First recordings of Kashperova’s Piano Concerto and Symphony
Two major orchestral works by rediscovered Russian composer Leokadiya Kashperova – her Piano Concerto in A minor and the Symphony in B minor – receive their first recordings on Capriccio thanks to soloist Oliver Treindl and the RSO Berlin conducted by Anna Skryleva.
Leokadiya Kashperova (1872-1940), hitherto consigned to a footnote in musical history as Stravinsky’s piano teacher, continues to undergo rediscovery. A double graduate of the St Petersburg Conservatoire, she emerged as a virtuoso pianist and composer in the Romantic tradition, performing in both Germany and the UK as well as in Russia in the 1900s, but her career petered out after 1920, swept away by the tides of political change.
Her music can now be heard again a century later, thanks to a new release on the Capriccio label offering first recordings of her two most significant orchestral scores, the Piano Concerto in A minor op.2 and the Symphony in B minor op.4. Oliver Treindl is soloist in the concerto, with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anna Skryleva. Gramophone noted how “these fine premiere recordings show that these works are not just curios but viable pieces that should enter the repertoire”.
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The Piano Concerto is Kashperova's earliest surviving orchestral work, composed in 1900 and premiered by the composer the following year in Moscow and St Petersburg, bringing her much wider recognition and paving the way for her international career. Following its early performances with the composer as soloist, Kashperova’s Piano Concerto fell into silence, like the rest of her output following the Russian Revolution. The first modern performance had to wait until 2022 when the concerto was recorded by soloist Alexandra Dariescu with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Chris Hopkins for a BBC Radio 3 broadcast as part of a Composer of the Week feature.
“Written the same year as Rachmaninov’s Second, the concerto is an exhilarating piece that shows off the same fearless virtuosity that, I presume, saw Kashperova become a star pupil in Anton Rubinstein’s piano class… Overall, the performance finds both the light and the shade of this piece, from the big, bold and brooding opening movement to the deft, dancing finale with its chamber-music moments.”
BBC Music Magazine
The Symphony in B minor of 1905 is Kashperova’s grandest composition. Testimony to her originality is that the work betrays her sympathies not only for the Russian symphonic tradition but also that of central Europe. Her instinct for instrumental timbre and subtle combinations extends to every section of the orchestra across the symphony’s four movements totalling a duration of 40 minutes. The work abounds in felicitous solos for woodwinds and brass, and it reveals many effective and original ‘chamber ensembles’ from within the symphonic palette.
Since its modern revival in 2018, thanks to a radio broadcast by the BBC Concert Orchestra under Jane Glover, Kashperova’s Symphony has travelled widely, programmed by conservatoire and community orchestras as well as professional ensembles. With more than 25 performances scheduled to date, the work has been heard in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Canada and the USA. Last season brought three performances by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jader Bignamini.
“The Symphony in B minor Kashperova’s most important orchestral work, is another wonderful rediscovery… helping lay to rest the myth that women didn’t compose symphonies in the past. It is a symphony that takes up space, with an Adagio that rivals Elgar in its noble spirit.”
BBC Music Magazine
“What we can sense in these two works is a strong, fresh and original voice that expresses itself in serious, noble and poetic musical images. They flow beautifully through pastoral spaciousness, severe intensity, graceful scherzos and culminations that elevate the soul, all dressed in effective orchestral colours.”
Gramophone
The Boosey & Hawkes Kashperova Edition is fruit of the musicological labours of Dr Graham Griffiths who rediscovered the composer’s music in Moscow and St Petersburg and prepared the new edition. Launched in 2021 with the publication of her Cello Sonatas Nos.1 and 2 and the piano suite In the Midst of Nature, the edition has also featured the Piano Trio in A minor, together with performance materials and scores of the Piano Concerto and Symphony.
Further background to the rediscovery of the composer can be found in the In Search of Kashperova video series, viewable on the Boosey & Hawkes YouTube channel and on www.boosey.com/audiovisual.