The idea that inspired this new album by Vladimir Stoupel was twofold: on the one hand it is mostly made up of variation cycles, and on the other hand the programme’s chronological order not only traces the fascinating evolution of Glinka’s composition technique, but also the manner in which his successors used what he had invented: the “Glinka-type variation” where the theme and/or structure are usually not modified, but the accompaniment is subjected to a great variety of transformations. Glinka was held in high regard as the “father of Russian music”, and many Russian composers made his variation technique their own and developed it further. Stoupel therefore decided to include two further works that refer to Glinka: the Paraphrase on Glinka’s Song The Lark by Mily Balakirev, and Variations on a Theme by Glinka by Anatoly Lyadov.
Glinka wrote the Variations on the song Benedetta sia la madre in 1826, when he was only 22 years old. With its solemn introduction and the polonaise which serves as a finale, this cycle not only displays the young composer’s incredible range of piano techniques, but also his capacity to throw light on a theme from a multitude of perspectives. In 1827 he wrote the brief Variations on a Theme from Luigi Cherubini’s Opera Faniska, which present the somewhat naïve theme from a series of humorous angles, leading to a grand finale. During his travels in Italy in 1831, Glinka wrote the Variations on a theme from Donizetti’s Opera Anna Bolena. In this extended cycle, the composer displays a multitude of impressions of Italian opera, and succeeds in transferring the beauty of Italian bel canto to the keyboard. Without eschewing his specifically Russian vein of virtuosity, Glinka combines Italian cantabile and Russian melodiousness to form a new, homogenous blend. Likewise written in 1831, Glinka’s Variations on Two Themes from the Ballet Chao-Kang thrillingly combine a Chinese fashion craze with the sheer joy of piano-playing. Entirely unknown today, the ballet pantomime Chao-Kang by Luigi Carlini was evidently quite popular in the mid-1800’s, since Glinka and many other composers elaborated upon its themes. Apart from variation cycles, Glinka wrote a further work in 1831: a Rondo brillante on a Theme from Bellini’s Opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi, displaying admirable mastery of sonata-rondo form. Nostalgia is much more evident in another work that Glinka wrote in 1833: during his travels abroad, he penned a profoundly Russian composition, the Variations on Alexander Alyabyev’s Romance The Nightingale. Glinka writes in a virtuoso style occasionally reminiscent of Mendelssohn, yet manages to preserve his own unique style.
Mily Balakirev’s encounter with Glinka in Saint Petersburg in 1855 was decisive for the younger composer: from then on, he strove to create an original, Russian national style. At the same time, Balakirev modelled his music on that of Liszt. These two orientations were by no means contradictory, and they both come to full fruition in Balakirev’s paraphrase of Glinka’s romance The Lark. Anatoly Lyadov is still featured in concert programmes, but his Variations sur un thème de Glinka op. 35 (1894) are seldom performed. This is an intricate, demanding work that treats the theme of Glinka’s romance Venetian Night in a series of twelve variations. Clearly influenced by the piano textures of Chopin and the early Scriabin, the cycle concludes with a rousing finale in the best virtuoso fin-de-siècle manner.
Russian-born pianist Vladimir Stoupel is considered an individualist with an extraordinarily rich tonal and emotional palette. The Washington Post praised his “protean range of expression” and Der Tagesspiegel described his performance as “enthralling and atmospherically dense.” His extraordinary technical command allows him to explore the outermost limits of expression, mesmerising audiences with his musical intensity. As a soloist, Stoupel has performed with many leading orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.