PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
(1840–1893)

OPERA AND SONG TRANSCRIPTIONS FOR SOLO PIANO

JULIA SEVERUS

‘Tchaikovsky’s 103 songs and 11 operas are much loved and appreciated in Russia but are less known abroad, probably due to the language barrier. Wishing to contribute to their popularity, Tchaikovsky commissioned numerous transcriptions; some of them he wrote himself, among them three song transcriptions. Recorded for the first time, the transcriptions arranged by fellow composers let us discover “new” Tchaikovsky piano music; they display as well that Tchaikovsky’s melodic genius and magnificent scope of emotion effortless transcend instrumental boundaries.’ – Julia Severus

Listen to an excerpt from
None but the Lonely Heart, Op. 6, No. 6 (arr. J. Severus)
TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Opera and Song Transcriptions for Piano
GP795
PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY

About this Recording

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) wrote over 100 lyric art songs or Romances, a sequence of diaries of the soul that embrace moods from euphoria to despair. They were unusually important to him, and he, or his editors, commissioned piano transcriptions by eminent musicians such as Laub and others, all of which were revised by Tchaikovsky. These poetic and melodically beautiful songs, many of which are here recorded for the first time, include the ravishing None but the Lonely Heart and reveal a ‘new’ body of Tchaikovsky’s piano repertoire. The album concludes with an opera fantasy on themes from Eugene Onegin by the Austrian composer and pianist Carl Frühling.

PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893)
6 ROMANCES, OP. 16 (VERSION FOR PIANO) (1872–73) (08:14)
1
No. 1. Kolïbel’naya pesnya (‘Cradle Song’) (02:58)
2
No. 4. O, spoy zhe tu pesnyu (‘O Sing that Song’) (02:29)
3
No. 5. Tak chto zhe? (‘So What, Then?’) (02:45)
4
6 ROMANCES, OP. 6 – NO. 5. OTCHEVO? (‘WHY?’) (1869)
(arr. J. Severus, b. 1968, for piano) * (02:46)
5
6 ROMANCES, OP. 28 – NO. 3. ZACHEM? (‘WHY?’) (1875)
(arr. V. Laub, 1857–1911, for piano) * (02:22)
6
KHOTEL BÏ V EDINOYE SLOVO (‘I SHOULD LIKE A SINGLE WORD’) (1875)
(arr. J. Severus for piano) * (01:35)
6 ROMANCES, OP. 73 (1893) (03:41)
7
No. 6. Snova, kak prezhde, odin (‘Again, as Before, Alone’)
(arr. J. Severus for piano) * (02:22)
8
No. 1. Mï sideli s toboy (‘We Sat Together’)
(arr. A. Bernard, 1816–1901, for piano) * (01:19)
9
7 ROMANCES, OP. 47 – NO. 6. DEN’ LI TSARIT?
(‘DOES THE DAY REIGN?’) (1880) (arr. J. Severus for piano) * (03:21)
10
6 ROMANCES, OP. 63 – NO. 5. UZH GASLI V KOMNATAKH OGNI
(‘THE FIRES IN THE ROOMS WERE ALREADY OUT’) (1886–87)
(arr. A. Bernard for piano) * (02:38)
CHARLES VOSS (1815–1882)
11
FANTAISIE CARACTÉRISTIQUE SUR DES MOTIFS DE ‘VAKOULA LE FORGERON’ DE TCHAIKOVSKY (‘CHARACTERISTIC FANTASY ON MOTIFS OF TCHAIKOVSKY’S “VAKULA THE SMITH”’), OP. 319 (1878) * (10:17)
PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
12
6 ROMANCES, OP. 6 – NO. 3. I BOL’NO, I SLADKO (‘IT IS BOTH PAINFUL AND SWEET’) (1869) (arr. J. Nagel, 1837–1892, for piano) * (02:44)
13
6 ROMANCES, OP. 38 – NO. 1. SERENADA DON-ZHUANA (‘DON JUAN’S SERENADE’) (1878) (arr. A. Bernard for piano) * (02:36)
14
6 ROMANCES, OP. 27 – NO. 3. NE OTKHODI OT MENYA! (‘DO NOT LEAVE ME!’) (1875) (arr. V. Laub for piano) (02:31)
15
6 ROMANCES, OP. 73 – NO. 2. NOCH’ (‘NIGHT’) (1893)
(arr. H. Pachulski, 1859–1921, for piano) * (02:48)
16
6 ROMANCES, OP. 6 – NO. 6. NET, TOL’KO TOT, KTO ZNAL (‘NO, ONLY ONE WHO HAS KNOWN’), ‘NONE BUT THE LONELY HEART’ (1869)
(arr. J. Severus for piano) * (02:51)
17
12 ROMANCES, OP. 60 – NO. 1. VCHERASHNYAYA NOCH’ (‘LAST NIGHT’) (1886) (arr. V. Laub for piano) * (03:19)
18
6 ROMANCES, OP. 63 – NO. 2. RASTVORIL YA OKNO (‘I OPENED THE WINDOW’) (1886–87) (arr. A. Bernard for piano) * (01:44)
12 ROMANCES, OP. 60 (1886) (06:46)
19
No. 6. Nochi bezumnïye (‘Frenzied Nights’) (arr. A. Bernard for piano) * (02:56)
20
No. 11. Podvig (‘The Heroic Deed’) (arr. J. Severus for piano) * (03:49)
CARL FRÜHLING (1868–1937)
21
FANTASY ON ‘EUGENE ONEGIN’ (1912) * (11:47)
* WORLD PREMIÈRE RECORDING

TOTAL TIME: 73:33

Julia Severus

JULIA SEVERUS

Julia Severus graduated from the Berlin University of Arts and from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where she studied piano with Mikhail Voskresensky and Lev Naumov. Wishing to explore piano ensemble repertoire, she founded the Aurora Duo and Quartet, performing numerous premières and world premières, among them Rodion Shchedrin’s Hommage à Chopin in the presence of the composer. With her colleague Alina Luschtschizkaja, Julia Severus made the first recording of the complete Tchaikovsky ballet suites (Naxos 8.570418), of which Penguin Guide praised, saying, ‘Considering how much it depends on orchestral colour, it is a astonishing how well Tchaikovsky’s ballet music comes off in piano-duet form, if the players are sympathetic and stylish... Most enjoyable.’

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