Russian Miniatures for Young Pianists

Rimma Bobritskaia (Composer), Levon Atovmian (Composer), Sergey Prokofiev (Composer), Dmitry Shostakovich (Artist), Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Rimma Bobritskaia, Levon Atovmian, Sergey Prokofiev
• Audio CD (January 12, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Russian Season Fr.
• ASIN: B00000HXHT
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,516,290 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MINIATURE DEJA VU?, August 14, 2001

By 

Melvyn M. Sobel "Melvyn M. Sobel" (Freeport, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russian Miniatures for Young Pianists (Audio CD)

Last year I was quite taken by a CD simply called INNA HEIFETZ PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY, SHOSTAKOVICH & PROKOFIEV. In my Amazon review (10/6/00), I called it "a fetching collection of miniatures... depicting 'a child's-eye-view' of the world."

MINIATURES FOR YOUNG PIANISTS, played so well by Rimma Bobritskaia, another pianist whose name is new to me, duplicates the Heifetz repertoire exactly, with the exception of dissimilar Shostakovich works. Heifetz opts to include the composer's delightful Dolls' Dances For Piano, Op. 91c, while Ms. Bobritskaia gives us a charming selection of deliciously rare Shostakovich, including a set of seven pieces (written for his daughter, Galina) simply titled Children's Pieces (c. 1944), two Aphorisms from Op.13 (the particularly beautiful "Berceuse" and "Nocturne"), one dance from his Danses Fantastiques, Op. 5, a Contredanse and, lastly, a Danse Espagnole, all of which are the more fascinating because of their rarity--- and because, as in the Heifetz CD, we get to see the softer underbelly of a composer far more famous for his passionate symphonic music and intensively penetrating chamber music.

With Tchaikovsky's Children's Album (aka Album For The Young), Op. 39 and Prokofiev's Music For Children, Op. 65, both of which precede the Shostakovich, Bobritskaia, like Heifetz, plays both sets with a genuine Russian simpatico and devotion, immediatly appealing. [And, if you need a "touch" of authenticity, she was recorded at the Moscow Conservatory in 1991.]

The Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev are popular, self-recommending works..."not just for children"... filled with nostalgic glimpses of childhood wrapped superbly around wonderful melodies and sentiments that are just right, musically and emotionally. So, then, since the Heifetz and Bobritskaia CDs are almost exactly alike, the Shostakovich may well be the deciding factor, and the choice is a difficult one.

[Running time: 60:15]