. No. 1, Allegro moderato
Piano Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 4 No. 1
08. I. Allegro moderato
09. II. Adagio – Allegretto
10. III. Finale. Allegro con brio
3 Bagatelles, Op. 9
11. No. 1, Scherzino
12. No. 2, Valse-Impromptu
13. No. 3, L’enterrement d’un oiseau
Piano Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 4 No. 2
14. I. Allegro con brio
15. II. Andante
16. III. Scherzo. Allegro
17. IV. Finale. Andante – Presto
The name of Vasily Pavlovich Kalafati (1869–1942), born to Greek parents in the Crimea, has a toe-hold in the history books as one of Stravinsky’s teachers, but he was an accomplished composer in his own right. The early piano works recorded here show the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov (his teacher and friend) and other Russian-nationalist composers, but they also owe something to the examples of Chopin and Brahms, not least in their blend of passion and textural clarity. The vigour of these pieces stands in stark contrast to the ultimate fate of their composer: he starved to death during the Siege of Leningrad.