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Debussy, Chopin, Mussorgsky / Behzod Abduraimov
Alpha

Debussy, Chopin, Mussorgsky / Behzod Abduraimov

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Details

Composer
CHOPIN DEBUSSY MUSSORGSKY
Artist
Behzod Abduraimov
Format
CD
Label
Alpha
Released
Jan 08, 2021
Catalog #
ALPHA653
UPC
3760014196539

About

Behzod Abduraimov joins Alpha for several recordings, starting with this ‘kaleidoscope of miniatures’ – miniatures that are in fact fairly gigantic, and showcase the Uzbek pianist’s extreme virtuosity and sensitivity. ‘Each movement is in itself a miniature, and taken together they form a kaleidoscope of human emotions and images of all kinds,’ says Behzod Abduraimov. In his view, the pieces in Debussy’s Children’s Corner are not intended for young piano students, but ‘for adults, so that they can immerse themselves in the world of children with a little nostalgia and a lot of humor.’ When it comes to Chopin, ‘each prelude has a different musical essence, creates its own atmosphere. Together they form an arc spanning the distance from the first prelude to the last. So I tried to consider them as a whole.’ Finally, Mussorgsky evokes in ten highly expressive movements the paintings at an exhibition held in posthumous tribute to his friend Viktor Hartmann. A ‘Promenade’ heard several times suggests Mussorgsky himself strolling through the exhibition. For Behzod Abduraimov, the “Promenades” play a key role in this cycle: they create the atmosphere before each painting.

REVIEW:

Each of the three works that Behzod Abduraimov presents in this program consists of small, strongly individual pieces that ultimately add up to more than the sum of their parts. Abduraimov’s impressive interpretations bear this out; he manages to tap into each piece’s character, while unifying them by way of timing and carefully thought out tempo relationships.

In Debussy’s Children’s Corner, for example, the pianist’s measured pace allows breathing room to his distinctions between legato and detached articulation. The foreground and background components emerge in clear and consistent perspective throughout Jimbo’s Lullaby and Serenade for the Doll, while the clipped phrasing of Golliwog’s Cakewalk conveys more bite and rhythmic spring than usual.

Even in a catalog awash with distinctive Chopin Preludes cycles, Abduraimov’s stellar technique, intelligent musicianship, and feeling for nuance stand out. Note No. 3’s alluringly shaded left-hand runs, No. 5’s cross-rhythmic definition, and the crystalline shimmer of No. 8’s busy textures. Abduraimov’s fleet poise in virtuoso showpieces like Nos. 16, 19, 22, and 24 veer closer to the classicism of Pollini’s 1974 traversal than to the improvisatory Argerich or Arrau’s epic dynamism.

A few textual observations: Unlike Pollini, who executes No. 9’s controversial dotted eighth- and 16th-note pattern to conform to the accompanying triplet, Abduraimov plays it as written. However, like Pollini (as well as Alfred Cortot and Ivan Moravec), Abduraimov favors the “traditional” E-natural on the final beat of No. 20’s third measure, rather than the “controversial” Urtext E-flat that Arrau, Rudolf Serkin, and Alexandre Tharaud prefer.

If anything, Abduraimov opens himself more to the inherent drama in Mussorgsky’s Pictures, yet without doing violence to the music. It’s true that the pianist reinforces octaves here and there, and adds effective right-hand tremolos to Gnomus, yet such emendations enhance rather than distract from Mussorgsky’s intentions. Abduraimov’s steady tread in the Promenades allows the music’s asymmetry to speak for itself. He takes his time over Bydlo’s oxcart ostinatos, yet never drags, and eschews the capricious and cutesy tempo changes that younger pianists deem necessary in the Unhatched Chicks Ballet.

The repeated notes of Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuÿle are as perfectly aligned and voiced as the rapid alternating chords of the Limoges Marketplace coda. And to hear how one can produce massively resonating sonorities without banging, check out The Great Gate at Kiev’s climactic pages. Debussy, Chopin, and Mussorgsky add up to a triumphant triumvirate in Abduraimov’s hands, together with Alpha’s first-class engineering.

– ClassicsToday.com (10/10; Jed Distler)

