Anatoly Liadov was an important figure in Russian music at the turn of the last century—professor of composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire and the teacher of Prokofiev and Miaskovsky. Liadov's own output as composer is modest in scope but impeccably crafted and brilliantly orchestrated (one can imagine Stravinsky himself being inspired by such an unlimited sense of orchestral colour). Especially impressive are the tone poems Enchanted Lake, Baba-Yaga, and Kikimora, which you can hear me conduct in this recent performance.
Listen: Tchaikovsky Romeo & Juliet Fantasy
Tchaikovsky's Romeo & Juliet fantasy is one of the pinnacles of Romantic orchestral literature. Here it is in one of my recent performances.
Review: Solzhenitsyn Plays Prokofiev
“Pianist/conductor Ignat Solzhenitsyn is at his best with music that gives him plenty to do - emotionally, intellectually, and technically. So Live from Moscow: Solzhenitsyn Plays Prokofiev is, not surprising, core repertoire. The composer’s Piano Sonatas Nos. 6, 7, and 8, the so-called War Sonatas written in the 1940s, often come off like pianistic assaults. In Solzhenitsyn’s hands, they are varied and nuanced, with influences from Chopin to Poulenc contributing to some of Prokofiev’s most compelling moments. The live-recording circumstances are mostly an advantage: In-concert energy keeps Solzhenitsyn away from the interpretive microscope he sometimes uses in studio recordings. The Illuvium-label release is digital only, but available from the usual places (Amazon, etc.). - D.P.S.”
new Prokofiev album
My new Prokofiev album is out! It's an all-digital release by Illuvium, recorded live in concert at the December Evenings Festival in Moscow.
Interview: "Going Beyond the Baton: A Conversation with Ignat Solzhenitsyn"
A light-hearted piece that appeared a few weeks ago on the Utah Symphony blog, in connection with my début concerts there.
Review: "Solzhenitsyn Plays Beethoven"
Review of my CD, "Solzhenitsyn Plays Beethoven".
“Solzhenitsyn’s touch is clear, crisp, and precise, and his dynamics are well controlled and restrained; there’s little exuberant or inordinate banging. He does not succumb to the temptation, as many pianists do (probably for perceiving Beethoven as a Romantic rather than a Classical era composer) of overly dramatic and powerful executions. His music is about the musicality and the uncommon and untraditional, sometimes characterized as revolutionary invention, not the overt physical display of emotion.”
Review: "Ignat Solzhenitsyn Is Stellar in Utah Symphony Debut"
A review of my début last week with the Utah Symphony.
“In his Utah Symphony debut Friday, Solzhenitsyn brought a cool, professional demeanor to the Abravanel Hall podium that belied the vividness of his interpretations of music by Prokofiev, Hindemith and Mozart. The musicians responded with a light, flexible sound, illuminating the composers’ masterful orchestrations.
The concerto is one of those Mozart pieces in which interpretive insight is arguably more important than technical chops, but Solzhenitsyn’s elegant reading delivered on both counts. There was an air of conviviality between him and the chamber-size orchestra; his interaction with oboist Titus Underwood, who sat across the piano from him, was particularly engaging — like friends chatting over drinks or dinner.”
Preview: "So far, so good, says Solzhenitsyn of Utah Symphony gig"
A preview of my concerts this week with the Utah Symphony.
“He’s delighted to return in a collaboration with the Utah Symphony, conducting Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7 and Hindemith’s “Symphonic Metamporphosis”; he will conduct the Mozart from the keyboard. “We’re off to a very good start,” he reported after his first rehearsal with the orchestra on Wednesday. He said he was impressed with musicians’ intonation (“not always an orchestra’s strong point”) and their uniformly high level of playing.”
A flawless Susanna
Figaro and Susanna
There is much to say about the Met's new production of Le Nozze di Figaro, which opened last night. So many impressive aspects, including Sara Erde's compelling choreography, Jimmy Levine in fine form, and much wonderful singing. But what stood out above all was Marlis Petersen's Susanna—I have never seen better. She is the complete package—the perfect voice, a profound connection with her character, irresistibly flirtatious. Somewhere Mozart is smiling.
Secret Signs
In preparing to lecture about, and perform, the Seven Poems of Alexander Blok—Shostakovich's great suite for soprano and piano trio—I have found some of the existing English translations to be unsatisfactory. So I am creating my own translations. For example, in No. 6 ("Тайные знаки"), only in the intoxicating combination of the musical building-blocks of this poem and its rendition—however abstract—of anguished foreboding, can the full measure of its greatness perhaps be felt by a non-Russian speaker. In other words, I hew exactly to the meter and rhyme, and then as closely as possible to the meaning:
SECRET SIGNS
Secret signs smolder brighter and brighter,
On the windowless, wan, wakeless wall.
Crimson poppies of gold and of amber
On my sleep cast a tormented pall.
I take shelter in caves of the nightfall,
I remember stern marvels no more,
And at dawn there appear blue chimeras
In the mirror athwart heaven’s door.
I take refuge in moments forgotten,
Out of fear I shut closely mine eyes,
On the page of a book growing colder,
A fair maiden’s gold braid slowly dies.
Up above me the firmament falters,
A black dream overspreads my bleak breast,
My predestined collapse is upon me,
And ahead all is war, fire, unrest.