Alexander Glazunov(1865-1936)
Piano Concerto No.1 in F minor, Op.92 (1911)
Piano Concerto No.2 in B major, Op.100 (1916)
Alexander Goedicke(1877-1957)
Concertstuck in D major, Op.11 (early 1900's)

Stephen Coombs, Piano
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Geoffrey Trabichoff, Leader
Martyn Brabbins, Conductor
Recorded January 1996
Hyperion 66877[65:37]

Glazunov Comparison: Naxos 8.553928(Glazunov Orchestral Works, Vol. 14)

I am going back in time a few years to review Volume 13 of Hyperion's
Romantic Piano Concerto series.  This volume is devoted to Alexander
Glazunov's two Piano Concertos and the Concertstuck in D major of the
obscure Alexander Goedicke.

For a composer not generally considered of the top rank, the number
of recordings devoted to Glazunov's music is quite impressive.  He
wrote a voluminous amount of orchestral music as a young adult, including
eight Symphonies and the beginning of a 9th.  Highly respected by his
contemporaries and even later Russian composers such as Shostakovich,
Glazunov's public stock went way down as the 20th century moved forward.
Because his music was thoroughly romantic in nature and construction,
it was largely abandoned as was the situation for many other excellent
composers of the early 20th century who had no desire to travel new
musical paths.  A fairly good indication of Glazunov's lack of adventure
is the fact that he lived most of his life with his mother, new beginnings
not being part of his make-up.

Glazunov's works for solo instrument and orchestra come from the latter
part of his life.  By the time he wrote his two Piano Concertos, all his
symphonies had been completed.  Actually, he wrote very little after
1906, one prime reason reported to be his dysfunctional penchant for
alcoholic beverage.  Concerning the Piano Concertos, listeners will
notice that they carry an orchestral orientation; pianistic matters did
not come easy to Glazunov.

Although the Violin Concerto of Glazunov is a very popular work, neither
of the Piano Concertos is regularly recorded or performed in concert.
There are only three discs on the market having both concertos, a recording
on the Pan label being the one I am not familiar with.  The Hyperion
disc under review features Stephen Coombs who is no stranger to Glazunov,
having recorded three volumes of his solo piano pieces for Hyperion.
Further, Martyn Brabbins has been one of the conductors frequently used
by Hyperion for its Romantic Piano Concerto series.  My comparison
recording is one of the many Naxos volumes of Glazunov's orchestral works
and is performed by Oxana Yablonskaya on piano with her son Dmitry
Yablonsky conducting the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.  Does an all-Russian
'in the family' lineup beat a distinguished British/Scottish group of
performers?  Let's find out.

The Piano Concerto in F minor is a two-movement affair.  The 1st Movement,
"Allegro Moderato", begins with a highly chromatic introduction with
descending lines and stern hammer-like blows from the bass voice.  The
first subject is flat-out gorgeous, tense, and passionate; you don't
want to miss out on the gigantic orchestral climax with the piano part
offering broken chords.  In the second subject, Glazunov turns to a more
tender presentation with a highly lyrical E major theme just as lovely
as the first subject's.  Then it's 'development time' as Glazunov shows
off his keen ability to mix and match previous themes in the Movement
with new material.

Concerning the Naxos and Hyperion performances, I'd call it a draw.
Coombs and Brabbins are more overtly passionate than Yablonskaya and son
and also offer greater musical sweep.  The Russian performers mix their
passion with resignation and provide a fine level of detail not forthcoming
from Coombs and Brabbins.  Much of the greater detail might come from
the drier Naxos acoustic, but it's probably a combination of performance
and sound.  Regardless, features such as the hammer-like blows in the
Introduction register with significant impact from Yablonskaya but are
hardly heard in the Coombs performance.  Both versions are delightfully
playful when needed in the development and conclusion of the Movement.
There is also equality in that both versions soar in those tremendous
Glazunov climaxes.  So, it's passion and sweep vs.  detail and resignation.
I find both approaches successful and superbly executed.

The 2nd Movement is a "Theme & Variations".  How many variations, you
ask?  There are nine of them and they're quite distinctive, perhaps too
much so.  At some point in the work, I'm asking myself what this 2nd
Movement has to do with the 1st.  The only connection is that Glazunov
brings back to the Finale the primary themes of the 1st Movement.  Other
than that, the 2nd Movement is on odd duck.  It tends to get cheerier
as it moves along through the variations, ultimately being just a series
of spectacular slam-bang episodes.  But I must admit to some impressive
features of the work.  The seventh Variation is a barn-storming Mazurka
that energizes all my nerve-endings, and the Finale is the musical
equivalent of fire-works.  Each of the variations is enjoyable, but it's
the basic theme that wins my heart.  It sounds like the orchestra is
playing from an English meadow, that's right, English.  This imagery
is particularly evident in Yablonsky's performance - go figure.

