As we told you last week, Pushkin Romances has been chosen by BBC Music as August’s “Disc of the Month.” Within the issue is a wonderful full review and great information on Pushkin and Glinka (as well as their relationship with each other), and an interview with Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Here is an excerpt from the review, which was given 5 stars for the Recording and 5 stars for the Performance!
By Michael Scott Rohan:
“…Bringing them all to life is Hvorsotovsky’s performance — passionate, brooding or forceful with Pushkin’s flowing lines, in a manner which might be a bit overpowering in less emotional music, but is exactly right for these songs. The more so, because it isn’t wild or uncontrolled in the bad old Slavic style; his dark baritone has lost remarkably little of the suave sheen that distinguished his 1990s romance collections (Philips), and his word-sense and diction remain exemplary, in Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nightingale’ for example. Estonian Ivari Ilja is an equally spirited accompanist.
Some recitals, however worthy, if played straight through may send the unwary critic’s nose sliding down into score or keyboard. This one kept me wide awake and fascinated.”
Also within the article, Dmitri Hvorostovsky sits down with BBC Music Magazine’s Daniel Jaffé. Here’s an excerpt from that interview:
JAFFE: Have there been any interpreters (singers) of these songs who have been an inspiration to you?
HVOROSTOVSKY: It seems appropriate at this point to say that this album is my tribute to one of the greatest Russian singers of our time — the mezzo-soprano Irina Arkhipova, who sadly died earlier this year. She was a true protagonist of the Soviet era; she managed to help thousands of young opera singers find their way on the ‘Opera Olymp’, of which I was one! Indeed Arkhipova brought me to Cardiff for the BBC Singer of the World competition, as she was on the prestigious jury. Arkhipova was a most unique artist in many ways. She could be equally brilliant in many genres, whether it be opera, oratorio, chamber music or even folk and spiritual church music. She blessed her audiences with an enormous amount of recitals throughout her solo career, but it was Pushkin song recitals that were undoubtedly my favorites.
To read the full review and the full interview, purchase a copy of the August issue of BBC Music Magazine in your local retail store. To hear an excerpt of the recording courtesy of BBC Music, visit http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com. For even more excerpts, check out our Pushkin Romances Tab on our Delos Facebook Page!