French Suite No. 5 in G major, BWV 816

Courante


  • Recorded: 2nd February 1951
  • Record Place: Czechoslovakian Radio, Karlín
  • First Release: 1951
  • (P) 1951 SUPRAPHON a.s.
  • Genre: Orchestral

Artists

  • music by: Johann Sebastian Bach
  • piano: Tatiana Petrovna Nikolayeva

Album

Tatiana Nikolayeva

Prague Recordings 1951-1954. Russian Masters

Catalogue Number: SU 4216-2
Published: 24th February 2017
Genre: Chamber Music
Format: 2 CD
Sergey Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18; Sergey Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 28*; Dmitri Shostakovich - 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Op. 87 (selection) *; Tatiana Nikolayeva - Three Concert Etudes, Op. 13*; Johann Sebastian Bach - French Suite No. 5 in G major, BWV 816; Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903*; Fantasia in C minor, BWV 906*

Tatiana Nikolayeva - piano, Czech Philharmonic, conductor: Konstantin Ivanov

In the case of the pianist Tatiana Nikolayeva (1924-1993), that overused term "child prodigy" is entirely apt. She began playing the instrument at the age of three and started to compose music when she was 12. At the age of 13, she enrolled at the Moscow Conservatory, after graduating from which she intensively devoted to composition. The turning point in her career emerged in 1950; more significant in her career than winning the first edition of the J. S. Bach International Competition in Leipzig was her encounter with Shostakovich, which turned into a lifelong friendship. With her account of Bach's music, Nikolayeva inspired Shostakovich to compose his 24 Preludes and Fugues, which she was the first to perform. In February 1951, Nikolayeva was invited to Prague to join the Czech Philharmonic and make a recording of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and several Bach pieces. The other Supraphon recordings (of works by Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Nikolayeva's own Concert Etudes) were completed in April 1954. Notwithstanding the small number of Tatiana Nikolayeva's performances recorded for Supraphon on magnetic tapes, their significance is indispensable indeed, as they represent virtually the oldest preserved testimony to the immense mastery of the legendary pianist, before she was discovered by the whole world.

Prague, the 1950s: the earliest records of Tatiana Nikolayeva's boundless mastery.

Reviews

“This set is a must-have for all lovers of solo piano music and admirers of the consummate art of Tatiana Nikolayeva, a true original.”
MusicWeb International, August 2017

“Recorded in Prague, some of these vivid and characterful performances are on CD for the first time and they’re a must-have for all pianophiles.”
BBC Music Magazine, December 2017

CD 1

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
1. Moderato 10:23
2. Adagio sostenuto 10:53
3. Allegro scherzando 11:29
Sergei Prokofiev
4. Piano Sonata No. 3 in A minor "From the Old Notebooks", Op. 28 07:35
Tatiana Petrovna Nikolayeva
Three Concert Études, Op. 13
5. Etude in E minor 03:07
6. Etude in B minor 03:09
7. Etude in C major 02:25

CD 2

Dmitry Shostakovich
24 Preludes and Fugues for Piano - Selection, Op. 87
1. No. 1 in C major. Moderato - Moderato 04:57
2. No. 7 in A major. Allegro poco moderato - Allegretto 03:17
3. No. 15 in D flat major. Allegretto - Allegro molto 04:19
Johann Sebastian Bach
4. Fantasia in C minor, BWV 906 04:10
Johann Sebastian Bach
French Suite No. 5 in G major, BWV 816
5. Allemande 02:49
6. Courante 01:31
7. Sarabande 04:14
8. Gavotte 01:05
9. Bourrée 01:06
10. Loure 01:52
11. Gigue 02:52
Johann Sebastian Bach
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903
12. Fantasia 07:01
13. Fugue 04:19