Listening to both the Naxos and Hyperion versions of the 2nd Movement,
I prefer the Hyperion for its greater lift and joyous moods.  My impression
is that Coombs and Brabbins recognize the music for what it is and play
the episodes for all they are worth.  Yablonskaya and son give the
Movement a more serious personality, and the music has trouble staying
afloat with this heavy weight around it.  However, I do love their basic
theme that sounds like the best of British contryside music.

The Piano Concerto in B major is essentially a one-movement work divided
into three sections.  Excluding the last few minutes of the third section,
this is my favorite Glazunov work for solo instrument and orchestra.
Rapture, passion, musical sweep, and brilliant piano writing permeate
the first two sections; it's music that makes one want to find somebody
to love.

In the final section, Glazunov starts off with the above ingredients
at center stage, and I was expecting he would eventually and logically
deliver one or more unbridled climaxes of ecstasy as the rapture exploded.
However, he instead becomes emotionally superficial and even antiseptic
with a Hollywood-like fanfare to top it off.  Sorry, but that rapture
just takes a vacation, leaving me frustrated and irked.  At a minimum,
the coherence of the work is damaged badly, and I can't imagine why
Glazunov changed the natural musical progression that *he* set up in the
first place.  I may be making too much of this, but my disappointment
stems from the musical splendor that constitutes the earlier music and
is never allowed to reach fruition.

Well, I'll get off the soapbox and tell you about the performances.  As
I expected from the Hyperion performers, they capture all the rapture
and sweep of Glazunov's music; I particularly enjoy the brilliance of
Coombs' playing that is delicious and a strong contribution to the
sensuous elements of the work.  The Naxos performers continue to offer
less sweep as they tend to dwell on various notes and phrases.  But I
do prefer them in the last few minutes of the Concerto; they don't convey
the slap-happy personality that Coombs and Brabbins deliver.  Sometimes,
being serious has its benefits.

Both the Hyperion and Naxos discs program a third work, and Hyperion
loses out with Alexander Goedicke's Concertstuck.  Reported to have
been an exceptional pianist and organist, Goedicke is not compelling when
it comes to orchestral writing.  The piano parts are highly rewarding,
poignant, and brilliant; however, the orchestral contributions are rather
perfunctory and somewhat awkward.  Also, thematic development doesn't
appear to be strong point either.  Overall, the Concertstuck certainly
has its attractions, if on the sporadic side.

Naxos offers the "Variations on a Russian Theme", which is an entirely
different matter.  The music flows naturally and with grace, delightful
melodies ring out, and the work has a ceremonial element that is alluring.
I also don't mind saying that this work has a consistency of invention,
continuity, and enjoyment not even found in the Glazunov Piano Concertos.
Actually, Glazunov is only one of seven composers who contributes to the
piece.  Each composer takes a variation, using a traditional Russian
folk-tune as the launching point.  Lyadov and Rimsky-Korsakov are two
of the composers, and Glazunov has the final and longest variation.
Except for one particular variation, the work is thoroughly upbeat and
most entertaining.  This isn't music of importance, but it's a definite
crowd-pleaser that would find a highly responsive audience in concert.
Goedicke's Concertstuck would likely have audience members' minds wandering
now and then.

Don's Conclusions: For its greater musical sweep and passion, I prefer
the Coombs/Brabbins performances of the Glazunov Piano Concertos to those
from Yablonskaya/Yablonsky.  The Hyperion duo recognizes that Glazunov's
music is not suited for exploration or priority on details.  It has a
architectural vision that is all-important.  At times, the Naxos pair
can be rather dour/glum with a limited notion of vision and sweep.  The
Naxos performances are excellent, the interpretations less rewarding.

I can't end it this way, because there remains the issue of the 3rd
programmed work on both discs and the price considerations that most
of us have deal with.  Hyperion offers another concertante work from a
composer whose obscurity is well earned, while Naxos gives us a delightful
work combining the talents of composers decidedly superior to Goedicke.
Throwing in the fact that the Naxos disc costs less than half the price
of the Chandos recording, I don't think it would be reasonable of me to
recommend one disc over the other.

Of course, you could decide not to bother with Glazunov's Piano Concertos
at all, because they are not among the most inspired of Romantic Concertos.
However, you would miss some great music, and I know you don't want that
to happen.  Think of it this way - Glazunov wants to sweep you off your
feet, not convince you in the manner of Johann Sebastian Bach.  As always,
the choice is yours, and I don't think there's a bad choice to be made
here.

Don Satz
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