Nápravník & Blumenfeld: Works for Piano & Orchestra (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 37)

Featuring

Alexander Titov
Evgeny Soifertis
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Eduard Nápravník
Felix Blumenfeld

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Composer Biography

Nápravník conducted the premieres of over eighty Russian operas, working closely with composers like Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Balakirev, Cui, Anton Rubinstein, and Tchaikovsky.

Composer Biography

Eduard Nápravník, a Czech-born conductor and composer, played a historic role in Russian music, becoming chief conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg at age 30.

Composition History

Nápravník's Concerto symphonique in A minor Op 27 was composed in 1877 at the suggestion of Leschetitsky, the teacher of legendary pianist Anna Esipova, who gave its first performance.

Critical Reception

Igor Stravinsky, in his 1935 autobiography, praised Nápravník as the ideal conductor, highlighting his rigor, discipline, and mastery.

Composer Biography

Felix Blumenfeld was a versatile musician, excelling as a composer, conductor, pianist, and teacher, and was highly praised by Paderewski and Anton Rubinstein.

Compositional Technique

Nápravník's Fantaisie russe in B minor Op 39 is based on three Russian folk tunes, beginning with 'The Volga Boatmen'.

Compositional Technique

The opening of Nápravník's Concerto symphonique features four mighty A minor chords, a gesture clearly owing a debt to the 'Dies irae' from Verdi's Requiem.