[Cover graphic]

2 Compact Discs CDD22054

£13.99

Since the release of Stephen Coombs’s recording of the Piano Concerto No 1 (CDA66624) Bortkiewicz has become something of a cult composer amongst lovers of late romantic piano music. A man after his time, Bortkiewicz became all but forgotten after the First World War. He fled communist Russia to live first in Istanbul and then Vienna but his music remained resolutely that of pre-Revolution Moscow; like Rachmaninov in style but with even more ‘tunes’ and sentiment.

These discs of solo pieces include some of Bortkiewicz’s most imposing works. The Op 9 Sonata is his largest solo composition and the Ballade and Elegy are two of his finest. The Lamentations and Consolations set is among his most characteristic works: intensely melodic with a brooding romanticism often reminiscent of Liszt. The fairy-tale interpretations of Aus Andersens Märchen, subtitled ‘A Musical Picture Book’, come from the large corpus of pieces Bortkiewicz composed with children in mind, while the Op 33 Preludes owe much of their character to Chopin.

Recorded in All Saints, Durham Road, East Finchley, London, on 30, 31 October 1996 (CD1) & 2–4 December 1998 (CD2)
Recording Engineers
KEN BLAIR (CD1)
TONY FAULKNER (CD2)
Recording Producers
AMANDA HURTON (CD1)
MARTIN COMPTON (CD2)
Piano
STEINWAY & SONS
Executive Producers
JOANNA GAMBLE
SIMON PERRY
© Hyperion Records Ltd, London, MMVIII

Duration: 148'12
DDD
Front illustration: Illuminations at the Arsenal (1865) by V S Sadovnikov

SERGEI BORTKIEWICZ (1877-1952)

Piano Music

STEPHEN COOMBS piano

Contents:

COMPACT DISC 1 [79'33]

    Lamentations and Consolations Op 17 [28'08]
    BOOK 1
  1. No 1: Lamentation in D minor [4'08]
  2. No 2: Consolation in D major [2'57]
  3. No 3: Lamentation in C sharp minor [3'58]
  4. No 4: Consolation in D flat major [4'44]
    BOOK 2
  5. No 5: Lamentation ‘Le mal du pays’ in A minor [3'25]
  6. No 6: Consolation in A major [2'07]
  7. No 7: Lamentation in E flat minor [2'07]
  8. No 8: Consolation ‘Sorrento’ in E flat major [4'34]

    Aus Andersens Märchen Op 30
    Ein musikalisches Bilderbuch [26'35]

  9. The Princess and the Pea Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse [1'02]
  10. The Bell Die Glocke [1'56]
  11. The Hardy Tin Soldier Der standhafte Zinnsoldat [1'24]
  12. The Angel Der Engel [1'52]
  13. Little Ida’s Flowers Die Blumen der kleinen Ida [1'35]
  14. The Nightingale Die Nachtigall [3'50]
  15. It is quite certain Es ist ganz gewiß [1'32]
  16. The Child in the Grave Das Kind im Grabe [2'53]
  17. The Butterfly Der Schmetterling [2'43]
  18. The Ugly Duckling Das häßliche junge Entelein [2'40]
  19. Golden Treasure Goldschatz [2'33]
  20. The Metal Pig Das erherne Schwein [2'20]

    Ten Preludes Op 33 [24'31]

  21. No 1 in C sharp minor [4'11]
  22. No 2 in F sharp major [1'33]
  23. No 3 in D major [1'25]
  24. No 4 in B minor [1'15]
  25. No 5 in A major [1'10]
  26. No 6 in C sharp minor [3'08]
  27. No 7 in F sharp major [3'28]
  28. No 8 in D flat major [4'15]
  29. No 9 in B flat major [2'35]
  30. No 10 in B flat minor [1'28]
COMPACT DISC 2 [68'39]
  1. Ballade in C sharp minor Op 42 [6'41]
  2. Élégie in C sharp major Op 46 [4'42]

    Quatre Morceaux Op 3 [19'56]

  3. Capriccio Con fuoco [5'09]
  4. Étude Allegro non troppo [5'37]
  5. Gavotte-Caprice Allegretto [3'42]
  6. Primula Veris Con moto [5'10]

    Quatre Morceaux Op 65 [14'19]

  7. Chant sans paroles Andante con moto [3'27]
  8. Étude Allegro vivace [2'06]
  9. Épithalame Andante con moto [4'55]
  10. Capriccio alla Polacca Allegro [3'25]

    Sonata in B major Op 9 [22'49]

  11. Allegro ma non troppo [12'01]
  12. Andante mesto e molto espressivo [6'09]
  13. Presto [4'27]
Sleeve Notes

'The hand of a master melodist and tone painter is manifest throughout this beguiling recital. A recital to delight the connoisseur of forgotten late 19th-century romantic piano music' (Classic CD)

'Une irrésistible joliesse pianistique qui ruisselle ici sous les doigts de Stephen Coombs' (Diapason, France)

'Abundance of melodic appeal and inventiveness. Bortkiewicz seems incapable of writing unattractive music so one is able to derive pleasure from the pieces here. I shall certainly look forward to further volumes in this series' (Gramophone) 'Stephen Coombs provides suave performances … artfully phrased and scrupulously colored. Warmly recommended' (Fanfare, USA)

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