Three Fantastic Dances for piano opus 5 (4 min 6 sec)
Piano Sonata No. 1 opus 12 (14 min 57 sec)
Aphorisms for piano opus 13 (13 min 39 sec)
Twenty-Four Preludes for piano opus 34 (33 min. 52 sec)

Konstantin Scherbakov (piano)
Recorded: 12 - 13 February 2001 in the Potton Hall, Suffolk

Naxos 8.555781

This is a very useful selection of piano works by Shostakovich. Konstantin Scherbakov seems to be HNH’s resident Russian virtuoso, taking the Beethoven/Liszt Symphonies and Schubert/Godowsky Lied transcriptions in his stride. Here he presents a fascinating hour’s worth, beginning with the marvellous 24 Preludes, Op. 34.

Taking up half of the playing time, these Preludes are fairly mellow Shostakovich (in comparison with the brutalities of the First Sonata, anyway). The very first opens with a romantically-inclined Alberti bass, soon spiced up by the right hand’s musings. The odd accent from Scherbakov breaks the phrase structure, but otherwise this bodes well. Scherbakov’ sense of fantasy comes to the fore in No. 2, contrasting very well with the dreamier No. 3 (G major). The unexpected appearance of fanfares is effective as a dramatic stroke, as presented here. In fact Scherbakov seems to have all of the technical resources easily at his command for these miniatures. He is dexterous in No. 5, manic in No. 9and humorous in Nos. 15 and 16, for example. Perhaps grotesquery could be even more in the spiky No. 6, but his final Prelude, reminiscent of Debussy’s ‘Minstrels’ Prélude in its stop-start hesitancy, is more than acceptable.

The First Piano Sonata is an explosive work, and Scherbakov presents its rawness unapologetically, right from the word go. He uses an appropriately hard touch (verging on the martellato, but not quite there: a legato foundation is always somewhere in the background). The piece is only a quarter of an hour long, but its unrelenting ethos makes it really quite exhausting to listen to. Scherbakov elicits some brutal, cavernous sounds from his concert grand along the way (around 8’30 in, for example), and the end is, perhaps unsurprisingly, brutal.

In keeping with the composer’s questing side, the infrequently-recorded Aphorisms, Op. 13 (1927) are exploratory miniatures. The first (‘Recitative’) is essentially aimless meandering, and all the more unsettling for it. Scherbakov is the interpretative equal to all of these brief statements. Typically, any notions invoked by the title ‘Nocturne’ (No. 3) are seemingly contradicted by the musical surface (unless this is a nightmare, that is). Shostakovich gives his imagination full rein here. He is equally questing in the’Canon’ (No. 8) which exudes an atonal, almost Webernian, aura, or in what the booket writer, Richard Whitehouse, accurately refers to as the ‘surreal calm’ of the ‘Legend’ (No. 9).

The Three Fantastic Dances, Op. 13 forms the perfect close to the recital. Scherbakov’s ‘March’ is feather-light, his ‘Waltz’ hesitant and nostalgia-laden, his closing ‘Polka’ effective in its restraint.

A very enjoyable and stimulating disc.

Colin Clarke, Musicweb, October 2003

With the significance of the chamber, stage and symphonic works of Dmitri Shostakovich so self evident, it is easy to forget that the great Russian composer was an accomplished keyboard virtuoso, and poured some of his most intimate and adventuresome ideas into his works for piano solo. This recital by Konstantin Scherbakov is a treasure trove of delights, performed to an extremely high standard.

The twenty-four preludes of opus 34 were clearly modeled after the similar works of Chopin, right down to their following of the same key scheme. Although the likenesses are many, the music is completely original and varied in its moods and structures. Most impressive is the economy of means that Shostakovich employs to express so wide a range of emotions and attitudes. Every possible mindset is expressed from playful to melancholy, brash to barbaric, lyrical to thunderous. Scherbakov is a player with a keen sense of form and style, and he has technique to burn in some writing that is certainly knuckle busting. If one were to seek one word to describe this set, perhaps ‘refreshing’ would be the most accurate. Never long, these little gems are "prick up your ears" intelligent and refined.

The Aphorisms composed some years before the preludes are considerably more far-reaching in their span of ideas. Here the composer allows his imagination to run free, and the formal structure and tonal language is much more liquid and experimental. Clearly works that predate Socialist Realism, these are thought-provoking and stimulating miniatures, played with great subtlety and creativity by pianist Scherbakov.

Although nominally in C major, the Sonata of 1926 shows the composer at his freewheeling apex. Sounds explode from the piano: harsh, angular, florid and occasionally reflective. The image of a young talent strutting his stuff and pounding his audience with music solely on his own terms comes quickly to mind. Again, Mr. Scherbakov delivers the goods wrapped up in gold leaf. He roars and thunders with abandon and throws off this difficult work with seemingly effortless ease.

The program closes with the delightfully elegant Three Fantastic Dances, one of the few works written before the composer’s significant First Symphony to remain in circulation during his lifetime. Utterly charming, this is four minutes of splendid writing and playing.

Naxos give us a recording that is a little on the bright side, but given the character of the music, this is hardly offensive. Program notes by Richard Whitehouse are concise and informative. This recital is a fine alternative to the run-of-the-mill piano disc, and a worthy addition to any record shelf. Highly recommended.

Kevin Sutton, Musicweb, November 2004