Ukraine’s rich musical heritage is the focus of this stylistically wide ranging yet smartly curated anthology, released by Parnassus as a fund raiser and co-produced by Steve Smolian and Leslie Gerber. To quote the blurb on the back cover, it features “musicians largely forgotten outside Ukraine, and musicians very well-known but not properly remembered as Ukrainian.”
The disc opens with Mykola Lysenko’s Intermezzo Op. 8 No. 2 played by his pianist granddaughter, Ryda Lysenko. Simon Barere’s astonishing 1935 recording of the Blumenfeld Etude for the Left Hand is next, followed by Benno Moiseiwitsch’s acoustic recording of the Rubinstein Barcarolle. Prokofiev selections include an aircheck of the composer playing his own Suggestion diabolique, Sviatoslav Richter in the Rondo Op. 52 No. 2, David Oistrakh’s rare 1959 Supraphon March from Love for Three Oranges, and a live 1984 Emil Gilels performance of the Sonata No. 3 that’s impressively strong for that vintage.
There are rare 78s by virtuosos Gregor Piatigorsky, Boris Kroyt, and Nathan Milstein, plus a wealth of traditional Ukrainian songs served up by vocalists like Nina Koshetz, Ivan Kozlovsky, and Salomea Kruszelnitzka. Rare 1942 airchecks showcase legendary bass Alexander Kipnis in splendid performances of three Shostakovich songs. The musical comedy composer Oscar Feltsman (father of pianist Vladimir) accompanies himself charmingly in his own “Chernoe more moe”. And it’s fun to hear the pioneering 1933 recording of Mossolov’s Iron Foundry with Julius Erlich leading the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris, despite the seedy ensemble and intonation.
Proceeds from sales go to the Ukrainian people’s charity located at https://www.razomforukraine.org. In sum, an unusual and interesting reissue that supports a worthy cause. Go for it!
