G. Catoire, (Γ. Κатуар), Four Preludes, Op. 17 (complete set)

[rachfan]

I've loaded Georgy Catoire's Four Preludes, Op. 17 here as a complete set.  I believe Op. 17 was composed c. 1903.

Georges Catoire, or in Russian, Georgy Katuar (1861-1926) was a late romantic Russian-born composer, but of French lineage.  He was also a pianist and professor of composition at the Moscow Conservatory, having studied piano with Karl Klindworth and composition with Otto Tirsch, Philip Rufer, and Anatol Liadov.  Catoire sometimes also solicited advice on composition from his close friend, Anton Arensky. The influences found in Catoire’s music can be traced to Wagner, early Scriabin, as well as Faure, yet his idiom is very original and distinctive.  His music is ultra-romantic, sensuous, and fully accessible on first hearing.  

Comments welcome.

[neardn]

i just finished listening, i've never heard these pieces before

it was very nice to listen to, you've obviously practiced these a lot, no?

not to be rude in any way, but it's a shame that your piano doesn't have more "depth" or bass prominence, i think it would make these pieces sound much better
perhaps it's a mic issue, in any case

thank you very much, i enjoyed listening :)

[rachfan]

Hi neardn,

Thanks for listening to the whole set!  Catoire's pieces are difficult to play well, so I'm really glad you enjoyed them.  Warning: His music becomes addictive after a short while.

The piano is my 1984 Baldwin Model L Artist Grand (6'3"), which underwent partial rebuilding two years ago.  It now has Ronsen Wurzen hammers with new shanks and flanges, Arledge Bass Strings, Mapes International Gold musical wire in the treble, and Crescendo conical wurzen felt key punchings along with the counterpart Crescendo balance rail punchings.  All of those are truly outstanding quality components.  Steinway and Baldwin have different timbres, but both are fine instruments, each with their adherents.  The recorder was the Korg MR-1000 DSD, much acclaimed for making home recordings.  For my money, the recorded sound is more natural than the more boxy sound of Edirol.  The external mics are Nakamichi M-300 electret condenser, small diaphram mics using omni-directional capsules (excellent mics, but admitted the oldest equipment I use).  The mics were placed 8' in front of the piano curve in A-B parallel stereo configuration with a 12" separation, the mics (on stands) being inclined toward the top of the fully open lid.  (I no longer do any "close in" recordings, as they are far more suited to jazz and pops than classical music.)  So that's the technical side of it all!  I think that we're all so used to hearing professional studio recordings with 7' auditorium grands and 9' concert grands, that when we hear home recordings with smaller grands, it's just not the same.  Next time, I'll move the mics a bit more toward the right in front of the grand to increase the bass bias a little.

Update: I'm also looking at new mics.

Again, thanks for tuning in to these recordings!  

[go12_3]

rachfan:  Thanks for sharing these pieces.  I have never heard of the composer, Catoire.
Very fine playing of these preludes.  I enjoyed listening to them.   

best wishes,

go12_3

[rachfan]

Hi go,

Thanks for listening to the music of this wonderful Russian Late Romantic composer.  Yes, Catoire's music is somewhat obscure.  In his lifetime, unlike Rachmaninoff, he never promoted his own piano music.  Early on, because of his support for Wagner, he was blackballed in Moscow by Rimsky-Korsakov and his clique, which didn't help Catoire's composing career.  And, later, the Soviet Ministry of Culture didn't authorize reprinting  Catoire's scores, as they were not deemed to further the ideals of socialist music.  So after his death, Catoire and his music fell pretty much into oblivion. I believe that his music is incredibly good, so it gives me a great deal of pleasure to help raise awareness of its great beauty.  I'm glad you enjoyed these preludes!

[faj]

Thanks for sharing. You got a huge nice repertoire !

[rachfan]

Thanks, faj

It was a joy learning these preludes of Georgy Catoire, but in some ways I found his idiom very difficult to play well.  But I asked myself, "If I don't play this music here, then who will?"  That kept me motivated, and I was really glad to be able to prepare and present this complete set. Catoire's music is truly ingratiating.  Thanks for listening to it!