Andrey Dubov pianist

Andrei Dubov. Piano arrangements.

20.12.2017 Artikel

The present collection contains piano arrangements of famous pieces originally composed for a symphony orchestra or voice and piano. Every piece of music presented here belong to the era of Russian Romanticism and find their place among the best of the world’s music along with the Viennese Classics, French impressionism and American jazz. Admirers of the classical music around the world appreciate Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff; each of their works is an invaluable contribution to the world musical culture.

It was a great pleasure to make arrangements of the works of this trio enabling pianists to touch the music they have never performed. It is a huge responsibility, as well, as each of these composers had his own identity, the way of thinking and stylistic peculiarities. You cannot ignore all these authentic features when making transcriptions, so it was my priority to emphasize them attentively. Some of the pieces demanded to underscore orchestral brilliance without giving in to the temptation of the unnecessary demonstration of virtuosity; other pieces, on the contrary, should have proved the artistry of the composer, who was a distinguished pianist himself and used technical complexity as the means of communication to express his musical vision. For instance, brilliant transcriptions of Rachmaninov, where technical fluency symbiotically serves the poetic nature, or pieces for piano of Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky, where the symphonism and orchestral mentality prevail resulting in a lack of bright flashy passages typical for such as Franz Liszt.

Why do we make transcriptions? This is the question usually asked while the answer lies in the history of the performing arts. According to Natalia P. Ivanchey, Boris. B. Borodin, Alexander M. Merkulov and other musicologists, the art of musical transcription was born almost at the same time, as did the art of piano performing, being an essential part of the latter. In days of the Baroque, musicians used the thoroughbass notation; also, the pieces were rich with unwritten cadences that gave some freedom in the interpretation. The pianists of the XVIII century were practically co-authors with the composers; they made arrangements of the symphonies, overtures and other pieces, contributing the transcription with their individuality. Composers of XIX-XX centuries excluded this possibility almost completely by writing out even the cadences. Modern requirements of the performing arts consider the artist should eliminate any interpretations and convey the exact idea of the author. The word “performance” has been becoming more literal, as a performer serves to the composer. Nevertheless, in the modern academic music, a possibility of a composer and performer becoming a tandem is on the rise, and the mark of the free interpretation in the modern notation is increasingly encountered.

Piano transcription is an auspicious genre, which has not yet exhausted its potential of self-expression and seems to have long-term prospects. The ways of the musical transcription gradation almost equal the number of its researchers. Thus, we may conclude that the variety of the transcription types is quite wide, starting from accurate rewriting to phantasies based on original pieces. Among these are the arrangements with original text preserved, and recital transcriptions extended in form and sophisticated texture.

“Night on Bald Mountain “. This piece by Modest Mussorgsky mesmerizes every listener. The original notation was thought to be lost, while the version by Nikolay Rimski-Korsakov – who changed the form and rewrote the major orchestral part – became widely known. Two arrangements of “Night on Bald Mountain” for solo piano also were made: at first – by Konstantin N. Tchernov (1865–1937), later – by Igor L. Khudoley (1940–2001). Both of the transcriptions unite the careful attitude towards the original text and the composer’s style. As the basis for my version of the arrangement, I took the Khudoley’s one, considering it to be more appropriate for the sound of modern instruments. However, almost every bar underwent amendments; the form of the coda was insignificantly changed. The wide range of orchestrations served as an input for the present arrangement. In my view, Leopold Stokovsky (1882–1977) created one of the most distinguished orchestration. It served as a model when I tried to reproduce sound diversity in the timbre and register, with the form remaining almost identical to the Rimski-Korsakov’s version. The transcription had the form of the piano arrangement, without additional means of virtuosic expression, as close to the orchestral score as possible.

“Piano arrangement of the Night on Bald Mountain by Andrey Dubov is a successful example of the balance between brilliant virtuosity of the piano arrangement and accuracy in delivery of orchestral sound. Despite the impressive techniques of the texture and rich musical material, it is written conveniently to perform. I very much hope this transcription will successfully fit into the modern pianistic repertoire.”
V.V.Pyasetsky, professor of Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory 

I chose three romances by Sergei Rachmaninoff according to my musical preferences and their harmonious cohesion that allowed forming a miniature cycle of these compositions: “O, never sing to me again” (“Ne poy, krasavitsa pri mne”), “In the night's mysterious silence” (“V molchanyi nochi taynoy”) and “Oh, do not grieve…” (“O, ne grusti”). Each romance represents a different type of transcription.

“O, never sing to me again” is a bright recital arrangement with changes in texture and form and the addition of the virtuosic climax absent in the original. Working on this romance, I avoided changing the author’s stylistics, wherever possible adopting the melismatic style and harmony similar to those of Rachmaninoff. Thus, for instance, the rhythmic pattern 4/5 can be seen in Prelude in G Major (ор. 32 № 5); the comparison of triads of the I and IV degrees was particularly applied by the composer in his spiritual compositions.

“In the night's mysterious silence” presents another type of arrangement. The form of the original piece and the accompaniment structure remained almost the same. This one could have been named a simple arrangement if it was not for the introduced register variations of the melody and supporting voices. The trills added to this arrangement in the climax refer us back to the finale of II part (Lento) of the Rachmaninoff’s First Sonata (op.28).

By its type of arrangement, the song “Oh, do not grieve…” is some kind of the golden mean between the two above mentioned. In this transcription, the accompaniment texture was changed, where the so-called Rachmaninoff’s chord found its place along with virtuosity of the upper registers, embracing significant to the composer D-flat major, the synonym of love. The introduction material performed at the beginning without any change, at the end of the piece sounds softer due to the leading notes and passing motifs. The musical form is identical to the original.

“In the romance “O, never sing to me again” the virtuosity of the arrangement reveals harmoniously the secret storm of the fatal passions. Andrey Dubov transformed the romance “O, never sing to me again” into a bright dramatic piece. The arrangement of the romance “In the night's mysterious silence” made subtle and delicate; it appears the way, in which Sergei Vasilyevich could perform the piano arrangement of the song when showing to his friends. The three arrangements by Andrey Dubov can enrich the repertoire of modern pianists.”
 L.L. Kovalyova-Ogorodnova, writer, founder of Rachmaninoff Saint-Petersburg Society 

“The Nutcracker” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is one of the most beloved ballets in the world with Pa de deux (Andante maestoso) being one of the most popular ballet numbers. The music gives you a feeling of a fairy-tale, a miracle; no surprise there are many different piano arrangements of this part. However, the most popular are the ones by Sergey I. Taneev (1856-1915) and Mikhail V. Pletnyov (b.1957). What inspired me to create a new version was an idea of balance between bright and impressive techniques and polyphonic elements along with the poetic arrangement. Thus, the beginning of the piece should concentrate on the lyrical and melodic material, while the technical complexity increase in the course of the piece. The climax is full of passages for both hands that gives several positive moments – firstly, the rich texture; secondly, credibility of the arrangement (passages mimic the harp and the piccolo flute); and thirdly, the passages prevent a pianist from crumbling the climax, as a performer needs to cover a lot of musical score leading to an inevitable rhythmic expansion.

Andrei Dubov, pianist, arranger

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