1.   Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 61 00:22:59

Symphony No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 12
2.   I. Andantino 00:13:12
3.   II. Andante sostenuto 00:10:08
4.   III. Scherzo: Allegretto vivace 00:08:16
5.   IV. Finale: Allegro molto 00:09:31

Maxim Fedotov – violin
Russian Philharmonic Orchestra
Dmitry Yablonsky - conductor

Only last issue I waxed ecstatic about Yablonsky’s recording of Liapounov’s piano concertos and Ukrainian Rhapsody with Shorena Tsintsabadze, and already we have a splendid follow-up that will surely be welcomed by lovers of lush Russian music. Here is the heart and soul of Mother Russia writ large and played with great gusto and warmth by one of Russia’s foremost orchestras under committed leadership. Neither of these works might be casually dismissed as over-recorded—this is the only account of the Violin Concerto I know of outside of a long deleted monaural Melodiya LP.

Keith Anderson reminds us in his absorbing essay that Liapounov was a generation removed from the earlier nationalist tradition; while he remained close friends with Balakirev, he may have found it difficult to develop an individual musical style with Balakirev looking over his shoulder. Rimsky-Korsakoff found Liapounov quite lacking in originality, sometimes sounding like Balakirev, sometimes like Glazounov. No doubt you’ll hear both of them in the First Symphony. If the sonorous opening motif in the horns suggests the Second Symphony of Glazounov—and before that the Borodin—much of what follows seems as like as two peas to Balakirev’s First Symphony (begun 10 years before the Liapounov and completed ten years after), though the ingenious transformation of the horn motif into the vigorous Allegro is once again akin to the Glazounov. A poignant strain by the bass clarinet does little to abate the torrential energy that surges inexorably to a grand peroration pitting churning strings against the full force of the stentorian low brass—just like the Balakirev.

And we may think of Balakirev in the spacious and expressive cantilena that follows, opening up in the clarinet, effectively warding off the stern pronouncement by the low brass midway in that might be the grumbling of some venerable council of boyars before the strings swelling with optimism restore order—here the Andante of Glazounov’s Fifth Symphony comes to mind. The gossamer Scherzo conjures some Russian fairy revels, and the opening horn motif returns with an almost martial bearing. A yearning strain is introduced by the horn that Liapounov works up to grand effect before the mood brightens, closing out in triumph as Glazounov did so brilliantly in his later symphonies.

This is robust and hearty fare, and Yablonsky gives the symphony a big sloppy Russian bear hug worthy of his mentor Rostropovich, lavishing great affection and warmth on this often sprawling essay that in lesser hands could very easily come undone. Aided by warm, expressive playing from the strings—with spacious sonics to match—Yablonsky marshals the full force of the Russian low brass where called for. The unhurried, deeply felt Andante, here a true sostenuto, almost steals the show.

The Violin Concerto—written nearly 30 years after the symphony—clearly reinvents the one Glazounov composed nine years earlier. If anything, Liapounov summons more sinew than Glazounov, whose endless flow of melody begins to cloy after a while; but for all his energetic effort and warmth of expression he must yield to his esteemed colleague in the closing pages—they cannot match Glazounov’s highly effective “Red Square” finale. And the extended cadenza near the end—some four minutes in this performance—all but brings the festivities to a halt. Maxim Fedotov here seems entirely in his element and is warmly supported by the Russian players. They may well persuade you that this is one of the great Russian concertos. And Fedotov redeems the composer’s seemingly interminable cadenza with an impassioned, hair-trigger display that will have you hanging on every note. ---Steven J Haller, naxos.com

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1. Allegro maestoso 	10:53 	
2. Scherzo. Allegro vivace 	5:12		play
3. Nocturne 	12:28
4. Finale. Allegro risoluto 	8:59

Performers:
- John Thwaites - piano
- Leon Bosch – double bass
- Dante Quartet

Sergei Lyapunov, a Russian composer and pianist, who was born in 1850 and died in 1924.

This Piano Sextet is a significant chamber music work of Lyapunov’s composition library. It was composed in 1915 and later revised in 1921. In 1893, when Lyapunov was still a professor of piano at the Petersburg Conservatory, he was commissioned to collect folksongs from the northern provinces of the Russian empire, together with Liadov and Balakirev. Other piano sextets of similar instrumentations include Mendelssohn and Glinka’s sextets. This sextet was composed in four distinct movements, and it’s scored for piano, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass.

