Medtner reevaluation

[FBerwald]

I am sure that Medtner needs no introduction here. His works seem to be coming up on the concert platform with the 2nd concerto performed in 2014 to a tremendous success by Demidenko. http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/live-reviews/review-russian-extravaganza-queensland-symphony
The 3rd concerto was played by Yakov Kasman on May 20th this year https://www.uab.edu/news/faculty/item/6066-kasman-to-perform-medtner-s-piano-concerto-no-3-with-ukranian-national-symphony-orchestra

It's so nice to hear this unjustly neglected composer getting his dues.

I just found this interesting Lecture / Recital on youtube on Medtner's work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKHfk7GT-Sw

Hopefully his unexplored songs will be taken up by singers soon....

[eschiss1]

Since they're an integral and wonderful part of his output (integral in part since, like many other composers, he quotes his own songs in other, better-known works...) I should hope so.  There are some good recent recital broadcasts of them on YouTube in addition to more and less recent (starting from the ones Medtner made with Schwarzkopf and others) commercial recordings (and of course Medtner.org mentions a recent Cardiff recital of/with his songs, rebroadcast over BBC - perhaps still available there until next month? - too.)

(Ilinskaya's 2011 performance of the 3rd concerto, mentioned on the same news page, can be heard - divided into 2 videos - on YouTube, too.)

(The Medtner songs in Cardiff include the lovely Op.36/3 "When Roses Fade", and 5 others. See BBC iPlayer/Radio 3.)

[adriano]

In my collections I have all those famous Medtner 78s and some extra recordings with Medtner at the piano which were issued later than the 3 sets, which were sponsored by the Maharadjah of Myshore. I have made digital transfers which sound quite nice, not in the style of those frequent noiseless extra-filtered transfers.

[C R Lim]

There was enough material for one, if not two, further volumes of the Medtner Society issues (there were 3 in total).

1. The songs with Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, issued on the Columbia label because of contractual reasons.
Issued on CD on the EMI "Composers in Person" series

2. The Sonata Ballade, Op 27 on 7 x 78 sides, issued separately from the Society volumes.
Issued on CD  on APR5548 - Complete solo piano recordings volume 3

3. The Piano Quintet (his last work), for some reason this has Parlophone matrix numbers  (CTPX), never issued.  The British Library has test pressings of parts 2 - 6 but is missing Part 1. I suspect that this may be in the former Soviet sound archives, having been in the possession of his widow Anna when she returned to Moscow after Nikolai's death.

Still a mystery after 60 years!

4. Further unissued recordings, mostly on the EMI and APR CDs mentioned above.

[adriano]

Thanks, C. R. Lim for your infos
I also have those song recordings with Schwarzkopf and other singers, plus the separately issued piano pieces. Of course, the Quintet is missing in my collection. There is also a Round Dance (piano duet with Benno Moiseivitch)...

[eschiss1]

the Round Dance recording opens the wonderful EMI Composer in Person Medtner CD which a friend was good enough to gift me over a decade back (the medtner.org.uk description of it is -slightly- incomplete; besides songs (including memorable performances of - just for instance - The Rose, When Roses Fade, The Waltz and The Muse) - the Round Dance and skazki it also has a Medtner recording of the Danza Festiva from the Op.38 set...). The presence of -both- the Russian Round Dance and the Danza Festiva has had the (unfortunate?) effect, especially given how often I've just played the EMI disc straight through, of somewhat blurring in my mind the one with the other despite their very many differences.

(As to the Russian Round Dance though, I seem to remember playing, like many a beginning orchestra instrumentalist, simple rounds on nursery tunes that were didactic-boring; how anything-but the Medtner Round is (to the ear; I can't play piano), in my opinion, all the way to and certainly including those wholly characteristic last pages...)

[jerfilm]

Medtner Trivia

This thread got me wondering about Medtner the pianist/composer and how his music was played by other performer in his day.

He was a Duo-Art artist and made at least three reproducing piano rolls of his own music.  Danza Jubilosa, opus 40, Fairy Tales, opus 14 #2 and Forgotten Melodies opus 38 #3.  He was quite the artist. 

He didn't seem to fare too well with his contemporaries at least in the piano roll department.  I perused through about 4000 rolls.  There are no Welte rolls of his music in this collection.  There are no 88 note regular player piano rolls either.  Ampico shows two rolls, not by the most famous pianists of the early 20th century.  Irene Scharrer plays his Arabesque Opus 7 #1 and one Gertrude Huntley plays the Deux Contes.

That's it.   Five rolls, three by the composer himself.   Guess the re evaluation is somewhat overdue.......

Incidentally, I've committed the 5 to mp3 files and would be happy to share them if you are interested.  Send me your email address.....

Jerry
jerfilm@aol.com