Violina Petrychenko Champions Ukrainian Masters

Pianist Violina Petrychenko's recording career has been defined by her heritage. The six albums she's released on Ars Production all center around Ukrainian composers. The first five were solo piano recitals. This one's more ambitious. 

Petrychenko is a world-class performer. Her phrasing is wonderfully emotive, and her technique is near-perfection. 

Instead, she chose to celebrate the musical heritage of Ukraine, her home. And Petrychecko's ideally suited to do it. Her playing shows a deep understanding of Ukrainian classical aesthetic. It's an aesthetic that is different from other Eastern European countries (especially Russia). 

This album presents two world premiere recordings. And what wonderful additions to the repertoire they are. Vasyl Barvinsky gained international fame as a pianist and composer. In 1948 he was arrested by the Soviet authorities and sent to a gulag for ten years. During that time, most of his manuscripts were destroyed. 

After his release, Barvinsky tried to reconstruct as many works as possible. But time was against him. He died five years later. The Piano Concerto in F minor is a magnificent post-Romantic masterwork. 

The gestures are broad, and the orchestration is sweeping. And yet this is a tightly focused work, running only 20 minutes. Barvinsky doesn't waste a note and uses the piano to telling effect. 

Viktor Kosenko lived and worked primarily in Kyiv. He was interested in Ukrainian folk music, which did not sit well with the Soviets. As a result, he was forced to live in a state-provided apartment in abject poverty. 

Nevertheless his compositions are among the most treasured of the Ukrainian repertoire. His 1928 Piano Concerto in C minor is a gorgeous work. It compares favorably to Rachmaninoff's concertos -- big themes, memorable melodies, and glittering piano artistry.

Petrychenko, the Lviv National Symphony, and Volodymyr Syvokhip serve their countrymen well. These are stirring performances, driven by real passion. I'll be revisiting this release many times.

Ukrainian Piano Concertos
Vasyl Barvinsky; Viktor Kosenko
Violina Petrychenko, piano
Lviv National Philharmonic orchestra; Voldymyr Syvokhip, conductor
Ars Production 260052

The Timeless Sequences of the Liber Ymnorum

 

When it comes to musical source materials, few surpass the importance of the Liber ymnorum. This collection organized and codified the sequences sung in the Catholic Church. 

Notker Balbulus (c.840-912) as a monk working in the Abbey of St. Gall. He was a talented writer and composer. In the 880s, he compiled the Liber ymnorum, and contributed music to it. It's a massive work of liturgical and musicological scholarship. 

Balbulus organized all the music according to the church calendar. Those using the book to prepare a service could easily find the appropriate music. 

Balbulus also carefully notated the music, ensuring its preservation through the centuries. The modern musical staff had yet to be developed. Balbulus used numes -- graphic elements to indicate the rise and fall of the melody. For long and involved sequences, this was a welcome innovation. The choirmaster no longer had to rely on memory. 

The Liber ymnorum is still in use, and Balbulus' compositions are still sung. 

This album features selections from the Liber ymnum, sung by the Schola Antiqua of Chicago. Director Michael Alan Andeson makes some canny programming choices. These sequences are mostly devoice of a strong rhythmic pulse, or harmony. 

Anderson varies his forces, providing contrast between the selections. A sequence sung by a single male voice is followed by one for women's choi, followed by one to two males, etc.   

The recording venue is spot on. St. Josaphat Parish in Chicago provides an open ambience for the sound. There's some echo, but not enough to muddy the music. This was music designed for the church, and that open cathedral sound is part of its DNA. 

The performances are excellent. This is serene, contemplative music designed to enhance worship -- or at least thoughts of the Divine. It succeeds.

Notker Balbulus: Liber ymnorum
Schola Antiqua of Chicago; Michael Alan Anderson, conductor
Naxos 8.579169

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 4, 2025

 March is Women's History Month. And it's a great opportunity for Classics a Day to focus on the contributions of women to classical music. 

Women composers are often unjustly overlooked by history. The problem is seldom the quality of their work -- just the worker's gender. The challenge in March is to post examples of music by women composers. There's a millennium of music to choose from. For me, the challenge was what to leave out. Here are my posts for the fourth and final week of #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/24/25 Dora Pejačevič (1885-1923) Piano quartet in D minor, Op 25

Pejacevic was one of Croatia's most important composers and a talented pianist. Her piano quintet was written in 1908, when she was only 23.

