Search - Lyadov, Solovieva :: Complete Piano Music 1

Liadov's Piano Music Finally Receives the Attention it Deser

Dace Gisclard | Houston, TX | 05/14/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well hooray, it's about time someone recorded all of Liadov's piano music--and he and we are lucky that his champion is a technically proficient and musically responsive artist--Russian pianist Olga Solovieva. This young lady can caress the keys during the composer's tender moments, although she does not sentimentalize. She can also be vigorously energetic as she sails effortlessly through long progressions of thick staccato chords.



It appears the series will progress in opus order--here we have Opera 1-11. "A Musical Snuff-Box," the composer's most famous piano work, is not present here. However, that should not discourage purchase (the piece will, of course, come around later in the series). Those who already have Stephen Coombs's anthology on HYPERION can rest assured that Solovieva duplicates only three tracks of his CD--she need not fear the comparison.



These early works blend Schumannesque whimsy and Chopinesque filigree (there are quite a few mazurkas) with a touch of Rimsky and Borodin. On the present CD, Liadov's powers of invention are unfailingly engaging, as one delightful miniature succeeds another. Balakirev and Cui occasionally wrote things almost as lovely, but not at this level of consistent achievement.



Although Liadov's output for piano is comprised mostly of pieces of about one to four minutes, his opus numbers extend well into the 60's, so I'm guessing this series might ultimately occupy about five to seven discs.



The sound is a little bright, but that can be fixed with the tone control. Lovers of Chopin, Schumann, the Russian nationalists, early Scriabin and Liadov's orchestral music should not hesitate. Solovieva is filling an important gap with this absolutely delicious CD--the rest of this series cannot be released fast enough to please me!"