Pushkin house music festival 2021

“A feast in which the rare and the treasurable have a chance to shine” - The Arts Desk

Due to the pandemic, the 2021 edition of the Pushkin House Russian Music Festival was recorded live in Pushkin House's 18th-century Bloomsbury home, ‘premiered’ online from 2-14 March and then made available to watch on demand. The sparkling programme gave prominence to chamber music of lesser-known Russian and Soviet composers such as Alyabyev, Arensky, Genishta and Glinka, and there was a particular focus on the music of Nikolay Kapustin, one of Russia’s most famous modern-day composers who died in 2020. The more renowned composers on the programme included Balakirev, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky.

The opening concert with violinists Natalya Lomeiko and Yuri Zhislin offered the opportunity to hear two rarely performed gems of Russian chamber music: Mikhail Glinka’s (1804-1857) unfinished viola sonata in two movements, a rare work for that instrument of the time, and Nikolay Medtner’s third and grandest violin sonata, which he composed in London.

In a concert kindly supported by the Oleg Prokofiev Trust, prizewinner of the Cleveland, Busoni and Paderewski international piano competitions, Ukrainian-born Russian-trained Dinara Klinton made a welcome return to Pushkin House. A professor of the Royal College of Music in London, Dinara played a selection of Prokofiev (1891-1953) sonatas, all of which she recorded for Piano Classics in 2020.

Although totally forgotten today, Muscovite Iosif Genishta (1795-1853) was a renowned composer and pianist in his day. His artistic friendships included Alexander Pushkin, Princess Volkonskaya, Robert Schumann and Hector Berlioz when the latest visited Russia. He was also active as a teacher and organiser of musical events: the earliest performances in Russia of Beethoven's piano concertos were the result of his skills as a promoter of large-scale musical events. Most probably a cellist himself, Genishta wrote three cello sonatas, reminiscent in style to early Beethovenwhich were peformed as part of the Festival by cellist Ariana Kashefi.

The vocal output of Russian composer Anton Arensky (1861-1906), whose talent was placed incredibly high by Tchaikovsky, was explored in a concert by students and graduates of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama combining forces with pianists Alina Sorokina and Thomas Ang to present a varied and innovative programme shedding light on the music of this rarely-heard composer. This concert was kindly supported by the Nicholas John Trust.

Proudly collaborating with the Orpheus Sinfonia for the first time, Pushkin House presented a programme of masterpieces of Russian chamber repertoire, rarely heard in live performance.

In a talk and discussion, Nikolay Kapustin (1937-2020) expert Thomas Ang explored the history and development of Kapustin’s distinctive style attempting to synthesize jazz and classical techniques and discussed how Kapustin’s work differed from other composers who have tried to tie the two genres together. In the closing concert of the Festival, Ang also presented a recital of music by Kapustin, including some of his unpublished compositions. The concert included the UK premiere of Kapustin’s First Cello Sonata, Op. 63, performed together with cellist Corinna Boylan.