Myaskovsky reviews

'The work has so many ingredients that should guarantee it instant appeal - a gloriously lyrical melody that opens and closes the sonata and some finely wrought material with exciting and dynamic musical interaction between cello and piano. Bruno Philippe inflects the music with great fervour, strongly supported by Jérôme Ducros’s impressive mastery of the demanding piano part and an admirably balanced recording.’

Myaskovsky/ Rachmaninov
Rachmaninov: Cello Sonata; Two pieces, Op. 2; Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3/2; Cello Sonata;

Myaskovsky: Cello Sonata No. 1

Bruno Philippe (cello), Jérôme Ducros (piano)
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902340 70:52mins 

Fascinating compilation of later symphonies by a hugely significant Soviet composer. The best orchestral playing by far features in 1950s recordings of the 16th and 21st, despite primitive sound.  

Erik Levi

Avid collectors of Svetlanov’s Myaskovsky must have given up hope of ever hearing the remaining issues in his complete recordings of the symphonies after the series had to be abandoned owing to the sad demise of the Olympia record label a few years ago.

Thankfully Alto have now stepped into the breach with Volume 11 and the enticing promise of following this up with the other three discs in the not-too-distant future. The two symphonies featured here emanate from particularly problematic periods in the composer’s life.

At long last Warner Classics has made available one of the most important milestones in Evgeny Svetlanov’s extensive recording career. As many readers will doubtless already know, these Myaskovsky recordings have enjoyed a rather chequered history thus far. Ten discs from the series were temporarily available on the Olympia label some years ago, and more recently Alto issued three further volumes, promising to complete the set very soon. It would be a pity, however, if the arrival of the Warner box was to thwart Alto’s good intentions.

Here’s another fine link with the great Russian tradition. Mikhail Kopelman, first violinist of the Borodin Quartet for 20 years, is the most familiar name here, but all four players went on to distinguished careers after graduating from the Moscow Conservatoire in the musically heady 1970s prior to forming the Kopelman Quartet in 2002. Beauty and warmth of string tone seem to be paramount, and that helps us to buy into the old-fashioned yet utterly sincere Romanticism of Myaskovsky’s last quartet.