Paul Pabst; Alexander Scriabin; Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Piano Concertos (Oleg Marshev)

Information

Composer: Paul Pabst; Alexander Scriabin; Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

• Pabst - Piano Concerto in E flat major, Op. 82
• Rimsky-Korsakov - Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, Op. 30
• Scriabin - Piano Concerto in F sharp minor, Op. 20

Oleg Marshev, piano

South Jutland Symphony Orchestra

Vladimir Ziva, conductor

Date: 2008

Label: Danacord

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Review

Danacord has stolen a march on Hyperion’s Romantic Concerto series with the first complete studio recording of the Pabst concerto, one of those “legendary” works one reads about in the literature but never hears. Virtually forgotten since its Moscow premiere in 1882 (it was revived there in 2003 by Olga Bobrovikova and appeared on a Cameo Classics disc last year – 8/07), it turns out to be a real humdinger.

Probably best remembered for his bravura Paraphrase on Themes from Eugene Onegin, Pavel (or Paul) Pabst (1854‑97) studied with Brahms’s friend Anton Door (to whom the concerto is dedicated) and Liszt. Cast in the usual three movements and in the heroic key of E flat, the concerto might boast more than its fair share of clichés and rhetorical gestures, but why shouldn’t the concert hall be home to thrills, spills and daredevil acrobatics? Oleg Marshev and the Jutland forces play it to the hilt in a performance that has all the hallmarks of a live performance. Who could fail to respond to the exuberant high spirits of the finale?

I’ve always thought that Rimsky’s single-movement piano concerto with its chocolate-box Russian themes was a rather half-hearted affair, but it provides a pleasant interlude before the youthful ardour of Scriabin’s early (1896) F sharp minor Concerto. Here, as throughout, the recording team imported from Deutsche Grammophon rightly gives the spotlight to Marshev, the sublime secondary subject of the last movement played with unusual intensity. In brief, those who, like me, are suckers for Romantic concertos with soaring themes and solo parts of coruscating virtuosity will not be disappointed.

-- Jeremy Nicholas

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Paul Pabst (15 May 1854 – 9 June 1897) was a pianist, composer and teacher. Born in Königsberg he studied piano with his father, then in Vienna with Anton Door, and in Weimar with Franz Liszt. In the 1878 he accepted an invitation from Nikolai Rubinstein to teach at the Moscow Imperial Conservatory. Pabst was appointed Professor of Piano in 1881 after Rubinstein's death, and taught there for the rest of his life. Amongst his pupils were Sergei Lyapunov and Nikolai Medtner. His compositions include a Piano Concerto, a Piano Trio dedicated to Anton Rubinstein, and many piano transcriptions.

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Alexander Scriabin (6 January 1872 – 27 April 1915) was a Russian composer and pianist, renowned for his innovative contributions to classical music. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Anton Arensky, Sergei Taneyev and Vasily Safonov. Scriabin composed almost exclusively for solo piano and for orchestra. Initially influenced by Romanticism, his style evolved into more abstract and mystical realms, incorporating complex harmonies and unconventional scales. His most famous compositions include piano works like Etudes, Preludes, and Sonatas, as well as his symphonic work Prometheus: The Poem of Fire. 

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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (18 March 1844 – 21 June 1908) was a prominent Russian composer and a key figure in the development of Russian classical music. He was a member of the group of composers known as "The Five" which dedicated to creating a distinctively Russian sound. Rimsky-Korsakov is best known for his orchestral works, including Scheherazade, Capriccio Espagnol, and Russian Easter Overture. His compositions often feature vibrant orchestration, exotic themes, and rich harmonic textures. He also contributed to the development of Russian opera, with notable works such as The Snow Maiden and Sadko. 

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Oleg Marshev (born 1961 in Baku, Azerbaijan) is a Soviet and Russian pianist and now a resident of Italy. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Mikhail Voskresensky, graduating in 1988 with a Performance Doctorate. Marshev's first recording project was the complete original works for solo piano by Prokofiev (5 CDs) for Danacord Records. He has since recorded over 30 CDs for the same label, featuring works by Schubert, Brahms, Strauss, Rubinstein, Rachmaninov and others. Marshev became the first pianist to perform the entirety of Emil von Sauer’s piano music, making up 6 volumes.

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