Composer: Sergey Rachmaninov
Performer: Xiayin Wang
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHAN10724
Release: 2012
Size: 1.01 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Moments Musicaux, Op. 16
01. No. 1 in B-Flat Minor. Andantino
02. No. 2 in E-Flat Minor. Allegretto – Adagio
03. No. 3 in B Minor. Andante cantabile
04. No. 4 in E Minor. Presto – Più vivo – Prestissimo
05. No. 5 in D-Flat Major. Adagio sostenuto
06. No. 6 in C Major. Maestoso
Études-Tableaux, op. 33
07. No. 1 in F Minor
08. No. 2 in C Major
09. No. 3 (Op. posth.) in C Minor
10. No. 5 (Op. posth.) in D Minor
11. No. 6 in E-Flat Minor
12. No. 7 in E-Flat Major
13. No. 8 in G Minor
14. No. 9 in C-Sharp Minor
Variations on a theme of Corelli, Op. 42
15. Theme. Andante
16. Variation I. Poco più mosso
17. Variation II. L’istesso tempo
18. Variation III. Tempo di Minuetto
19. Variation IV. Andante
20. Variation V. Allegro (ma non tanto)
21. Variation VI. L’istesso tempo
22. Variation VII. Vivace
23. Variation VIII. Adagio misterioso
24. Variation IX. Un poco più mosso
25. Variation X. Allegro scherzando – Poco più mosso
26. Variation XI. Allegro vivace
27. Variation XII. L’istesso tempo
28. Variation XIII. Agitato
29. Intermezzo. A tempo rubato
30. Variation XIV. Andante (come prima)
31. Variation XV. L’istesso tempo
32. Variation XVI. Allegro vivace
33. Variation XVII. Meno mosso – Poco meno mosso
34. Variation XVIII. Allegro con brio
35. Variation XIX. Più mosso. Agitato
36. Variation XX. Più mosso
37. Coda. Andante
With her winning combination of consummate technical brilliance, fine musicianship, and personal verve, the pianist Xiayin Wang captures the hearts of audiences wherever she appears. She is achiving high levels of recognision for her commanding performances as a recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral soloist in such venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. This is Wang’s second disc for Chandos Records. Her previous disc, of piano works by Earl Wild, was an ‘International Piano Choice’ in International Piano.
The six Moments musicaux constitute a set of solo piano pieces, each representing a different but complementary musical form, such as the nocturne, song without words, barcarolle, virtuoso étude, or variations. Although intended from the beginning as part of a set, each piece holds its own well, with individual themes and moods, ranging from the sombre funeral march of No. 3 to the majestic canon of No. 6. Revolutionary and grand in style, the Moments musicaux still retain the charm of Rachmaninoff’s early works: dense, rich in counterpoint, highly chromatic, poignantly nationalistic, deeply felt, and, of course, exceptionally challenging to the pianist.
The Études-tableaux were composed as ‘picture pieces’. Rachmaninoff never did disclose what inspired each piece, but stated: ‘I don’t believe in the artist that discloses too much of his images. Let [the public] paint for themselves what [the music] most suggests.’
The Variations on a Theme of Corelli was the last original solo piano work that Rachmaninoff wrote, and the only one he composed outside Russia. The theme of this cycle is actually not by Arcangelo Corelli (1653 – 1713), but an old Spanish-French folk dance. The Variations were written in 1931, the same year that the composer boldly denounced the Soviet Union, referring to its leaders as ‘Communist grave-diggers’. Stalin consequently banned Rachmaninoff’s music, but, recognising its more appealing and generally less radical nature, rehabilitated it three years later. The work is among several pieces that were later well received in Moscow.