Medtner: Skazki

This is a magnificent and important set.

Notwithstanding the current revival of interest in Medtner (in which Hyperion has played no small part) the complete Skazki have never been recorded together, and some of the pieces here are receiving their long overdue first recordings. The Skazki (‘Märchen’ in German; ‘Contes’ in French; the incorrect ‘Fairy Tales’ in English) were the most personal of Medtner’s idioms and contain his most immediately appealing music: they are miniature tone poems full of atmosphere and colour and are arguably the most neglected ‘great’ piano music in the repertoire.

Medtner has been central to Hamish Milne’s repertoire since the 1970s—he has already recorded eight CDs of the composer’s music—and no one has a finer grasp of the subtle sound world of these works. Hamish has here surpassed himself in a recording which is also graced with superlative piano sound. These CDs are sure to be regarded as definitive for many years to come.

CDA67491/2  155 minutes 47 seconds (2 discs)
GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION - INSTRUMENTAL
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE CHOICE
HELSINGIN SANNOMAT DISC OF THE YEAR 2007 (Finland)
‘They're among [Medtner's] characteristic utterances and include many of his finest inspirations. Some are simply masterpieces … it's excellent to have a complete collection from Hamish Milne, on ...
‘From the very first of these skazki ('tales'), I was hooked. Much of this is to do with the advocacy of Hamish Milne, who has already recorded some of this repertoire for the CRD label, is regarded b ...
‘This is a major, important release … Milne has been recording Medtner for quite some time now … and his detailed and very well written booklet notes are on the same high level as his pianis ...