Myaskovsky: Cello Sonatas, Prokofiev: Fantasy & Taneyev: Canzona

Album review

Nikolai Myaskovsky, who was born a Russian in Poland in 1881 and who died a Soviet in 1950, was one of Prokofiev’s closest friends after being his co-disciple at the Conservatory—a dangerous proximity, considering the latter was an overwhelming genius. Myaskovsky was also a student of Lyadov—whom both youngsters heartily loathed—and of Rimsky-Korsakov, far more interesting probably. Unfortunately, Myaskovsky isn’t played much anymore nowadays, at least in Western Europe, and this is a shame. Yes, its language remains deeply rooted in the ultimate Russian Romanticism, without resorting too much to Scriabin and even less to Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Was it, in part, due to his weariness regarding the vile accusations concocted by this Zhdanov bastard in his infamous decree? The fact remains that his music unfolds a highly lyrical language, which we won’t complain about, by the way. The First Sonata, written in 1911, doesn’t contrast much with the Second in 1948, dedicated to Rostropovich who was only twenty-one at the time but had already a solid reputation to his name. By way of comparison, the violoncellist Pavel Gomziakov and his pianist Andrei Korobeinikov offer Prokofiev’s Ballad, one of his early works since it dates from 1912—therefore contemporary of Myaskovsky’s First Sonata; then, to end, Taneyev’s Canzona written in 1883, originally for clarinet and orchestra, but better known in the present version for violoncello and piano. © SM/Qobuz