Airat Ichmouratov: Piano Concerto; Viola Concerto No. 1

by Elvira Misbakhova, Jean-Philippe Sylvestre, Airat Ichmouratov, Elvira Misbachova, London Symphony Orchestra

Overview

The music of Airat Ichmouratov is becoming increasingly popular, and here, he hits the big time with a recording on the major Chandos label, one which hit classical best-seller charts in the summer of 2023. He is also a klezmer clarinetist, but none of these varied strands of his background shows up much in this pair of concertos, one for viola (he wrote it for the doctoral recital of the violinist here, Elvira Misbachova, and romance flowered), and one, later, for piano. Instead, the music is late Romantic in style. What sets Ichmouratov apart from his sizable group of competitors in this area is a strongly evocative, cinematic quality to his music. He has apparently never written film scores, and there is no evidence that he knows the works of John Williams and the like, but it is an occupation he might try sometime. Sample the calm string serenade of the slow movement, evocative of the resolution of a long conflict, with the piano entering after a considerable time in a high range at a clockwork pace, unfolding what sounds like a distant memory that gathers intensity as the movement proceeds. Much of the music is episodic in the manner of a film score; the Viola Concerto is a bit more oriented toward traditional concerto form, but the soloist is given a great variety of utterances. Chandos' sound from LSO St. Luke's is a bit remote and tends to swallow up pianist Jean-Philippe Sylvestre, but both soloists are sympathetic to the music. Listeners who favor neo-Romantic styles may not be familiar with Ichmouratov, but it seems a good bet that they will be hearing his name frequently going forward. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	06/16/2023
Label:	CHANDOS
UPC:	0095115528129

Tracks

1. Piano Concerto, Op. 40~I. Andante affettuoso ...
2. Piano Concerto, Op. 40~II. Grave solenne
3. Piano Concerto, Op. 40~III. Allegro moderato ...
4. Concerto No. 1, Op. 7~I. Andante ...
5. Concerto No. 1, Op. 7~II. Recitativo ...
6. Concerto No. 1, Op. 7~III. Allegro - Presto

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Elvira Misbakhova   Primary Artist,Viola
Jean-Philippe Sylvestre   Primary Artist,Piano
Airat Ichmouratov   Primary Artist,Conductor
Elvira Misbachova   Primary Artist
London Symphony Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra

Technical Credits

Adrian Peacock   Recording Producer,Editing
Elvira Misbakhova   Editing
John Davis   Photography
Finn S. Gundersen   Booklet Editor
Andreas Klatt   Liner Note Translation
Francois Goupil   Cover Photo
Airat Ichmouratov   Composer
Ralph Couzens   Engineer
Marianne Fernee   Liner Note Translation
David Pereira   Assistant Engineer
Sue Shortridge   A&R
Cass Cassidy   Design,Typesetting
Natalia Lomeiko   Leader
Nigel Polmear   Piano Technician
Jean-Philippe Sylvestre   Editing
Eric Myre   Photography
Antoine Saito   Cover Photo
Sasha Onyshchenko   Photography
Ed Denholm   Assistant Engineer
Arthur Kaptainis   Liner Notes
Alexander James   Mastering,Assistant Engineer
Joe Cancilla   Cover Photo,Photography
Carmine Lauri   Leader
Nelson Falco Cordes   Assistant Engineer
Joe Linehan   Assistant Engineer,Photography