Dmitri Kabalevsky: 24 Preludes and Other Piano Works

Description

“McLachlan makes a persuasive case for the 24 Preludes, Op.38. Each is based on a folk-tune, and in No.13 (f-sharp minor) we encounter the theme made famous by Stravinsky in the closing bars of Firebird. McLachlan does the set with great fluency and clarity of articulation… also giving us two of Kabalevsky’s best-known piano pieces, the Sonatina and the Piano Sonata No.3 with its Prokofievian middle movement.

Dmitri Kabalevsky was one of the Soviet Union’s greatest musical figures; a popular composer, whose music for children is partuicularly popular, and a prolific composer of piano music and chamber music, whose champions included no less a figure than Vladimir Horowitz. Pianist Murray McLachlan plays Kabalevsky’s brash, entertaining Preludes and two of his acclaimed major piano works in this much-requested recording from the Olympia catalogue, available again at a value price.

Dmitri Kabalevsky

24 Preludes, Op.38

• 1 – Prelude No.1 in C Major, Andantino
• 2 – Prelude No.2 in a minor, Scherzando
• 3 – Prelude No.3 in G Major, Vivace leggiero
• 4 – Prelude No.4 in e minor, Andantino
• 5 – Prelude No.5 in D Major, Andante sostenuto
• 6 – Prelude No.6 in b minor, Allegro molto
• 7 – Prelude No.7 in A Major, Moderato e tranqillo
• 8 – Prelude No.8 in f-sharp minor, Andante non troppo
• 9 – Prelude No.9 in E Major, Allegretto scherzando
• 10 – Prelude No.10 in c-sharp minor, Non troppo allegro ma agitato
• 11 – Prelude No.11 in B Major, Vivace scherzando
• 12 – Prelude No.12 in g-sharp minor, Adagio
• 13 – Prelude No.13 in fisharp minor, Allegro non troppo
• 14 – Prelude No.14 in E-flat minor, Prestissimo possibile
• 15 – Prelude No.15 in D-flat Major, Allegro marcato
• 16 – Prelude No.16 in B-flat minor, Allegro tenebroso
• 17 – Prelude No.17 in A-flat Major, Andante tranquillo
• 18 – Prelude No.18 in f minor, Largamente con gravita
• 19 – Prelude No.19 in E-flat Major, Allegretto
• 20 – Prelude No.20 in c minor, Andantino semplice
• 21 – Prelude No.21 in B flat Major, Festivamente non troppo allegro
• 22 – Prelude No.22 in g minor, Scherzando non troppo allegro
• 23 – Prelude No.23 in F Major, Andante sostenuto
• 24 – Prelude No.24 in d minor, Allegro feroce

Sonatina in C major, Op.13 No.1
Piano Sonata No.3, Op.46

Recorded at Holmbury St. Mary Church Hall
Producer: Keith Warren
Engineer: Keith Warren
Remastering: Paul Arden-Taylor
Originally released on Olympia