 

03/25/25 Florence Price (1887-1953): Piano concerto in One Movement

Price composed her concerto in 1934 and premiered it at the Chicago Musical College. The score was considered lost until it was found in her former residence in 2009.

 

03/26/25 Clara Schumann (1819-1896) Drei Romanzen, Op. 21

Clara Schumann composed relatively few compositions. Her Three Romances was one of her last works, written in 1853. At the time she was 34, a mother of 7, and concertizing throughout Europe.

 

03/27/25 María Teresa Prieto (1896-1982): Cuadros de la Naturaleza, Diptico para Orquesta 1965

Prieto was a Spanish composer who spent most of her life in Mexico. Her music blended 12-tone technique with Mexican traditional music.

 

03/28/25 Louise Farrenc (1804–1875): Trio for flute, cello, and piano, Op. 45

Farrenc was a piano virtuoso and composer. In her lifetime, she was one of the most famous and respected musicians in Paris.

Next month:

Kreutzer Quartet: Four Premieres, Four Bold Voices

This album was a long time coming. The Kreutzer Quartet began recording it in 2018 and completed it four years later. The program features four world premier recordings from new and old composers.

Thomas Metcalf is in his thirties and has an impressive body of work. "Pixelating the River" (2022) was commissioned and premiered by the Kreutzer Quartet. The structure is extremely complex. But the quartet's playing makes sense of it all. Metcalf has broken his music down into it's smallest components. The Kreutzer's phrasing shows how it all fits together.   

Australian composer Sadie Harrison is another young artist with something to say. Many of her works address social injustice, as does the piece here. "10,000 Black Men Named George: The Multiple Burdens of Injustice" says it all in the title. Harrison uses African-American spirituals as the template for her work. The result is a moving and heartfelt lament that transcends race.

"On Blue" (2020) was another commission by the Kreutzer Quartet. Joel Jarventausta is concerned with texture. This work moves slowly, with the instruments gradually shifting in their interrelationships. The quartet does a masterful job of sustaining the intensity of the music.. 

Gloria Coates is probably the most familiar composer on the release. The Piano Quintet was her final completed work. Half of the quartet is tuned a quarter-tone higher. It gives the ensemble an eerie, otherworldly sound. From the ethereal sound clouds to the hammering tuttis, this is classic Coates. And it's an apt summation of her career. 

Four contemporary composers with four totally unique approaches to composition. Another fine album by the Kreutzer Quartet.

Kreuzter Quartet: Something So Transporting Bright
Music by Thomas Metcalf, Sadie Harrison, Joel Jarventausta,Gloria Coates
Metier MEX 77132

Derek Scott’s Dance Suites: Defying Academia

 Derek Scott's academic career focused on the British music hall and popular music. And in his youth he played in a rock band. That experience and knowledge come into play with his Dance Suites.

According to Scott, "derision in academic circles for music that was often categorised as ‘derivative rubbish’ or ‘entertainment for the masses’" made him reticent to complete these works. He got over it, though. And I'm glad he did. 

These suites were inspired by various popular dances. But they are neither derivative nor superficially entertaining. Rather, Scott explores the essence of these dances. He keeps the character of the dances while expanding and building upon their cores. 

Dance Suite No. 1 "Old Time Dances" celebrates dances of the Edwardian Era. It includes the tango, waltz, polka, and two-step. Dance Suite No. 2 "The 1960s" features the boogaloo, watusi, and the twist. Both suites are a lot of fun. But they're also substantial works as well. 

Either would be great for a pops concert or a regular series concert. The same is true for the Serenade, Op. 48. Scott channels the great light classical composers, such as Eric Coates and Trevor Duncan. 

Once again, Scott uses the prototypes as a starting point. So, the Serenade achieves the intended effect without sounding like a pastiche. This is wholly original music that -- by design -- is tuneful and accessible. 

Paul Mann directs the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra. These artists deliver spirited performances that add to the fun. 

Scott's Dance Suites may be frowned on by academia, but they brought a smile to my face. 

Derek B. Scott: Orchestral Works, Volume 4
Dance Suite Nos. 1 & 2; Serenade
Liepaja Symphony Orchestra; Paul Mann, conductor
Toccata Classics TOCC 0750