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Tchaikovsky: Solo Piano Works / Donohoe
Signum Classics

Tchaikovsky: Solo Piano Works / Donohoe

$27.99 Only 3 left

Details

Composer
TCHAIKOVSKY, PYOTR ILYICH
Artist
Peter Donohoe
Format
CD
Label
Signum Classics
Released
Jan 03, 2020
Catalog #
SIGCD594
UPC
635212059425

About

Tchaikovsky’s contemporaries tell us that he was good enough to become a concert pianist, if he had chosen to follow that path. But he preferred to focus on composition, and rarely performed in public concerts. His interest in the piano is mainly to be found in his many pieces for the instrument, and since most of these were suitable for amateurs with solid skills, they sold well and played an important role in building up his fame. Despite this, some view Tchaikovsky’s solo piano works are not performed as regularly as his orchestral works. Peter Donohoe disagrees with this take on Tchaikovsky’s solo piano works, insisting that all music requires performers to find the right approach, so he does not see Tchaikovsky as any kind of exception. He writes: “It is inexplicable to me that Tchaikovsky’s solo piano music should remain so infrequently performed, containing as it does all of the composer’s characteristic harmony, his wonderful melodic gift, his capacity for majestic gesture, magically beautiful moments, immense sadness, and passages of extreme excitement. His piano writing is often orchestral in texture, but also demonstrates the direct but very diverse pianistic influences of Liszt and Schumann, and incorporates in an almost naive way folk-style dance rhythms and melodies from Russia. This treasure trove is immensely rewarding to play, whether it be a small-scale salon piece such as the Humoresque Op. 10 No 2, or large in scale, such as is the gigantic Grand Sonata in G Major.”



REVIEW:



My instant reaction on pushing ‘play’ and hearing the first bars was ‘Ah – this is going to be good’. And so it proves, perhaps the most consistently enjoyable and satisfying recording of Tchaikovsky piano solos of recent years. There’s a lightness of touch, a crisp transparency and clarity of texture that sends the opening ‘Scherzo à la russe’ spinning off into the realms of sheer delight. A very fine issue indeed.



– Gramophone (Editor's Choice, February 2020)

Tracklist 16 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 No. 1. Scherzo à la russe 06:24
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. Scherzo à la russe
    Duration
    06:24
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  3. 2 No. 2. Impromptu 06:08
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. Impromptu
    Duration
    06:08
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  4. 3 Capriccio in G-Flat Major, Op. 8 05:25
    Track
    3
    Title
    Capriccio in G-Flat Major, Op. 8
    Duration
    05:25
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  5. 4 No. 1. Prelude in G-Sharp Minor 02:03
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 1. Prelude in G-Sharp Minor
    Duration
    02:03
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  6. 5 No. 2. Fugue à 4 voix in G-Sharp Minor 03:06
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 2. Fugue à 4 voix in G-Sharp Minor
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  7. 6 No. 3. Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor 01:53
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 3. Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  8. 7 No. 4. Marche funèbre in A-Flat Minor 05:42
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 4. Marche funèbre in A-Flat Minor
    Duration
    05:42
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  9. 8 No. 5. Mazurque in A-Flat Minor 04:11
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 5. Mazurque in A-Flat Minor
    Duration
    04:11
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  10. 9 No. 6. Scherzo in A-Flat Major 04:50
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 6. Scherzo in A-Flat Major
    Duration
    04:50
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  11. Disc 2
  12. 1 Aveu passionné in E Minor 03:01
    Track
    1
    Title
    Aveu passionné in E Minor
    Duration
    03:01
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  13. 2 I. Moderato e risoluto 11:56
    Track
    2
    Title
    I. Moderato e risoluto
    Duration
    11:56
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  14. 3 II. Andante non troppo quasi moderato 08:50
    Track
    3
    Title
    II. Andante non troppo quasi moderato
    Duration
    08:50
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  15. 4 III. Scherzo: Allegro giocoso 03:20
    Track
    4
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Allegro giocoso
    Duration
    03:20
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  16. 5 IV. Finale: Allegro vivace 06:55
    Track
    5
    Title
    IV. Finale: Allegro vivace
    Duration
    06:55
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  17. 6 2 Morceaux, Op. 10: No. 2. Humoresque in E Minor 02:48
    Track
    6
    Title
    2 Morceaux, Op. 10: No. 2. Humoresque in E Minor
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe
  18. 7 Dumka: Russian rustic scene, Op. 59 08:20
    Track
    7
    Title
    Dumka: Russian rustic scene, Op. 59
    Duration
    08:20
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Peter Donohoe