Alexandrov: Piano Music
Hamish Milne (piano)
CDA67328
If you like Medtner and Scriabin, you'll love this. Anatoly Alexandrov (1888-1982) was one of the most prominent Soviet composers who forged a new creative voice in Russian music after the lush Romanticism of Rachmaninov. He composed piano music that was both individual and forwardlooking, yet steeped in Russian tradition. After the 1920s Alexandrov distanced himself from the more avant-garde modernism of, say, Nikolay Roslavets. Most of his music is forgotten, at least in the West, and this selection of his finest piano works should place his name firmly back on the musical map.
Alexandrov's best piano music often suggests a fusion of Scriabin and Medtner, but with an individual voice exemplified by the quirky title of his Opus 6, A Long-Forgotten Madness. Hamish Milne's experience with the music of Medtner tells in these superb performances.