Russian Originals, De- and Re-Edited

[adriano]

https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520268067/on-russian-music

There is a really "hot" article in Richard Taruskin's highly recommendable book "On Russian Music", exposing the "musicologist's frauds" connected to that 1998 3CD Schwann box "Tchaikovsky - The Four Piano Concertos etc. Unabridged Original Versions". I remember we mentioned it in one of our earlier postings. Taruskin also criticizes conductor Fedoseyev in general - and also the booklet authors.

This is an incredible source and contribution - a really challenging and exciting book. I discover it only now and, I must say, it's about time such discussable enterprises are unveiled. In another chapter, Taruskin also questions many statements in Davis Brown's Tchaikovsky biography (including the eternal discussions on the composer's real death). The book contains 36 articles and has 407 pages.

Anyone in this forum wanting to know more, can write me a message. For copyright reasons I do not dare to reproduce this 12-page article in here.

[Christopher]

I bought that boxset.....what was the fraud?

[adriano]

@christopher: this can be found out in the mentioned article. It would need a lot of time to explain everything in here - and there is no better authority than the author.

[Alan Howe]

It'd be good to know the bare bones, though...

[Alan Howe]

I'm assuming this is the set concerned:



https://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Piano-Concertos-Bohemian-Melodies/dp/B00000G4MN

...from the Amazon blurb:
You can almost hear the sound of axes grinding behind this music. If you have the patience to read all four booklets accompanying this three-disc set, you will learn that many villains have conspired to prevent us from hearing Tchaikovsky's music as he wrote it (including his faithful pupil Sergei Taneyev, who orchestrated the last two movements of the Third Piano Concerto.) As for the "Unabridged Original Version" offered here, careful listening and reading reveal that three small passages have been "restored" to the First and Second Concertos--nothing of any consequence. The reason they last so long (40 minutes for the First, 52 and a half for the Second) is that Hoteev feels virtuosity doesn't suit Tchaikovsky's music. His slow tempos do change the emphasis of the music toward lyricism, although many listeners may find they make the concertos interminable. You can debate forever Tchaikovsky's contribution to Bohemian Melodies, which first appeared as the work of Sophie Menter. (Liszt also helped out with this piece; another version is included in Hyperion's Liszt Edition.) Its main function here is to demonstrate that Hoteev can play with animation and dash when he chooses to. The set concludes with a purported 1890 cylinder recording of the voices of several Russian musicians, including Tchaikovsky--maybe, although it does come with suspiciously complete details, including identification of every voice (how did they know?) and a transcription and translation. --Leslie Gerber

If you follow this link to Richard Taruskin's book, click on the image of the book and then type in 'Fedoseyev' to search inside the book, you'll discover the story Adriano is talking about:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russian-Music-Richard-Taruskin/dp/0520268067/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536751595&sr=1-1&keywords=On+Russian+Music#reader_0520268067

[adriano]

Oh thanks, Alan, I did not know about the possibility of getting "into the book" like this! I offered a scan via Mediafire to persons contacting me - so this becomes unnecessary.

The single CD booklets have liner notes by Eckhard van der Hoogen, who also writes for cpo. I think he will be remembered, not only as very serious, painfully researching musicologist, but also for writing some of the longest booklets in CD history...

[FBerwald]

Dr. E V D Hoogen along with the faithful Susan Marie Praeder, will also be remembered for the migraines suffered by the unsuspecting many who had to go through the CPO booklets of lesser known composers.

[adriano]

I actually should not criticise EVH too loudly, since some of my Fritz Brun analyses are also quite long. But compared to him, I generally remain on earthbound reality and use a more simple style - since I am not a musicologist :-)

[soundwave106]

It appears at this time that you can link to the original New York Times article concerning this as well as the book itself in Google books.

I have not seen this review before, but my thoughts:

A) Richard Taruskin is a well known skeptic on "historically accurate" performances and the "historical accuracy" claims seems the beef of the argument.

B) Though I am far from an academic expert on this sort of thing, I personally share some of the skepticism on just how "historically accurate" you can get. Although I'm sure musicologists try their best, in the end, it is my view that some sort of interpretation and extrapolation will have to be made due to details lost in the passage of time, and the messiness history often is.

C) The New York Times review Mr. Taruskin wrote nonetheless throws around a few details (such as an IMHO unnecessary slights on the folk music background of Mr. Fedoseyev, and overplaying antisemitism on "the Bruckner problem") that in my opinion undermine his core arguments with a whiff of over-pompous arrogance.

[adriano]

I agree with you, soundwave106, as far as the "boulevard" details of Taruskin's article re concerned - but at the same time I feel satisfied, since I knew two Russian musicians who had been fired by Fedo: I know also that his wife (and agent) is well connected and that she practically "made him". I witnessed three operas Fedoseyev was invited to conduct in Zurich (Verdi's Otello, Massenet's Don Quichotte and Dvorak's Rusalka), revealing that he had no idea of this kind of repertoire and that he came over unprepared. But this miscasting was a mistake by Alexander Pereira - but we all knew what was going to happen... It was painful for all of us involved (singers and players) to have him conducting these pieces. Imagine Ruggero Raimondi (as Jago and as Don Quichotte) having to deal with such unserious musicianship. As far as the Russain repertoire is concerned (some of which he also conducted in Zurich), Fedo seems having been experienced enough - if not always really inspired :-)

[FBerwald]

Has anyone here actually listened to the recordings and what are "your" opinions on these performances?

[adriano]

I definitely have, FBerwald :-)
Not only I was shocked - and mainly bored. I am sure with another conductor it would have brought to better results.

Hoteev is an excellent pianist for Russian repertoire. There is also a CD with "pure" music by Mussorgsky: "Pictures at an Exhibition" and "Songs and Dances of Death", in which he accompanies Elena Pankratova.
https://www.amazon.de/Pure-Mussorgsky-Andrej-Hoteev/dp/B00LVANGHW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music-classical&ie=UTF8&qid=1536759663&sr=1-1&keywords=hoteev+mussorgsky

He also recorded Wagner's complete songs and piano works on the Hänssler Classics label.
https://www.amazon.de/Declarations-Love-Andrei-Hoteev/dp/B0744QJHL7

His album of Russian songs with Anja Silia (apparently her sole song recital album) is also worth mentioning...
https://www.amazon.de/Russian-Songs-Anja-Silja/dp/B002BANC8Y/ref=sr_1_2?s=music-classical&ie=UTF8&qid=1536759663&sr=1-2&keywords=hoteev+mussorgsky

[Christopher]

Many thanks for all this - very interesting.  I'm glad to have finally read about these Hoteev recordings: I spilled tea on the booklet on the day it arrived 10+ years ago and have never since been able to open it without tearing the paper and rending the text illegible!

[adriano]

Christopher, shall I scan the English translation (pages 12-20) of the booklet and put them on Mediadfire for download? No need to scan also the following photo albums, I suppose...

[Christopher]

Christopher, shall I scan the English translation (pages 12-20) of the booklet and put them on Mediadfire for download? No need to scan also the following photo albums, I suppose...

Hadrianus - that is incredibly kind, thank you very much!