Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Scriabin: Piano Works / Mayron Tsong

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RACHMANINOFF Etudes-tableaux, op. 33: Nos. 1–3. Piano Sonata No. 2. PROKOFIEV Reminiscences. Suggestion diabolique. Sarcasms. SCRIABIN Piano Preludes, op. 11: Nos. 1–3, 5, 9–12, 14–17...


RACHMANINOFF Etudes-tableaux, op. 33: Nos. 1–3. Piano Sonata No. 2. PROKOFIEV Reminiscences. Suggestion diabolique. Sarcasms. SCRIABIN Piano Preludes, op. 11: Nos. 1–3, 5, 9–12, 14–17 • Mayron Tsong (pn) • CENTAUR 2946 (69:06)


This is a remarkable first recital by a pianist completely unknown to me, Dr. Mayron Tsong, a Canadian native who teaches at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. One reason it is remarkable is, naturally, the high quality of her musical conceptions, but the other reason is the completely out-of-center repertoire. Not a single piece on this disc of Russian music is overly familiar or hackneyed; in fact, some of it is very little known, particularly the Rachmaninoff Etudes-tableaux and the two early Prokofiev pieces.


To say that Tsong plays these pieces like a true believer is an understatement. She tears into them as if they’d been coursing through her bloodstream, picking up her emotions and body warmth, for most of her life. This is scarcely the timid first step of a technical wizard not yet a master of her art as, sadly, too many first recital discs are. This is the work of a seasoned veteran (and no, it doesn’t matter to me what her chronological age is, she is a seasoned master to my ears) who has so much to say about music that she scarcely knows where to begin.


Tsong is a genius, plain and simple. Judging by the 69 minutes of this disc, she already ranks with such modern masters as Andsnes, O’Conor, Pollini, Sokolov, and Sheppard, and she nearly eclipses the best of her female rivals, Laredo, McDermott, and Deyanova. This recital will grab you by the collar and not let you go until the final note dies away, and even then you are not released from her spell. A genius? Perhaps more than that; perhaps a wizard. Her performances of the early Scriabin preludes are a touchstone: they sing, they sigh, and exult with a remarkable range of dynamics and expressive devices. Her Rachmaninoff is emotional but not sentimental. Her technique is dazzling, yet subjugated to a controlling intellect and deeply felt sensitivity that removes her from the category “virtuoso” by nature of her long-range artistic vision.


To say I’d like to hear more of Tsong is an understatement. I want to hear her Beethoven, her Mozart, her Stravinsky, her Liszt, her Chopin, in fact anything she chooses to record in the future. I want to hear her in the concertos of Prokofiev, Scriabin, and even Van de Vate. In fact, I wish she could record an entire album of Van de Vate’s best piano pieces. I want to hear her play the Griffes and MacDowell sonatas, Bartók’s Mikrokosmos —you name it. I only hope that this disc gains her enough recognition to inspire such future projects.


The cover of this disc is very unprepossessing, a darkly lit photo of the artist with the plainest of what looks like Times Roman lettering. One would never guess from it the musical passions and subtleties within, so here is another example where the cover does not sell the book. I listened to the entire disc twice before I could even tear myself away long enough to write this review. Grab it while you can.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley


Product Description:

  • Release Date: October 01, 2008


  • UPC: 044747294629


  • Catalog Number: CRC2946


  • Label: Centaur Records


  • Number of Discs: 1


  • Composer: Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninov


  • Performer: Mayron Tsong