Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951)
Storms and Idylls – Complete Piano Music Volume 2
Skazka in F minor Op26 No.3
Sonata Minacciosa Op53 No.2
Skazka in D minor (1915)
Sonata-Elegy Op11 No.2
3 Arabesques Op7
Sonata-Idyll Op56
Thomas Ang (piano)
rec. 2022, London
Private release
I made the first volume of Thomas Ang’s planned intégrale of Medtner’s solo piano output one of my recordings of the year for last year (review) so I was very pleased to receive this follow up. I am happy to say all the many virtues that made that opening volume such a pleasurable listen are in evidence again. Ang seems in perfect communion with Medtner’s somewhat elusive muse that lurks somewhere between Rachmaninov and Scriabin but without the former’s Russian soulfulness or the latter’s esoteric mysticism. The genius of Medtner is quieter, less direct and more introverted and it tends to respond badly to showy or noisy treatment.
The biggest and most important work included in this volume has claims to be the most significant of Medtner’s compositions- the war haunted sonata minacciosa of 1931. It is a quite remarkable work of both great delicacy and brutality, all held together with the most ferocious musical intelligence. The level of invention is phenomenal, only matched by the sheer density of focus. Medtner crams a whole lifetime’s worth of experience into its 18 minute timeframe. It would be easy to imagine a more dramatic way with its big, Romantic moments with their thundering octaves and wave upon wave off cascading notes but Ang stays true to his vision of Medtner’s inspiration. If he slightly underplays these climaxes, he gets his rewards in penetrating deeper into the sonata’s unique, haunted heart where even the most militant passages flow with a seamless, irresistible poetry. In Ang’s hands, even the dazzling technical prowess of the central fugue is like the song of an aching heart pouring out its pain to the moonlight.
Medtner’s last piano sonata, the Sonata-Idyll Op56 of 1937, might symbolise the composer’s entire career. Written at the prompting of his publisher to produce something more suitable for amateur pianists, its rather plain first movement is a bit like a caged lion whereas by the second movement he has abandoned all thought of compromising his art and produces an extraordinary torrent of music far beyond the talents of any amateur. Medtner just couldn’t deviate from his own path, no matter how unfashionable or unprofitable it proved. I felt Ang too was a little constrained by that first movement but his playing of that wonderful finale may be the best thing on this recording. It has an almost jazz like looseness and agility, reacting to every changing tint of Medtner’s mood.
The other sonata included, the miniature Sonata-Elegy Op11, is a miracle of compressed drama – how does a such a spectacular denouement arise out such a short piece of music, just six minutes long? Ang erupts satisfyingly at the end of this when something of the old fashioned nineteenth century virtuoso is definitely called for.
The rest of the programme is made up of short, lyrical pieces which tend to tip the mood more toward the idyll of the album’s title rather storms. Ang is a judicious curator of the programme.
Like the first volume, this one has been produced and recorded by the pianist himself and sterling effort though it is by Ang, the sound cannot compete with, for example, that provided by CRD for Hamish Milne’s 1999 recording of the sonata minacciosa. Milne plays the piece like Rachmaninov and it is very exciting but it lacks that internal voice that sings through Ang’s playing. I hope later volumes of this project get picked up by a label and that his marvellous pianism gets to enjoy the depth of sound it merits. Until that day arrives, the sound on this self release will more than do.
As with Volume One, this is a self release available in digital format from Bandcamp and can be enjoyed easily through the Bandcamp app and is an absolute steal at a minimum price of just £4. People pay more than that for a coffee!
Ang’s artistry seems to advance by stealth, quietly slipping under the skin, gently persuading rather than demanding. I didn’t expect to make a recording of Medtner one of my recordings of the year last year but it looks very like I will be doing the same this year- unless, of course, the promised third volume later this year is even better!
David McDade
Availability: Bandcamp
