Medtner: Sleeplessness - Complete Songs, Vol. 2 / Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

$18.99
Label
Brilliant Classics
Release Date
February 12, 2021
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      MEDTNER, NIKOLAI
    • PERFORMER
      Levental, Peters
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      February 12, 2021
    • UPC
      5028421960616
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      BRI96061
    • LABEL
      Brilliant Classics
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Classical
    Works ⌄

    1. No. 1. Ekho (Echo)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    2. No. 2. Retrospect

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    3. No. 3. Message

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    4. No. 4. Ya vas lyubil (I loved thee well)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    5. No. 5. Mogu l' zabit'eto sladkoye mgnoven'ye (The Waltz)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    6. No. 6. Mechtatelyu (To a Dreamer)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    7. No. 1. Angel (The Angel)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    8. No. 2. Tsvetok (The Flower)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    9. No. 3. Lish' rozï uvyadayut (When roses fade)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    10. No. 4. Ispanskiy romans (Spanish Romance)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    11. No. 5. Noch' (Night)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    12. No. 6. Arion (Arion)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    13. No. 1. Bessonnitsa (Sleeplessness)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    14. No. 2. Slyozï (Tears)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    15. No. 3. Impromptu

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    16. No. 4. Val's (The Waltz)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    17. No. 5. O chyom tï voyesh', vetr nochnoy (Night Wind)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    18. No. 1. Elegiya (Elegy)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    19. No. 2. Telega zhizni (The Wagon of Life)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    20. No. 3. Pesn' nochi (Night Song)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters

    21. No. 4. Nash vek (Our Time)

      Composer: Nikolai Medtner

      Performer: Ekaterina Levental, Frank Peters


The first volume in this project, undertaken with missionary zeal by both singer and pianist, to rescue Medtner’s song output from obscurity, was met with enthusiasm in the Dutch press. ‘The melancholy, autumnal atmosphere evokes Tsarist Russia, of which the once Uzbek but long Dutch-resident Ekaterina Levental has perfectly captured the spirit. Her smooth singing is a joy to listen to.’ (Opus Klassiek) Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951) was a Russian (with German roots) who lived outside the Soviet Union from 1921 and lived in London from 1936 until his death. He was a good friend of Rachmaninov and composed in a related style, with a hint of Scriabin here and there. His work dates from ‘the long 19th century’, ignoring the current of contemporary modernism; he continued to compose in a late romantic, tonal style until his last breath. Yet his music sings with its own voice. Medtner, a considerable virtuoso, wrote sonatas and concertos that place great demands on the pianist, at first glance rhapsodic in form but hiding considerable formal sophistication. Seventy years and more after his death, Medtner no longer seems behind the times; his music may be enjoyed on its own terms, and a renaissance in his appreciation began around 30 years ago, but it was focused on the big sonatas and concertos. The pronounced narrative character of his music is perhaps best appreciated in the shorter piano pieces such as the Skazki ('fairy tales'). It is these pieces to which Medtner’s songs are most related.