MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition; PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet: Ten Pieces, Op. 75; Toccata in D Minor, Op. 11 – Nikolai Demidenko, piano – Helios CDH55306, 75:00 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****:
Russian pianist Nikolai Demidenko (b. 1955), among the more formidable of the students of Dimitri Bashkirov, performs Mussorgsky and Prokofiev from sessions 29-31 July 1997, originally issued on Hyperion Records in 1998. Demidenko performs in a restrained but infinitely colorized style, articulate and clarion in voice, but not percussive. He likes the lyrical as well as the dramatic aspects of Mussorgsky’s 1877 suite devoted to his departed friend and architect Viktor Hartmann. Neither so colossal as Sviatoslav Richter’s nor so internalized as that of Shura Cherkassky, the Demidenko reading exerts a brilliant series of character sketches that alternately project light facility (Limoges) or imposing, dissonant girth (Gnomus), like the diptych formed by Tuileries and Bydlo, respectively. The Steinway sound, as captured by Ken Blair, proves immaculately resonant without any intrusive ping or pre-echo.
Each of the entries of the Promenade theme (Mussorgsky’s persona in the form of a spiritual traveler) assumes a distinct character, self-important or demure, as required. The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks and the Two Polish Jews complement one another as particular etudes in wrist and parlando-recitative articulation. The latter’s invocation of Yiddish singspiel and buoyant patter quite captivates the ear. The sheer execution of repeated notes from Demidenko indicates what he might do in Liszt’s La Campanella. Another diptych, the “sepulchral” Roman Catacombs and the Speaking to the Dead in a Dead Language, present alternately huge block chords and spare textures, devoid of space and harmonic grounding, virtual studies for Liszt’s Unstern! and Bagatelle Without Tonality. Demidenko cuts loose the fetters for the two grand “etudes” that close the work, each a transformation of the original Promenade theme, now become a journey to Hell (Baba Yaga) and back from the underworld to ascend to the Gates of Heaven, aka Kiev. That Demidenko can rival the likes of Horowitz or Richter when he sees fit should be obvious from the last pages of this towering performance.
Prokofiev’s 1937 arrangement of ten scenes from his 1935 ballet Romeo and Juliet provides an alternate view of the versatile score without its depending on dramatic, chronological continuity. As a technical, color vehicle for the keyboard, the suite serves Demidenko well, as he can invoke Juliet’s playful innocence and burgeoning eros, Mercutio’s irreverent daring, the stolid emotional implacability of the warring families, and the tragic heartbreak of the lovers’ final departure before their mutual demise. That the piano can easily achieve “orchestral” effects through Demidenko becomes even more apparent to those who relish the actual symphonic score. Not since Bashkirov’s long- deleted Melodiya LP of this arrangement have I felt the grand pathos of the last scene with such fervent keyboard alchemy.
Finally, Prokofiev’s demonic 1912 D Minor Toccata, originally meant for his Second Sonata in D Minor, but published separately and successfully as an explosive thriller for the likes of Byron Janis, Lazar Berman, and the present company of Mr. Demidenko. Here are 75 minutes’ worth of Russian fireworks delivered by a pianist whose temperament well suit’s the “old guard” of colossal Russian piano art.
—Gary Lemco
William Steinberg conducts Mahler Symphony No. 1 – Boston Symphony Orchestra – Forgotten Records
Excellent mid-century live performance of Mahler’s First
