Nikolai Tcherepnin - 3 Piano Pieces Op. 24 (audio + sheet music)

The set of Three Pieces, Op. 24, reveal the young Nikolai Tcherepnin as a Late Romantic. These works, and also the pianistic writing in his passionate Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, Op. 30, of the same period, show how thoroughly comfortable he was in the virtuosic manner of Franz Liszt and Anton Rubinstein. Although it is difficult to determine exactly when these three pieces were written, it seems probable that Tcherepnin composed them during the 1890s, the years when he was most intensively engaged with the piano.

The first of the set, a Rêverie in E flat minor, features melodic gestures, harmonic progressions and an intensity that recall the piano music of Rachmaninov (Tcherepnin’s senior by only six weeks). The Étude in C minor, which pays homage to Chopin’s ‘Revolutionary’ study, remains heroic to the end, including a triumphant switch to C major. Audaciously closing with a quiet, thoughtful piece rather than the stormy Étude, Tcherepnin ends his triptych with an Idylle in D flat major, which may have been inspired by Liadov’s Idylle (1891) in the same key. The balanced keyboard texture owes much to Chopin’s penchant for luxuriating in black-key tonalities. Tcherepnin creates a thoughtful, melancholy melody largely based on a falling sixth, and various passages supported by harmonic circles of fifths add to the nostalgia.

(Naxos Music Library)

Please take note that the audio AND sheet music ARE NOT mine. Feel free to change the video quality to a minimum of 480p for the best watching experience.

Performer: David Witten (Toccata Classics, 2011)
Sheet music: imslp.org/wiki/3_Pi%C3%A8ces%2C_Op.24_(Tcherepnin%2C_Nikolay) (P. Jurgenson, 1905)