Medtner: Geweihter Platz Complete Songs, Vol. 5

Featuring

Ekaterina Levental
Frank Peters
Nikolai Medtner

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Critical Reception

During Medtner's lifetime, his songs were considered challenging due to their demanding piano parts, which contributed to his lesser fame and popularity.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Medtner's compositions are noted for their architectural construction and form, demonstrating his mastery in relating themes, motifs, rhythm, and harmony.

Historical Context

Medtner's Opus 19 and Opus 19a, five songs based on poems by Nietzsche, were excluded from the 1961 complete edition of his works because the philosopher was censored in the Soviet Union during the 1950s and 1960s.

Composer Biography

Nikolai Medtner, the composer, became an immigrant in 1921, fleeing the political regime of his time.

Compositional Technique

The Sonata-Vocalise, Op. 41 No. 1, is a wordless piece where the singer uses only vocals, allowing it to be performed as a sonata for piano and violin or another instrument.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Medtner believed that eternity is the most important theme of art, stating, "You cannot invent eternity, eternity is bigger than us. You can only discover it for yourself."

Historical Context

Medtner's complete archive was transferred to the State Central Museum of Musical Culture in Moscow in 1958 by his widow, Anna, leading to a 12-volume publication in his homeland in 1961.