Search - Felix Blumenfeld, Eduard Napravnik, Alexander Titov :: Nápravník: Concerto symphonique; Fantaisie russe; Blumenfeld: Allegro

A very pleasant surprise

I. J. J. Nieuwland | Amsterdam | 09/12/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The main dish here is Eduard Napravnik's Piano Concerto. Napravnik was a prominent conductor, and a main figure in the late-nineteenth century music scene in Russia, well-known to composers like Tchaikovsky and Rimski-Korsakov. The concerto is fairly modern-sounding for its time (1877), with a prominent use of rhythms and not as virtuoso a piano part as you might think. Still, it succeeds in keeping a fairly light touch. The 'fillers' are Napravnik's own Fantasy on five Russian folk tunes (it starts out with the famous 'toilers of the Volga') and countryman Felix Blumenfeld's Allegro de concert. Of these especially the Russian Fantasy makes you long for more of Napravnik's works to be recorded (there are, for instance, four symphonies). All in all, a worthwile addition to the Hyperion Romantic Concerto series."