Soldano Archive

BORTKIEWICZ: Lyrica Nova; Etude in D-flat Major; Nocturne; Esquisses de Crimee; Three Preludes; Piano Sonata No. 2
 – A. Soldano, p. – Divine Art

by Audiophile Audition | Jan 17, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

The music of Bortkiewicz receives ardent and luxurious realization from pianist Soldano. BORTKIEWICZ: Lyrica Nova, Op. 59; Etude in D-flat Major; Nocturne from Op. 24; Esquisses de Crimee, Op. 8; Three Preludes; Piano Sonata No. 2 in c-sharp, Op. 60 – Alfonso Soldano, p. – Divine Art dda 25142, 69:31 (10/14/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: The Ukrainian composer Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877-1952) had been unknown to me until his name arose in a conversation in Atlanta with Rudolf Firkusny, who stated that he had worked with Vaclav Talich on one of this composer’s concerted pieces. Bortkiewicz had studied with Liadov and Karel van Ark at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, but also with Liszt pupil Alfred Reisenauer. A life of almost perpetual migration for Bortkiewicz followed the events after the Russian Revolution, the rise of Nazism, and the outbreak of WW II. Finally, in 1945 Bortkiewicz received from Vienna a pension that could supplement his teaching at the Vienna City Conservatory. A self-admitted Romantic composer, Bortkiewicz held melody in esteem, sporting a distinct aversion to developments in atonal, serial, aleatory, and cacophonous music.  His tonal syntax takes its diverse cues from Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, and Medtner. From the groups assembled by pianist […]