Allegro mastoso, the first movement that is big and impressive. It begins with a loud impact. The first theme appears as a light-hearted folk melody but the music soon develops itself into one which is of much emotional intensity before the arrival of the second theme.

The second movement Scherzo, allegro vivace is sparkling and jovial, and it fully exhibits the contrast with the beautifully flowing but slow movement that comes next.

The third movement Nocturne, is slow, sensuous and soulful. It is also beautifully flowing and extremely romantic. It was utterly moving at the point when the other instruments reached out to fetch the charming solo cello.

The finale, Allegro risoluto, The coda had cast a generally strong impact with both themes battling out for domination. The powerful rhythm is aggressive, yet impressive. ---Boon Sin Ler

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1. Andantino – Allegro con spirito
2. Andante sostenuto
3. Scherzo – Allegretto vivace   	play
4. Finale – Allegro molto

USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra
Evgeniy Svetlanov – conductor

The first of Lyapunov’s two symphonies is a grand essay in the late Russian Romantic mould, a youthful yet masterful work of great charm and power.

Sergei Lyapunov has always been a shadowy figure, his derivative yet distinctive voice drowned by his more celebrated compatriots and even by his contemporaries Taneyev, Liadov and Arensky. Yet hearing the First Symphony in a performance of this calibre you're reminded of the way Lyapunov's melodic appeal is complemented by brilliant craftsmanship.

The opening motif is sufficiently brief to invite elaboration and to play a key role in music as coherent as it's heartfelt. The chromatic undertow as the music eases into the poco più tranquillo, its mix of sweetness and unrest looks ahead to Rachmaninov's Second Symphony, and if the themes are less memorable than in that towering Romantic masterpiece they're marshalled and directed with great compositional skill.

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1. Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat minor, Op. 4 	22:16
2. Piano Concerto No. 2 in E major, Op. 38 	19:27
3. Rhapsody on Ukrainian Themes, Op. 28 	16:35

Shorena Tsintsabadze - Piano
Russian Philharmonic Orchestra
Dmitry Yablonsky – Conductor

This premiere recording by pianist Shorena Tsintsabadze includes the complete concerted piano works of Sergey Lyapunov. Lyapunov is certainly not one of the better-known or more imaginative Russian Romantics, but for those who are fascinated by the composers known as the "Mighty Handful" and their compatriots and followers, Lyapunov is a figure of interest. He was greatly influenced by Mily Balakirev, who provided Lyapunov with a good deal of advice on the composition of the Piano Concerto No. 1. Balakirev became the dedicatee of the work and also conducted its premiere in 1891. The two opening themes of the single-movement concerto -- one stern, one pastoral -- are unmistakably Russian. The piano writing in all three of these works shows the virtuosic legacy of Liszt, who was the teacher of one of Lyapunov's piano instructors. The Second Piano Concerto (1909), also a single movement, has proven slightly more popular than the first (this is only the second commercial recording of the Piano Concerto No. 1). It begins slowly, sounding more like the middle movement of a large, three-movement Russian concerto, but then moves into more rhapsodic and dramatic material.

The Rhapsody on Ukrainian Themes will appeal particularly to listeners who enjoy Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture and Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia. It has a similarly spring-like freshness and joyfulness to it, complete with prominent roles for the tambourine and triangle in the central episode of its rondo structure. (The recording's sound is extremely well-balanced among all the instruments.) Tsintsabadze and conductor Dmitry Yablonsky comport themselves skillfully and expressively in all three pieces, although there occasionally is the feeling that they need just a little more nuanced phrasing and shaping to satisfy those who revel in the passion of the Romantics. In the latter half of the Rhapsody there is a point where everyone's energy seems to flatten out a tad, which could have been exploited as a more sweeping change of demeanor in the music. Nonetheless, Tsintsabadze is certainly a very capable pianist, sounding as if she can handle the bigger Romantic concertos, and she effectively demonstrates where Lyapunov's concertos fall in the history of Russian music. --- Patsy Morita, Rovi

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