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Marco Rapetti

Cui: Complete Pno Music Vol. 1 [CD]

1999
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Release Details
Street Date: 2026-03-13

First recordings of Romantic-era piano miniatures by an overlooked figure in the 'New Russian School' of composers known as 'The Mighty Handful'. 'Irretrievably forgotten' was the verdict of the musicologist Richard Taruskin on the music of Cesar Cui. He would be deprecated in our time as a dilettante composer, being a man of parts who made his career in the Russian military, firstly as an officer and then as an expert on fortifications. In that capacity Cui became a professor in Moscow while also writing prolifically about music: he was known as a stern critic, and he played an instrumental role in promoting a new, distinctively Russian school of music which built on the nationalist operas of Glinka and Mussorgsky. In that context, Cui's own music sounds at odds with his philosophy, cultivating as it does a central-European poetic style indebted to the examples of Chopin and Schumann. Marco Rapetti is the first-ever pianist to record his complete piano output, and this first volume covers the years 1877 to 1888, from the Trois morceaux Op.8 to the Trois mouvements de valse Op.41. Delightful sets of miniatures include mazurkas and serenades no less charming for their brevity. Most substantial of the collections featured here are the Suite Op.21, dedicated to Franz Liszt, and a suite of nine 'pieces caracteristiques' Op.40, dedicated to the count and countess de Mercy-Argenteau; the countess was a tireless promoter of Cui's music in western Europe. Marco Rapetti has made a speciality of recording neglected Russian piano music, including sets on Brilliant Classics dedicated to the work of Alexander Borodin and Anatoly Lyadov. In welcoming his set of Debussy's two-piano works, where he was partnered by Massimillano Damerini, the Fanfare magazine reviewer noted that 'Damerini and Rapetti perform with perfect unanimity and a verve and elan that bring out all the vividness of the orchestral works.'

Tracklist:

  1. Trois Morceaux, Op. 8-I. Nocturne
  2. Trois Morceaux, Op. 8-II. Scherzino
  3. Trois Morceaux, Op. 8-III. Polka
  4. Scherzino (For the Magazine Semya I Shkola, 1879)
  5. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-I. Expansion Naïve
  6. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-II. Aveu Timide
  7. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-III. Petite Valse
  8. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-IV. A la Schumann
  9. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-V. Cantabile
  10. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-VI. Souvenir Douloureux
  11. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-VII. Mosaïque
  12. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-VIII. Berceuse
  13. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-IX. Canzonetta
  14. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-X. Petite Marche
  15. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-XI. Mazurka
  16. Douze Miniatures, Op. 20-XII. Scherzo Rustique
  17. Suite, Op. 21 ("A François Liszt", 1883)-I. Impromptu
  18. Suite, Op. 21 ("A François Liszt", 1883)-II. Ténèbres Et Lueurs
  19. Suite, Op. 21 ("A François Liszt", 1883)-III. Intermezzo
  20. Suite, Op. 21 ("A François Liszt", 1883)-IV. Alla Polacca
  21. Six Miniatures, Op. 39-I. Marionettes Espagnoles
  22. Six Miniatures, Op. 39-II. Feuille D'album
  23. Six Miniatures, Op. 39-III. Étude Arabesque
  24. Six Miniatures, Op. 39-IV. Au Berceau
  25. Six Miniatures, Op. 39-V. Marche-Étude
  26. Six Miniatures, Op. 39-VI. Romanzetta
  27. A Argenteau, Recueil de Neuf Pièces Caractéristiques, Op. 40 ("Au Comte Et A la Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau", 1887)-I. Le Cèd
  28. A Argenteau, Recueil de Neuf Pièces Caractéristiques, Op. 40 ("Au Comte Et A la Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau", 1887)-II. Far Ni
  29. A Argenteau, Recueil de Neuf Pièces Caractéristiques, Op. 40 ("Au Comte Et A la Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau", 1887)-III. Capri
  30. A Argenteau, Recueil de Neuf Pièces Caractéristiques, Op. 40 ("Au Comte Et A la Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau", 1887)-IV. La Pet
  31. A Argenteau, Recueil de Neuf Pièces Caractéristiques, Op. 40 ("Au Comte Et A la Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau", 1887)-V. Sérén
  32. A Argenteau, Recueil de Neuf Pièces Caractéristiques, Op. 40 ("Au Comte Et A la Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau", 1887)-VI. Causer
  33. A Argenteau, Recueil de Neuf Pièces Caractéristiques, Op. 40 ("Au Comte Et A la Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau", 1887)-VII. Mazur
  34. A Argenteau, Recueil de Neuf Pièces Caractéristiques, Op. 40 ("Au Comte Et A la Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau", 1887)-VIII. A la
  35. A Argenteau, Recueil de Neuf Pièces Caractéristiques, Op. 40 ("Au Comte Et A la Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau", 1887)-IX. Le Roc
  36. Trois Mouvements de Valse, Op. 41-I. Valse-Scherzo
  37. Trois Mouvements de Valse, Op. 41-II. Valse-Intermezzo
  38. Trois Mouvements de Valse, Op. 41-III. Valse A la Viennoise

UPC: 5063758102117
Label: Piano Classics
Release Date: 3.13.26
Format: CD

SKU: 44076722
UPC: 5063758102117