Piano World Home Page Forums Fun Stuff! - Parties, Tours, Projects & More... Member Recordings G. Catoire, Chants du Crepuscule, Op. 24, No. 1

how unfortunate. the things people get upset about. hmmph

The two vying cultural centers in Russia during Catoire's time were Moscow and St. Petersburg. Rimsky-Korsakov was on the faculty of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, a member of The Five, and was a strong force for the Russian Nationalistic style of composing, as well as being a major composer and orchestrator. So he was really the "heavy weight" in St. Petersburg music circles in the 19th Century. Thus, he had a very strong voice and influence in defining "musical taste" during those times, so it's easy to see how the young upstart Catoire could have been ostracized so easily for his outspoken support of Wagner.

When Catoire returned to Moscow, it would have beneficial to his piano and chamber music had he performed it in recitals. However, in discussions with Klindworth, his first teacher, he made it known that his first love and preference was composing rather than being a touring artist. And like Sergei Bortkiewicz he almost felt that it was self-serving and gauche for a composer to play his own works in public, so declined.

Yet as we saw with Rachmaninoff, by contrast, he was all too happy to play his compositions in recital, and did so very frequently! It greatly helped Rachmaninoff attain success and to establish his works in the standard repertoire. Catoire, however, wanted none of it. So as a highly respected professor at the Moscow Conservatoire, he composed and taught, leaving it, hopefully, to others to promote his works. The irony is that both Bortkiewicz and Catoire were wonderful pianists. But neither tried to help themselves in that respect.

Yet another gorgeous Catoire piece--thanks for recording and sharing.

Thanks thracozaag! I'm glad you enjoyed this "Chant No. 1". A big part of learning this Catoire repertoire is sharing it with others, so the pleasure is all mine.

I was unable to find anything...perhaps you have a link?

Hi Horowitzian,

Try these links for ronde's recitals of operatic piano transcriptions:

Recitals of operatic transcriptions:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CC9FA890A54B65EA

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F9942CBA2095D98A

By way, when I was looking at your iTunes, I forgot to mention that it looks like you missed a couple of Bortkiewicz's Preludes, Op. 33, Nos. 5 and 7. Here are the links for those two if you'd like to have them:

http://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,31935.0.html

http://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,28391.0.html

Ah, thanks for those links! Couldn't find his stuff anywhere!

I did miss those, thanks so much!

You're welcome!

Just downloaded both of them!

Both of them sound incredible...great playing as usual. The piano seems slightly out-of-tune in Op. 33 No. 7, which is a shame, because I loved the fire you played it with! Fantastic!

Hi Horowitzian,

On the Bortkiewicz 33/7 sounding a bit out of tune, there were a couple of factors at play to cause it. I had the Baldwin restrung in 2007, and when I made this particular recording thereafter, the new strings had not yet fully stretched to reach full tuning stability. So certain strings could have slipped. The other factor was that this was of my very last analog recordings prior to going digital. Cassette recording tape can have small speed variations, perhaps due to a combination of mechanical reasons and tiny changes in electric current. So that older analog technology could produce "wow and flutter" which also gives the impression that some pitches are off. Someday I plan to go back, relearn that piece, and re-record it digitally. I think it will make a major difference in the sound. And it's such a gorgeous piece, it would be well worth the effort!

I see. Yeah, analog recording can have those difficulties. And fresh strings too. Thanks for the info!

I encourage you to record it with your current setup; it will sound wonderful I'm sure!

Hi RachFan,

I've been tardy in downloading and listening to this piece, but now I have. Congratulations! Yet another volley against the fog of anonymity surrounding Catoire, eh? Well-done piece; as someone else said, it feels unstructured, yet not random. You've done quite nicely here.

And though I don't have an iPod, I already have a RachFan music folder on my PC, where I've downloaded and kept your recordings. Not quite a playlist, but the next best thing. :-)

Hi Chris,

Thanks for listening and for your comments. Also I'm very flattered that you keep a music file of my recordings. Thanks!! Yes, I was aware of walking a fine line between unstructured sound and randomness. Where this is a reverie, Catoire very cleverly worked toward the unstructured using devices like syncopation, ties, broken chords, polyrhythms, etc. The dream state is very unstructured, of course, and he achieved the effect masterfully. But where there IS structure and discipline in the score, it has to be observed by the performer. As I was working through this Op. 24, people would say a certain piece was their favorite. And when I ended with this No. 1, they said, "No, this one is my favorite!" I think what it shows is that virtually all of Catoire's pieces are very good indeed, which pays a high compliment to the composer.

Updated playlist.

Wow! That's a lot of pieces learned and recorded over the last couple of years. But I cannot think of anything I'd rather be doing! Thanks for reposting the completed list.

You should be proud of yourself. It's a prodigous achievement; one that not so many amateurs (I assume you are an amateur?) have achieved. You're welcome!

Yes, I'm an amateur. So the struggles are much greater for me than for the pros. But mostly I'm happy to have been able to help these long-gone, neglected composers in a positive way.

You play extremely well; any struggle isn't evident to the listener. And you are doing these composers a great service by giving them exposure here.

Thanks for those kind words!