Arensky Piano Etude

Samuel Barber, one of the most prominent and popular American composers of the mid-20th century, wrote effectively in virtually every genre, including opera, ballet, vocal, choral, keyboard, chamber, and orchestral music. His music is notable for its warmly Romantic lyricism, memorable melodies, and essentially conservative harmonic style, all of which put him at odds with the prevailing modernist aesthetic of his time. Barber was a member of the first class at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 1928, the 17-year-old Gian Carlo Menotti came to study at Curtis, and the two formed a personal and professional bond that would last most of Barber's life. As a student, Barber wrote several works that have entered the repertoire, including the song Dover Beach and Overture to the School for Scandal for orchestra.

Pianist Swetlana Meermann-Muret takes us on a journey through the heights and depths of the Russian soul in her new GENUIN CD. The prizewinner of international competitions devotes herself to gems of piano literature—the rarely recorded miniatures by Anatoly Lyadov and Anton Arensky. Lyadov's Préludes, in particular, are more than just precursors of well-known works by Rachmaninoff and Scriabin! Swetlana Meermann-Muret, a native Russian pianist, devotes herself to these treasures with an attention to detail and a warm sound. Moving testimonies of a lost culture!

The enigmatic Alexander Scriabin, mystic and herald of new music, was taught composition by Arensky and Taneyev and piano by Safonov. His earliest works, presented on this album, belong to a stage of development much influenced by Chopin and Liszt. The Preludes, Op. 13, whether ` or playful, contain explicit references to Chopin but also moments of visionary originality that presage his future modernity. Complex harmony can be heard in the famous etude in C sharp minor, while the epic ardour of the Fantasie in B minor is another indication of the staggering advances to come.