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Track(s) taken from CDA67328

Elegy and Waltz, Op 89

composer

Hamish Milne (piano)
Recording details: October 2001
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Jeremy Hayes
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: May 2002
Total duration: 8 minutes 57 seconds
 

Reviews

‘Hamish Milne’s poetic insight comes as no surprise … this is rather a find … civilised, rewarding listening, warmly recommended to anyone for whom aesthetic novelty matters less than purely musical value’ (Gramophone)

‘Sumptuous recording, with brilliant and thoughtful playing by Hamish Milne … piano enthusiasts looking for new material – especially those interested in Russian music – will certainly enjoy this’ (American Record Guide)

‘This is altogether exceptional playing … it made me want to dust down my two volumes of Alexandrov's music and take them straight to the piano to find out what other treasures they have in store. May it please be the first of several’ (International Record Review)

‘Hamish Milne, on this new Hyperion release is a persuasive advocate for this music … recommended? But of course, and let’s hope that more Alexandrov appears, and soon’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Imagine a cab ride where the driver is in the same league as Formula One driver Michael Schumacher. There’s something similar to be said for this Hyperion release, in which we have the privilege to hear a forgotten but phenomenal composer through the mind of such a distinguished and world-class pianist as Hamish Milne’ (Pianist)

‘Milne expounds all this music … with evident affection and belief, and with all the musicality and technical mastery it demands, in an absolutely first-rate recording’ (International Piano)

‘Hamish Milne believes in this music 125 percent, and he sails through the composer’s daunting challenges with complete technical command and a gorgeous tone to match’ (Classics Today)

«On a envie de remercier le pianiste Hamish Milne pour son interprétation magnifique, très soignée, et surtout pour nous permettre de découvrir une musique aussi belle, doucement expressive et envoûtante» (Répertoire, France)
The Elegy, and the Waltz Op 89 (1964) (which is traditionally elegiac in Russian music) are dedicated to Nina Alexandrova’s memory – comparatively quiet and pensive pieces, in which the symbolic moment of dying is compellingly caught. There is no trace here of the piano pieces that Alexandrov composed in the twelve-tone technique during the 1960s; and the composer never published such ephemeral excursions into atonality that he wrote more out of curiosity than inner conviction.

from notes by Christoph Flamm © 2002
English: Roland Smithers

L’Élégie et la Valse (Op. 89 de 1964), traditionnellement élégiaques pour la musique russe, sont dédiées à la mémoire de Nina Alexandrova. Douces et pensives en comparaison avec le reste de l’œuvre, ces deux pièces incarnent le moment symbolique de la mort. Aucune trace, ici, des morceaux pour piano qu’Alexandrov composa selon la technique des douze degrés dans les années 60. Le compositeur ne publiera jamais ces excursions éphémères dans l’atonalité, écrites plus par curiosité que par conviction profonde.

extrait des notes rédigées par Christoph Flamm © 2002
Français: Marie Luccheta

Die Elegie und der (in der russischen Musik traditionell elegisch gestimmte) Walzer op. 89 (1964) sind dem Andenken an Nina Alexandrowa gewidmet – vergleichsweise stille und nachdenkliche Stücke, in denen das symbolische Moment des Verklingens bezwingend getroffen ist. Davon, dass Alexandrow in den 1960er Jahren auch Klavierstücke in Zwöftontechnik schrieb, ist hier allerdings nichts zu spüren; solche mehr der Neugier als innerer Überzeugung geschuldeten ephemeren Ausflüge in die als amoralisch empfundene Dodekaphonie ließ der Komponist nicht publizieren.

aus dem Begleittext von Christoph Flamm © 2002

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