Composer: Dmitri Kabalevsky (Russian, 1904-1987)
Works: Cello Concerto no.1 in G minor Op. (1949); Cello Concerto no.2 in C minor Op.77 (1964); Suite from Colas Breugnon, Op.24 (1938)
Performers: Torleif Thédeen (cello), NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover / Eiji Oue, Adrian Prabava (conductors)
Label: CPO
Background and Critical Reception
Dmitri Kabalevsky was born in St Petersburg, and studied piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory where his teachers included Miaskovksy. An uncredited obituary from the Musical Times, quoted on Wikipedia, describes his music rather uncharitably as 'popular, bland and successful'.
Kabalevsky wrote a lot of music for his first instrument, including four piano concertos and a large amount of solo piano music, but he was also comfortable writing for strings. As well as the two Cello Concertos there is a single-movement Violin Concerto, while his chamber music includes two String Quartets and numerous works for violin and cello with piano accompaniment.
He also completed a number of stage works, of which the three-act opera Colas Breugnon, completed in 1938, is the best known, with its overture often extracted for concert performance or compilation discs.
In my experience Kabalevsky has often been tagged on to the coat tails of Shostakovich and Prokofiev, as he writes in a style that can sometimes be seen as derivative of them. Thankfully some record companies, Naxos, Chandos and CPO in particular, have moved to rectify this with recordings of the concertos and chamber music.
Thoughts
My immediate thoughts of this disc and its music are very positive. The two Cello Concertos are very different animals. The first is quite playful, the cello writing sometimes carrying the influence of Tchaikovsky, but it also has a soft centre that reveals itself fully in the elegiac second movement, where Torleif Thédeen really invests a lot of passion into his playing. The pizzicato theme that begins the first movement is nicely done and establishes the good spirits of the piece, while the finale zips along, a little elusive at times but working through to an enjoyable conclusion.
By contrast the second concerto is a brow-beaten work that begins rather ominously. It has a greater depth of feeling than its companion and has a largely stern expression, too, turning in on itself as the cello keeps its own private company – as if marking the passing of a friend. Played without a break, it begins ominously over low double basses, before cutting abruptly to a jagged scherzo. The woodwind eventually calm this down before the main subject returns. The second movement melts, the emotional centre of the work, before the last movement - largely energetic - moves towards a major key. Kabalevsky still manages to charm in the faster music, his melodic invention strong as ever.
The extra 'filler', the Colas Breugnon Suite, is good fun. While not as emotionally rewarding, it still has a strong energy and a frothy mood that makes it easy to listen to – and there are once again a number of good tunes, tempered by a tragic element that surfaces in the third movement, marked Fleau Publique. Adrian Prabava conducts a good performance and enjoys the humour the score has to offer.
Verdict
This is an excellent disc from CPO, extremely well played and recorded, although the booklet notes have a rather loose translation at times. The music itself is confidently written, and Kabalevsky proves to be an extrovert composer with a keen sense of structure and melody who rarely outstays his welcome. The two concertos complement each other very well, one humourous and the other ravaged, and while the Suite may stretch its ideas out a little it still manages to charm. Fans of Shostakovich or Prokofiev are urged to try it out!
Further Listening
A Spotify playlist containing the Cello Concertos, the Piano Concerto no.2, the Cello Sonata and the Overture to Colas Breugnon can be found here.
Next week's listening - Dukas: Velléda, Polyeucte and The Sorcerer's Apprentice
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