Alexander Tcherepnin: Piano Music 1913-61

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Catalogue No: TOCC0079
EAN/UPC: 5060113440792
Release Date: 2012-10-01
Composer: Alexander Tcherepnin
Artists: Alexander Tcherepnin, Mikhail Shilyaev

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This unusual album begins with archival recordings, in excellent sound, of the Russian-born composer-pianist Alexander Tcherepnin (1899-1977) playing some of his most memorable piano music. The early Sonata No. 1 (1918-19) is a brilliant, virtuosic study in dramatic Slavic romanticism; the atmospheric late Sonata No. 2 (1961), never commercially recorded by the composer, stands as a paragon of elegant modernism in continuous thematic evolution. The second part of the CD, performed by the Russian pianist Mikhail Shilyaev, presents a selection of attractive, rarely heard works from various periods in Tcherepnin's career, further illustrating his Prokofiev-like fondness for spiky humour, pungent harmony and crisp melody.

Alexander Tcherepnin, piano
Mikhail Shilyaev, piano

Listen To This Recording:

    Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 22 (1918–19)

  1. I. Allegro commodo
  2. II. Andante
  3. III. Allegro
  4. IV. Grave

    5. Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 94 (1961)

  5. I. Lento; Animato; Lento; Animato; Lento
  6. II. Andantino
  7. III. Animato

    8. Quatre Préludes Nostalgiques, Op. 23 (1922)

  8. I. Lento
  9. II. Allegretto
  10. III. Tempestuoso
  11. IV. Con dolore, molto sostenuto
  12. Prelude, Op. 85, No. 9 (1953)
  13. Moment Musical (1913)

    14. Petite Suite, Op. 6 (1918–19)

  14. No. 1 March
  15. No. 2 Song without Words
  16. No. 3 Berceuse
  17. No. 4 Scherzo
  18. No. 5 Badinage
  19. No. 6 Humoresque
  20. Rondo à la Russe (c. 1946)

    21. Entretiens, Op. 46 (1920–30)

  21. No. 1 Lento
  22. No. 2 Animato
  23. No. 3 Moderato
  24. No. 4 Allegretto
  25. No. 5 Recitando
  26. No. 6 Animato
  27. No. 7 Moderato
  28. No. 8 Animato
  29. No. 9 Grave
  30. No. 10 Allegretto
  31. Polka (1944)
  32. Scherzo, Op. 3 (1917)

    33. Expressions, Op. 81 (1951)

  33. No. 1 Entrance
  34. No. 2 The Hour of Death
  35. No. 3 Caprice
  36. No. 4 The Silly Story of the White Oxen
  37. No. 5 Thief in the Night
  38. No. 6 At the Fair
  39. No. 7 Barcarolle
  40. No. 8 Blind Man’s Bluff
  41. No. 9 At Dawn
  42. No. 10 Exit
  43. La Quatrième (1948–49)

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4 reviews for Alexander Tcherepnin: Piano Music 1913-61

  1. :

    ‘… Shilyaev renders both these miniatures and the larger sets of pieces with a fluency and panache that makes for diverting and also pleasurable listening, thus ensuring that these predominantly first recordings will not easily be surpassed, and is abetted by detailed and realistic piano sound. … the disc can be warmly recommended as a showcase for a composer who seemed to – or, more to the point, should have had it all.’

    —Richard Whitehouse, International Record Review

  2. :

    ‘As the only composer to have done significant work in all 5 UN Security Council nations – Russia, Britain, France, China and the USA – it is unsurprising that Willi Reich, in his biography called Alexander Tcherepnin a ‘musical citizen of the world’.… If you have discovered the wonderful world of Tcherepnin’s piano —music then this disc is a must for you and, if not, it is a perfect place to start to get to know this fascinating composer.’

    —Steve Arloff, MusicWeb International

  3. :

    ‘The Toccata Classics disc opens with archival recordings made by the composer in New York in March 1965 (produced by the composer Philip Ramey, a former Tcherepnin pupil and subject of an earlier Toccata Classics release) of the two sonatas, Préludes nostalgiques and the ninth of his Op. 85 Preludes. The performances are the most exciting of any under review here and have been remastered very finely under the auspices of the Tcherepnin Society. The greater part of the disc is made up of a deliciously varied selection of his smaller pieces (the earliest, the Moment musical of 1913, dating from his mid-teens) and sets of miniatures – the early Petite Suite (1918–19), Entretiens (1920–30) and 10 Expressions (1951) – all played with compelling assurance by Mikhail Shilyaev.’

    —Guy Rickards, International Piano January/February 2013

  4. :

    ‘Although the 45-year-old master tapes [of composer’s own perfromance] required much restorative work, which was executed meticulously by Allen Tucker, the result sounds remarkably free of obvious technical deficiencies. In fact, the transition to the remainder of this Toccata release, featuring an assortment of pieces recorded in London in 2012 by the young Russian pianist Mikhail Shilyaev, is barely noticeable. […]

    Russian pianist Mikhail Shilyaev is especially effective in embracing Tcherepnin’s own approach to his keyboard music. Program notes by Tcherepnin-specialist Benjamin Folkman are brilliantly informative, and offer penetrating insights.’

    —Walter Simmons, Fanfare Magazine May/June 2013

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