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Philip Edward Fisher - Piano Works by 'The Mighty Handful' (2011)

Posted By: Designol

Date: 20 Mar 2023 16:32:14

On his first solo recital disc for Chandos, Philip Edward Fisher performs piano works by members of the so-called ‘Mighty Handful’, a group of five Russian composers – César Cui, Alexander Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov – who in the 1860s banded together in an attempt to create a truly national school of Russian music, free of the perceived stifling influences of Italian opera, German lieder, and other western European forms.

The Mighty Handful were all self-trained amateurs. Borodin combined composing with a career in chemistry; Rimsky-Korsakov was a naval officer; and Mussorgsky had been in the Guards, then in the civil service, before taking up music. They tried to incorporate in their music what they heard in village songs, in Cossack dances, in church chants, and the tolling of church bells; in short, the music of the Mighty Handful was brimming with sounds that echoed Russian life. From the more traditional, Chopin-esque Nocturne by Cui through to the technical innovations and strong Caucasus folk elements of Balakirev’s Islamey, the works here all show the composers’ strong connections with the past and the compositional innovations that would come to influence the likes of Prokofiev and Stravinsky, and help change the course of Russian music for years to come.

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and The Juilliard School, the pianist Philip Edward Fisher is widely recognised as a unique performer of refined style and exceptional versatility. He has performed across Europe, Africa, and North America where he made his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall in 2002, performing Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, and has also appeared at the Merkin Concert Hall and the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.

At home he has given performances at the Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, and Royal Festival Hall in London, Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and Symphony Hall in Birmingham. He has appeared as a soloist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, and Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, and worked with performers such as exclusive Chandos artist bassoonist Karen Geoghegan, the tenor Robert White, pianist Sara Buechner, and violinists Elmar Oliveira, Philippe Graffin, and Augustin Hadelich. In 2001, Philip Edward Fisher received the Julius Isserlis Award from The Royal Philharmonic Society in London.

The Mighty Handful was a quintet of Russian composers – Modest Mussorgsky, Mily Balakirev, César Cui, Alexander Borodin, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov – whose music explored Russian nationalist ideas. For a Russian audience of the late 19th century programming them together would have made sense, but the idea is rarely explored nowadays. British pianist Philip Edward Fisher here takes a shot at grouping the Mighty Handful in the realm of piano music; his efforts make more sense in some places than in others, but there are some delightful moments here. The program is bookended by two well-known works, the original version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (known the world over in orchestral arrangements) and Balakirev's Islamey, a whirl of Orientalist ideas and sheer pianistic fireworks. Fisher is superb in the latter work, although his Pictures at an Exhibition doesn't quite capture the rough-edged quality of Mussorgsky's piano writing. The real innovation of the program lies in the works by the other three of the Mighty Handful, and these works are something of a mixed bag. The three little pieces by Rimsky-Korsakov, essays not too far removed from the Chopin style, have little to make you remember them, but a large nocturne by Cui has an attractive, relaxed quality. Best of all is the Petite Suite of Borodin, another work more often heard in orchestral transcription. It's not particularly a Russian nationalist work, but it's marvelously graceful, and Fisher succeeds in making these little pieces absolutely entrancing. Sample the "Intermezzo" (track 20), where he nails the moment at the end where the music disperses like steam as the final harmony rises through several registers. This album is definitely recommended for lovers of Russian music, and it pegs Fisher as an original young talent to watch.

Review by James Manheim, Allmusic.com

The Mighty Handful, or Mighty Five as they are sometimes called, are Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and César Cui. Together they embody the nationalist tradition in 19th-century Russian music. They are rarely programmed as a group, so Philip Edward Fisher's decision to fashion a recital from the works of all five has considerable appeal. Their piano music varies in quality, however. Mussorgsky and Balakirev are represented, quite rightly, by the towering achievements of Pictures at an Exhibition and Islamey respectively. But Rimsky's music for the instrument is slight, and while there's a case to be made for the much-maligned Cui, his Nocturne in F sharp minor forms no part of it. On the other hand, Borodin's Petite Suite comes over as a work of exquisite grace and melodic charm that deserves to be much better known. It suits Fisher's refined style rather well, too. As with the music, so his playing tends to variability. Islamey is dazzling. Pictures is very reined in and meditative: if you like it done grand and intense, this is not the performance for you.

