César Cui - Kaleidoscope; Violin Sonata (Peter Sheppard; Aaron Shorr)

Information

Composer: César Cui

• Kaleidoscope, 24 pieces for violin & piano, Op. 50
• Violin Sonata in D major, Op. 86

Peter Sheppard, violin

Aaron Shorr, piano

Date: 1994; 1995

Label: Olympia

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Review

Cesar Cui is best known as the least known of the Russian moguchaya kuchka, the 'mighty handful' of Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Mussorgsky and himself, and perhaps as a critic whose pen was widely feared. His services to Russian music included the completion of Dargomizhsky's Stone Guest and Mussorgsky's Sorochinsky Fair; his own music languishes, even his opera William Ratcliff (among 15). He was not Russian at all, and once observed that, being half-French and half-Lithuanian, he had no feeling for Russian music. He was indeed kaleidoscopic, as the suite here suggests.

The pieces that take note of Russian interests do so from afar – possibly a sly allusion to Glinka's Kamarinskaya with the changing background of ''Danse rustique'', a re-use of one of the Serbian tunes Tchaikovsky had included in his Marche slave. At the centre is a sequence, ''Barcarola'', ''Prelude'', ''Mazurka'', ''Valse'', suggesting Chopin in title, but only in title: there is no appreciation of Chopin's originalities. These are, in fact, salon pieces, many of them not too hard on the fingers, and all of them easy on undemanding ears. The Sonata is an extended version of them, deploying an amiable melodic manner while not troubling itself with matters of formal organization. Peter Sheppard and Aaron Shorr take it all as lightly as it deserves.

-- John Warrack

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César Cui (18 January 1835 – 26 March 1918) was a Russian composer and music critic. He was one of the prominent members of The Five, a group of Russian nationalist composers who sought to create a distinct Russian musical identity. Cui was known for his operas, chamber works, and art songs. He composed fifteen operas in total, including four fairytale operas for children. Although his music was initially well-regarded, his reputation declined over time. Apart from composing, Cui was also an active music critic. Despite his contributions, he is often overshadowed by his contemporaries in the Russian nationalist movement.

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Peter Sheppard Skærved (born 1966) is a British violinist and violist. He is acclaimed internationally for performances of a vast range of solo repertoire. His repertoire stretches from the late 16th century to hundreds of works written for him: these include major works by composers by established ‘greats’ such as Hans Werner Henze and George Rochberg, to the many young composers with whom he collaborates worldwide. Peter is a Grammy-nominated recording artist, with over one hundred critically acclaimed albums to his name. He regularly gives masterclasses and workshops at schools across the USA.

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Since settling in the United Kingdom in 1984, Aaron Shorr has established an international career as a soloist, chamber musician and educator. As well as appearing as a soloist at London’s South Bank in over thirty concertos, he has toured extensively as a recitalist and chamber musician worldwide. He has performed extensively in the United Kingdom appearing in concerti, solo recitals and chamber music concerts at the Wigmore Hall, St. Martins in the Fieldand St. John’s Smith Square and festivals throughout Britain. Shorr has broadcast frequently for radio and has recorded for Naxos, Mettier, Olympia, NMCand Meridian.

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