Tracklist 44 tracks

  1. 1 I. Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum 02:13
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum
    Duration
    02:13
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  2. 2 II. Jimbo's Lullaby 03:23
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Jimbo's Lullaby
    Duration
    03:23
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  3. 3 III. Serenade for a Doll 02:20
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Serenade for a Doll
    Duration
    02:20
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  4. 4 IV. The Snow is Dancing 02:28
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. The Snow is Dancing
    Duration
    02:28
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  5. 5 V. The Little Shepherd 02:30
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. The Little Shepherd
    Duration
    02:30
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  6. 6 VI. Golliwogg's Cake-Walk 02:58
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Golliwogg's Cake-Walk
    Duration
    02:58
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  7. 7 No. 1 in C Major 00:37
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 1 in C Major
    Duration
    00:37
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  8. 8 No. 2 in A Minor 02:13
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 2 in A Minor
    Duration
    02:13
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  9. 9 No. 3 in G Major 00:51
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 3 in G Major
    Duration
    00:51
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  10. 10 No. 4 in E Minor 01:54
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 4 in E Minor
    Duration
    01:54
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  11. 11 No. 5 in D Major 00:34
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 5 in D Major
    Duration
    00:34
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  12. 12 No. 6 in B Minor 01:50
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 6 in B Minor
    Duration
    01:50
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  13. 13 No. 7 in A Major 00:35
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 7 in A Major
    Duration
    00:35
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  14. 14 No. 8 in F-Sharp Minor 01:40
    Track
    14
    Title
    No. 8 in F-Sharp Minor
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  15. 15 No. 9 in E Major 01:21
    Track
    15
    Title
    No. 9 in E Major
    Duration
    01:21
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  16. 16 No. 10 in C-Sharp Minor 00:33
    Track
    16
    Title
    No. 10 in C-Sharp Minor
    Duration
    00:33
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  17. 17 No. 11 in B Major 00:33
    Track
    17
    Title
    No. 11 in B Major
    Duration
    00:33
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  18. 18 No. 12 in G-Sharp Minor 01:11
    Track
    18
    Title
    No. 12 in G-Sharp Minor
    Duration
    01:11
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  19. 19 No. 13 in F-Sharp Major 02:56
    Track
    19
    Title
    No. 13 in F-Sharp Major
    Duration
    02:56
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  20. 20 No. 14 in E-Flat Minor 00:28
    Track
    20
    Title
    No. 14 in E-Flat Minor
    Duration
    00:28
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  21. 21 No. 15 in D-Flat Major, "Raindrop" 05:24
    Track
    21
    Title
    No. 15 in D-Flat Major, "Raindrop"
    Duration
    05:24
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  22. 22 No. 16 in B-Flat Minor 01:01
    Track
    22
    Title
    No. 16 in B-Flat Minor
    Duration
    01:01
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  23. 23 No. 17 in A-Flat Major 03:12
    Track
    23
    Title
    No. 17 in A-Flat Major
    Duration
    03:12
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  24. 24 No. 18 in F Minor 00:54
    Track
    24
    Title
    No. 18 in F Minor
    Duration
    00:54
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  25. 25 No. 19 in E-Flat Major 01:17
    Track
    25
    Title
    No. 19 in E-Flat Major
    Duration
    01:17
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  26. 26 No. 20 in C Minor 01:39
    Track
    26
    Title
    No. 20 in C Minor
    Duration
    01:39
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  27. 27 No. 21 in B-Flat Major 01:45
    Track
    27
    Title
    No. 21 in B-Flat Major
    Duration
    01:45
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  28. 28 No. 22 in G Minor 00:43
    Track
    28
    Title
    No. 22 in G Minor
    Duration
    00:43
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  29. 29 No. 23 in F Major 00:56
    Track
    29
    Title
    No. 23 in F Major
    Duration
    00:56
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  30. 30 No. 24 in D Minor 02:24
    Track
    30
    Title
    No. 24 in D Minor
    Duration
    02:24
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  31. 31 Promenade 01:25
    Track
    31
    Title
    Promenade
    Duration
    01:25
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  32. 32 I. Gnomus 02:32
    Track
    32
    Title
    I. Gnomus
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  33. 33 Promenade 00:50
    Track
    33
    Title
    Promenade
    Duration
    00:50
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  34. 34 II. Old Castle 04:28
    Track
    34
    Title
    II. Old Castle
    Duration
    04:28
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  35. 35 Promenade 00:28
    Track
    35
    Title
    Promenade
    Duration
    00:28
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  36. 36 III. Tuileries 01:02
    Track
    36
    Title
    III. Tuileries
    Duration
    01:02
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  37. 37 IV. Bydlo 03:05
    Track
    37
    Title
    IV. Bydlo
    Duration
    03:05
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  38. 38 Promenade 00:45
    Track
    38
    Title
    Promenade
    Duration
    00:45
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  39. 39 V. Ballet of the Chickens in their Shells 01:08
    Track
    39
    Title
    V. Ballet of the Chickens in their Shells
    Duration
    01:08
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  40. 40 VI. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle 02:33
    Track
    40
    Title
    VI. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle
    Duration
    02:33
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  41. 41 VII. The Market-Place at Limoges 01:20
    Track
    41
    Title
    VII. The Market-Place at Limoges
    Duration
    01:20
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  42. 42 VIII. Catacombae (Sepulcrum romanum) 03:47
    Track
    42
    Title
    VIII. Catacombae (Sepulcrum romanum)
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  43. 43 IX. The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba-Yaga) 03:13
    Track
    43
    Title
    IX. The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba-Yaga)
    Duration
    03:13
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov
  44. 44 X. The Great Gate at Kiev 04:49
    Track
    44
    Title
    X. The Great Gate at Kiev
    Duration
    04:49
    Composer
    Modest Mussorgsky
    Performer
    Behzod Abduraimov