This collection of music is meant as a story in itself, each piece included for the power it has to forge a connection that needed the story to be forged. And so it was with the piece that inspired the album.
Helena Basilova
A Fearful Fairy Tale
About the album
There are two words for truth in Russian: Pravda for objective truth and Ishtina for transcendental truth, that what you know but cannot explain. While Helena’s previous solo albums – with music from Janacek and Scriabin – were each in their own way quite personal to her, this time she wanted more Ishtina than Pravda. She wanted a story that was not just personal for her but representative of her. And Helena’s personal story is one of multitudes. Of departures and forgetting, discovery and loss, of glimmers of understanding, and feelings of coherence in oceans of confusing false certainties.
This collection of music is meant as a story in itself, each piece included for the power it has to forge a connection that needed the story to be forged. And so it was with the piece that inspired the album.
This album – of stories and a story in itself – is Helena’s tribute, to fairy tales and her homeland.
Tracklist click to play/pause
- Fairytale About the Forgotten Homeland: I. The First Snow Yuri Bagri 1:04
- Yellowed Leaves, Op. 31: I. Andante Nikolai Myaskovsky 2:22
- Yellowed Leaves, Op. 31: II. Un poco sostenuto, malinconico e abbandonamente Nikolai Myaskovsky 1:58
- Yellowed Leaves, Op. 31: III. Andante cantabile Nikolai Myaskovsky 1:09
- Yellowed Leaves, Op. 31: IV. Molto vivace e fantastico Nikolai Myaskovsky 2:25
- Yellowed Leaves, Op. 31: V. Molto calmo, ma non troppo lento Nikolai Myaskovsky 2:24
- Yellowed Leaves, Op. 31: VI. Vivo Nikolai Myaskovsky 2:43
- Yellowed Leaves, Op. 31: VII. Moderato Nikolai Myaskovsky 3:49
- A Fearsome Fairytale Elena Firsova 5:46
- Tales of an Old Grandmother, Op. 31: I. Moderato Sergei Prokofiev 1:56
- Tales of an Old Grandmother, Op. 31: II. Andantino Sergei Prokofiev 1:15
- Pohádka (Fairytale), JW VII/5: I. Con moto Leoš Janáček 5:00
- Pohádka (Fairytale), JW VII/5: II. Con moto Leoš Janáček 4:02
- Pohádka (Fairytale), JW VII/5: III. Allegro Leoš Janáček 2:36
- Piano sonata No. 1, Op. 129: I. Largo Alfred Schnittke 6:24
- Three Tales, Op. 9: II. Allegro alla serenata, con alcuna licenza Nikolai Medtner 4:07
- Four Tales, Op. 34: II. Allegro cantabile e leggiero Nikolai Medtner 2:31
- Four Tales, Op. 26: III. Narrante a piacere Nikolai Medtner 2:27
- Two Tales, Op. 20: II. Pesante. Minaccioso Nikolai Medtner 4:04
- Fairytale About the Forgotten Homeland: II. Winter Dance Yuri Bagri 2:09
More information
| Label | TRPTK |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Classical – Romantic (1830-1920) |
| Artist(s) | Helena Basilova |
| Composer(s) | Bagri, Yuri |
| Recording location(s) | Muziekgebouw Eindhoven – Kleine zaal, Eindhoven (NL) |
| Recording date(s) | April 2019 |
| Cat. No. | TTK 0041 |
|---|---|
| Release date |
August 2nd, 2019 |
| Additional links |
"An absolutely stunning performance with an absolutely stunning sound image, high up in a heaven of resolution."
Michel van Meersbergen, HVT Magazine
"Basilova plays the older notes beautifully mild, but the pièce de résistance is the opening movement of the first piano sonata (1987) by Alfred Schnittke. You hear beautiful resonances in the piano, like the mysterious shadow empire of a fearful fairy tale."
Guido van Oorschot, de Volkskrant
"The recording quality of TRPTK is – it’s starting to become tradition – brilliant."
Aart van der Wal, Opus Klassiek
"… Basilova’s performance is characterized by a clear, concise sound with great feeling for subtle nuances in color. Take for example the opening bars of Alfred Schnittke’s first piano sonata. Just a handful of whispering tones, with which Basilova evokes mysterious vistas."
Joep Christenhusz, NRC
