Medtner afficianadoes

[Steve B]

Why does the music of Medtner intrigue his followers so much; your ideas please
To me, it is
elusive but
haunting
indivisibility of harmony, melody and (in piano concerti) instrumentation
I am being possibly a bit lazy re this, but i get the feelings themes re-appear throughout various works; can anyone confirm/deny this ?
the themes appear through the mists of filigree then disappear
it is passionate but somehow slightly cool, though Ponti makes PC 3 ALL overt passion in an endless almost seemless flow of melody
What is wrong with Adam Pellegi?; he has not Ponti's frenzy and passion or Svetlanov's extreme dynamic contrasts but he conveys that endless flow(soemtimes whirlwind, literally in the "Winter Wind "Sonata) that is Medtner's piano and orchestral writing

I find this music almost addictive, in a good way. I find it some of the most heartwarming but, strangely and paradoxically, some (at times) of the most aloof music i know.
Where does Sonata idyllica fit into all this; it is the epitome of simplicity of melodic line; perhaps if i tried to play it myself i would not feel this (Although this thread is primarily addressed to converts, anyone interested in this complex , entrancing music could, IMHO, do no better than start with the Sonata idyllica)
Views please:)
Steve Benson

[eschiss1]

Some of his ideas definitely reappear between works-
A theme from the song "The Muse" appears in the piano sonata "Ballade" and in the piano quintet, both begun at about the same time... the piano quintet also seems to contain a quote from another lovely (I say ) Pushkin song Medtner recorded for EMI/Capitol late in life as he did "The Muse", namely "Wo ist die Rose"...  (EMI once had a CD in their composers-in-person series with these two songs with Medtner at the piano, among many other works, a treasurable program in my honest opinion.)

A brief piano miniature "Paladin" (I think) has the same thematic material as one of the bridge passages (dit dit ditdadada ) -- hrm, hard to write out, that- leads to the same thing a fifth higher, though!- first starting on a repeated G (as the 3 of E-flat major - so - G G G FFFF...) I think, then on D (Bflat), then A-flat (F minor)  ... -

anyhow, as a bridge passage in the first movement of the 2nd piano concerto (as I discovered when listening to Milne's recording that contains the former work)

[TerraEpon]

I do quite enjoy Medtner, and as it happens, a new 2CD set of 'misc' works is coming out in a couple months, on Hyperion and unsurprisingly recorded by Hamish Milne...
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67851/2&vw=dc

[eschiss1]

Hrm, some of this music does seem to have been in Milne's earlier CRD set but not the same exact music or compilation, and I see that this was recorded in late 2010-2011. Thanks for pointing this out!