"What do you know about classical music?", my wife asks when she spies these two CDs in my In-Tray. The heavy scepticism behind the question is similar to the tone of my brother who recently posed the even more pointed query as to how I can review records at all when I don't play an instrument.
While it is true that my 'classical' education is limited and my playing ability is non-existent, I would strongly argue that neither is pre-requisite to writing about music.
In my opinion, deconstructing how pieces 'work' is mostly as pointless and counter productive as explaining a funny joke. You either get it or you don't. For me, the emotional response is more important than technicalities; this is something that applies to anything from Beethoven to Bjork.
Which brings me to Dr Svetlana Belsky, a Russian-born pianist, teacher and author.
Her online bio tells me that she trained mostly in the United States and currently works as co-ordinator of Piano Studies at the University of Chicago.
Aside from teaching, she performs widely all over the world.
In short, it's safe to assume that any criticism of her ability would be both presumptuous and wrong-headed
Belsky's CD of Ferruccio Busoni's piano transcriptions features works by Bach, Bizet and Mozart and is a companion piece to her annotated translation of Busoni as Pianist by Russian musicologist Grigori Kogan published in 2010.
The album was recorded in Fulton Hall, Chicago and highlights Busoni's transcriptions from the organ, violin and operatic repertoire.
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The other album was recorded at LMP studios, New York and is dominated by a twenty seven minute performance of Robert Schumann's Carnaval, Opus 9. This single track is actually divided into 22 sections and the whole is apparently a musical representation of a masked ball during carnival season. Belsky herself describes it as "a masterpiece of profundity and beauty".
This long piece is followed by Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita No.4 in D Major (tracks 2-8) and a group of Etudes by Chopin and Liszt with a one minute 46 second blast of Rachmaninoff to finish.
Of the two albums, I found the livelier mood of 'Svetlana Belsky, Piano' made it a more attractive proposition than the Busoni transcriptions although doubtless the latter will appeal more to piano students. However, it comes as no surprise that radio stations have picked up on the rousing version of the Fantasy from Bizet's Carmen.
The free ranging structure of all the pieces sound technically demanding which makes Belsky's performances all the more impressive.
But, then again, what do I know?!
Svetlana Belsky's Website
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