Review by Tim Ashley, The Guardian

Philip Edward Fisher at Allmusic
Philip Edward Fisher Website
Philip Edward Fisher at Wiki

Philip Edward Fisher (piano)
rec. 25-26 August 2010, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, UK

Tracklist:

Modest MUSSORGSKY (1839-1881)

Pictures at an Exhibition [35:26]
01. Promenade (1:29)
02. 1. Gnomus (2:34)
03. Promenade (0:49)
04. 2. Il vecchio castello (5:08)
05. Promenade (0:28)
06. 3. Tuileries (1:02)
07. 4. Bydlo (2:48)
08. Promenade (0:40)
09. 5. Ballet of the Chicks (1:10)
10. 6. Two Polish Jews (2:32)
11. Promenade (1:25)
12. 7. Limoges (1:28)
13. 8. Catacombae (2:11)
14. Con Mortuis in Lingua Mortua (2:13)
15. 9.The Hut on Fowl's Legs (3:47)
16. 10. The Great Gate (5:54)

César CUI (1835-1918)

17. Nocturne in F sharp minor, from Op 22 (6:14)

Alexander BORODIN (1822-1887)

18. Scherzo in A flat (3:23)

Petite Suite [20:33]
19. I. Au Couvent (4:20)
20. II. Intermezzo (3:22)
21. III. Mazurka I (3:03)
22. IV. Mazurka II (3:25)
23. V. Reverie (1:37)
24. VI. Serenade (2:11)
25. VII. Nocturne (2:38)

Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908)

26. Scherzino in A, from Op 11 (1:09)
27. Romance in A flat, from Op 15 (1:42)
28. Waltz in C sharp, from Op 15 (3:33)

Mily BALAKIREV (1837-1910)

29. Islamey, Oriental Fantasy (8:55)

EAC log

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EAC extraction logfile from 12. February 2013, 0:37

Philip Edward Fisher / Piano Works by 'The Mighty Handful'

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DR log

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2018-12-12 14:16:36

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Philip Edward Fisher / Piano Works by 'The Mighty Handful'
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR11 -2.63 dB -17.47 dB 1:29 01-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. Promenade
DR13 -3.45 dB -20.84 dB 2:34 02-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. 1. Gnomus
DR12 -12.91 dB -30.22 dB 0:49 03-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. Promenade
DR13 -14.49 dB -32.59 dB 5:08 04-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. 2. Il vecchio castello
DR10 -4.93 dB -19.84 dB 0:28 05-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. Promenade
DR11 -9.97 dB -25.74 dB 1:02 06-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. 3. Tuileries
DR14 -0.99 dB -19.44 dB 2:48 07-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. 4. Bydlo
DR12 -10.06 dB -26.10 dB 0:40 08-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. Promenade
DR14 -8.15 dB -24.79 dB 1:10 09-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. 5. Ballet of the Chicks
DR12 -1.20 dB -19.19 dB 2:32 10-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. 6. Two Polish Jews
DR12 -2.69 dB -17.89 dB 1:25 11-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. Promenade
DR10 -3.47 dB -17.29 dB 1:28 12-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. 7. Limoges
DR15 -2.50 dB -25.90 dB 2:11 13-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. 8. Catacombae
DR11 -13.74 dB -30.29 dB 2:13 14-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. Con Mortuis in Lingua Mortua
DR12 -0.33 dB -18.32 dB 3:47 15-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. 9.The Hut on Fowl's Legs
DR13 -0.66 dB -17.59 dB 5:54 16-Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition. 10. The Great Gate
DR14 -5.39 dB -24.55 dB 6:14 17-Cui : Nocturne in F sharp minor
DR13 -5.09 dB -21.28 dB 3:23 18-Borodin : Scherzo in A flat major
DR14 -3.11 dB -24.95 dB 4:20 19-Borodin : Petite Suite. I. Au Couvent
DR13 -5.00 dB -23.76 dB 3:22 20-Borodin : Petite Suite. II. Intermezzo
DR14 -4.57 dB -22.29 dB 3:03 21-Borodin : Petite Suite. III. Mazurka I
DR13 -4.47 dB -20.98 dB 3:25 22-Borodin : Petite Suite. IV. Mazurka II
DR12 -10.37 dB -27.02 dB 1:37 23-Borodin : Petite Suite. V. Reverie
DR12 -7.41 dB -23.63 dB 2:11 24-Borodin : Petite Suite. VI. Serenade
DR13 -7.03 dB -25.54 dB 2:38 25-Borodin : Petite Suite. VII. Nocturne
DR10 -5.58 dB -21.50 dB 1:09 26-Rimsky-Korsakov : Scherzino, Op. 11 No. 3
DR12 -10.47 dB -27.51 dB 1:42 27-Rimsky-Korsakov : Romance, Op. 15 No 2
DR12 -2.87 dB -21.26 dB 3:33 28-Rimsky-Korsakov : Waltz, Op. 15 No. 1
DR13 -0.14 dB -17.85 dB 8:55 29-Balakirev : Islamey
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 29
Official DR value: DR12

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 400 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

All thanks to original releaser

More interesting music in My Blog

2010s Alexander Borodin CD-Rip César Cui Classical FLAC Lossless Mighty Handful Mily Balakirev Modest Mussorgsky MP3 Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov Philip Edward Fisher Piano Romantic Classical Music