CD Review: Ukrainian Piano Quintets (Bogdana Pivnenko. violin, etc) Naxos 8.579098

Ukrainian composers have gradually been achieving wider international recognition through several notable recordings in recent years, several on the Naxos label. Two composers who have fared particularly well in this regard are Boris Mikolayovich Lyatoshynsky and Valentin Silvestrov.

Boris Lyatoshynsky (1895–1968) is often considered the father of Ukrainian music. That said, he often found influences in western composers and forms that were brought to bear on his writing. The Ukrainian Quintet, dating from 1942, is certainly expansive at over forty minutes’ duration, but it is also an extrovert and emotional one. There is a sombre intensity to the first movement that is realised through an uncompromising approach in the instrumentalists’ playing. Sensitivity is not the primary quality here, but it is more evident in the second movement. Forming the heart of the piece, the writing affords each of the musicians to shine individually. The violins of Bogdana Pivnenko and Taras Yaropud are bright and incisive, Kateryna Suprun’s viola provides warmth in the mid-range, whilst Yurii Pogoretskyi’s cello grounds the strings and provides much character. Iryna Starodub’s pianism is superbly musical and partners the strings with unassuming confidence. Much of the last two movements consist of writing that has a direct, even confrontational character. The third movement scurries along in trenchantly hushed tones before turning more towards dance-like forms. The various instrumental dialogues that make up the final movement are uncompromising scored, yet they are realised with a sense of atmosphere from the players that leaves one in no doubt that this is music of deep personal meaning which has been lived with for many years.

Valentin Silvestrov (born 1937) dedicated his Piano Quintet, written in 1961, to Boris Lyatoshynsky. Written at a time when Silvestrov was starting to pursue a modernist path in reaction to the Socialist realism imposed upon Ukrainian composition in the period of Stalinist occupation, it is a work that is at once powerful yet restrained. The opening movement, Prelude, is sombre and if not a little ironic in outlook. The second movement Fugue is an impetuous allegro that is initially carried along by the piano whilst the strings weave lines of contrast around and alongside it. The finale has a somewhat elusive character, with its music pared back to the extreme: solo violin and cello parts dominate, albeit in their restraint, alongside the brooding piano.

Victoria Poleva (born 1962) has written in a style called ‘sacred minimalism’ since the late 1990s. Her Simurgh-quintet, written in 2000 and revised in 2020, has a three movements-in-one structure. Her piano quintet provides a significant contrast to much of the music in the other two works on this recording. Of its compact form of 17’45”, the first 12’55” is a mysterious sequence of string textures played at a mezzo-piano or piano dynamic marking laid over minimal chords and repeated notes on the piano. The effect is somewhat meditative with its sense of calm introspection. The middle section coalesces around a growing sense of dynamic intensity that builds inexorably towards an emotional climax, after which the dynamic recedes into a manner that echoes the quintet’s opening. There are qualities in the execution of this recording that make this an immediately impressive listening experience. Listen to the precision with which the sonorities are unobtrusively blended between the individual string parts and in combination with the piano. Or the delight with which tonalities shift and merge with the glissandi, which are playfully realised.

The recording quality of this Naxos release is excellent, faithful and atmospheric. Richard Whitehouse’s introductory liner notes are up to his customary high standard. If you are looking for some interesting chamber repertoire off the beaten track in superbly played performances at a great price, then look no further.

CD Review: Callaerts / Ryelandt piano trios (Ryelandt Trio) Etcetera KTC1730

There are several notable Belgian piano trios in the repertoire, such as those by César Franck, written in the early to mid-nineteenth century, and those by Joseph Jongen and Guillaume Lekeu, written in the closing decade of the century. The single piano trio by Joseph Callaerts (1838-1901) dates from 1892, whilst the two works for the genre by Joseph Ryelandt (1870-1965) are from 1915 and 1944.

Joseph Callaerts’ was for much of his working life the organist at the cathedral in Antwerp, the city of his birth. Unsurprising, organ compositions form the bulk of his output, alongside some piano and chamber pieces. The piano trio was awarded a prize by the Belgian Royal Academy, but after some popularity fell from public view after the composer’s death. This world premiere recording of the work finally brings it to modern audience. What an imposing piece it is, too.  Cast in four movements, each around five minutes’ duration, it is very much in the late Romantic mould. The opening movement begins with a smouldering intent of the intricately written pages that flow from the initial thematic ideas. The second movement lives up to its cantabile marking, as it proves to be a lyrical outpouring of some delicacy. The third movement scherzo is in a somewhat jocular vein, whilst tensions are brought to a head in the energetic finale. I find the Ryelandt Trio’s performance a totally compelling one. Their use of period instruments achieves a textural blend that is most beguiling in the second and third movements. Pieter-Jan Verhoyen’s playing of the 1898 Erard concert grand anchors the entire performance, whilst the glowing tone of Pieter-Jan De Smet’s 1725 Ambroise de Combie cello provides unobtrusive warmth against the elegant tone of Jeroen De Beer’s 1805 Pique violin.

Joseph Ryelandt’s two trios date from 1915 and 1944 respectively. The first trio, written during his confinement to Bruges during the First World War, has two movements, but each is substantial. The opening Allegro con moto movement has a nervous character initially, from which more passionate emotions emerge at length. It is in these later passages that the trio really takes flight, but the players of the Ryelandt Trio are evidentially masters at sustaining a musical argument convincingly throughout its many ebbs and flows. The second movement Andante embodies the ambiance of profound romance, delightfully played by violin and piano before the cello enters and a set of variations ensue.

Ryelandt’s second trio is more conventionally written in three movements. The opening movement, a rolling Allegro, shows a comfort with the trio form that perhaps was occasionally missing from Ryelandt’s first trio. The middle movement Largo is the heart of the piece and it very much wears its heart on its sleeve: the Trio bring out the contrasting emotions with winning candour and ease of expression in their fluent phrasing. The forthright final movement concludes the trio in relatively short order, yet with a careful ear for sonority throughout.

Ryelandt’s slender three-minute Canon en Trio, op.70, written for his eldest three children in 1918, is presented almost as a coda to the three major works on this recording. Not musically challenging, the simplicity of the interwoven lines in this gentle Andante movement draws this release to a comforting conclusion.

The recording is admirably clear with a sense of space around the instruments, which allows the individual sonorities to blend beautifully. The liner note by David Vergauwen usefully sets the scene regarding both composers and the works performed, however the lack of a structural analysis of Ryelandt’s second trio – only a brief performance history is given – might be something of an omission when a structural overview is provided for the other pieces.

Following listening to this release, I am tempted to explore Ryelandt’s instrumental writing further – another Etcetera label release featuring the Terra Nova Collective or a volume on Toccata Classics featuring the De la Haye Ensemble would seem good places to start, particularly as they do not duplicate the recorded repertoire. For now, though, the present release of piano trios proves more than worthy of repeated listening.