Igor Zhukov

[eschiss1]

While the late Igor Zhukov's repertoire was centered around composers and works that are now more or less standard repertoire (usually; some quite rare Tchaikovsky works were part of his regular recording material, it seems) and I'm not sure how often his repertoire was both rare _and_ Romantic-era, he was, it's probably worth noting anyway (since the usual obituary-writers probably don't care anyway, though I'm not sure if many of us do either besides me ) not an insistent trailer in well-worn paths and performer of the-same-thing-over; he can be found for example playing the piano part in Boris Tchaikovsky's cello sonata, and another with him as soloist in Janis Ivanovs' piano concerto... (and more to our point, there's a CD out there of him as soloist in Rimsky-Korsakov's concerto and Balakirev's and Medtner's first piano concertos, a 1993 Mezh. Kniga reissue from 1962 and 1972 LPs, with Alexander Dmitriev and Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducting. Not much admittedly, though now I end up wanting to compare his Medtner with others'... Unfortunately (for us) his contributions to the Danacord Schloss vor Husum series - quite a few - seem to have been almost entirely Tchaikovsky and Scriabin items.)

[herrarte]

I have this Zhukov LP but I don't know if the powers that be here at UC are amiable to my uploading those .mp3 files. If indeed they agree to my sharing, count on my contribution to your musical knowledge.

[Mark Thomas]

Sorry, but if it was a commercially-released LP, then I'm afraid we can't allow posting of mp3s made from it.

[herrarte]

Good thing I asked. Wouldn't want to go against established rules.

[Revilod]

I don't think that anyone else generates quite the electricity that Zhukov does in Medtner's First Concerto but the recording is cavernous. I also have an electrifying account of Tchaikovsky's "Concert Fantasy" (Just about unsung?) on Melodiya/Olympia coupled with Gilels below par in the Piano Concerto No. 2.

[sdtom]

Revilod,
Is this available on CD?

[eschiss1]

it was issued on cd in 1993. amazon streams it/offers it for download as part of a "Russian Piano Concertos" disc.

[Revilod]

 Amazon.co.uk has two secondhand copies of the Medtner/Balakirev/Rimsky-Korsakov disc available, I see...£39 or £118.

[ken]

Here are the CDs I have featuring Zhukov:

MEDTNER - Piano Concerto No. 1 (Igor Zhukov) / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV – Piano Concerto / BALAKIREV – Piano Concerto – USSR Radio & TV Large Symphony Orchestra – Alexander Dmitriev (Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga)

SCRIABIN / NEMTIN - Universe (Mysterium, Prefactory Act) / Symphonic Poem / Fantasy for Piano & Orchestra (Igor Zhukov) - Moscow Radio Chamber Orchestra - Mikhail Yurovsky (Russian Disc)

TCHAIKOVSKY - Piano Concerto No. 1 (Igor Zhukov) / Piano Concerto No. 2 / Piano Concerto No. 3 / Concert Fantasy / Allegro for Piano & Strings – USSR Symphony Orchestra – Gennady Rozhdestvensky (Melodiya) (2 cds)

[Revilod]

Here's Zhukov's Medtner recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMi17U_IbUI

and Balakirev:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mnyue5OObI

and R-K:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0Zf7DCM7BM

[Revilod]

...and here's what is described as Medtner's PC no.1 (in Zhukov's performance) "arranged by Corentin Boissier in the style of the Warsaw Concerto"!. In fact, all it is is a severely truncated version of this great work. What do you make of it?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icKCV3tS1EE

(Mind you this is a difficult concerto to assimilate even though not one note is superfluous and even that great Medtner advocate Boris Berezovsky plays a cut version in concert as a youtube video testifies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--ube6opKjM&t=91s )

[eschiss1]

I'll listen later but that description makes me think of the Marco Polo CD with Adam Fellegi playing Op.38/1 and Op.39/5 in edited versions* (not a fact mentioned in the notes or on the CD) another enterprise which (unless the composer actually did sanction it or maybe even if he did in any of these cases) I wonder why??

*editing that takes an interestingly unusual structure and normalizes it, in the latter case, too...