Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Members Recordings - Pianist Corner Bortkiewicz, Nocturne, Op. 58, No. 5 from the Yugoslav Suite

Born in Kharkov, Ukraine in 1877, Sergei Bortkiewicz studied with Liadov and Arek at the Imperial Conservatory in St. Petersburg and in Leipzig with Reisenauer. He toured Europe as a performing artist and also taught at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory in Berlin. He gave many master classes and also composed primarily for piano solo as well as composing four piano concertos. Bortkiewicz’s musical style is late romantic with stylistic links to Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Wagner.

World War II brought severe hardships to Bortkiewicz and his wife then residing in Vienna. Much of his sheet music was destroyed by the Allied bombings in Germany, thereby cutting off his income. His friend Hugo van Dalen, a Dutch touring artist, helped Bortkiewicz financially, and was an exponent of the composer’s music. Bortkiewicz also taught at the Vienna City Conservatory at that time. After the war Bortkiewicz tried to rebuild his status as a composer and pianist, but after his death in 1952, he and his music were all but forgotten. There is now a renaissance of his music.

Very recently the Yugoslav Suite, Op. 58 composed in 1940--but lost for decades--was discovered in the Rahter publishing archive. From the suite I’ve drawn No. 5, “Nocturne”, and have made the first recording of this “new music”. The piece is largely in E minor, however, the key of the coda becomes E major casting brilliant sunshine replacing an earlier dark mood.

LINK: http://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=55045.0

Piano: Baldwin Model L Artist Grand (6’3”) with lid fully open
Recorder: Roland R-44
Mics: Matched pair of Earthworks TC-20 small diaphragm, omni-directional condenser mics in A-B configuration

Hi RachFan, thank you very much for this precious post! How sad that there is still no reply, I want to change this today!

What a moving fate! This music is full of melancholy and nostalgia, and your very good playing brings finally to life so many noble feelings. Are you planning to record the other parts of that Suite as well? By the way: why that name "Yugoslav Suite"? Is there some biographical explanation?

Hi, RachFan -- Tony007's post reminded me that I hadn't responded, as I had planned. My general reaction is that the piece is effective, but not top-drawer Bortkiewicz - the few other pieces I've heard of his are more complex and inventive. But, like Tony, I'd like to hear the entire Suite -- I suspect this Nocturne needs to be understood in context; it doesn't come off for me as a "stand-alone" piece, and this is probably by design. For me emotionally, the entire piece is sad - the finish in a major mode only serves to underline the resignation and defeat of a sweet-sad smile.

I don't know if you noticed, but there's another thread for submissions of various Suites for piano, and they don't have to be submitted until early November. This would be a nice addition to that.

Hi Tony007,

Thanks so much for noticing my post! I had pretty much given up on it here at Piano World, thinking that next time I should post only on Piano Street, Piano Society and YouTube. I'm glad now to know my thinking was premature!

And thanks so my for you praise of my playing of this piece. I agree with you, it is hauntingly beautiful.

As for the name "Yugoslav Suite". Bortkiewicz and his wife resided mostly in Berlin and Vienna; however, there was a time around 1920 when they spent time in Istanbul. At that time Bortkiewicz toured as a pianist through some of the countries in that region, and often his recitals were organized by foreign embassies. In Istanbul the Bortkiewicz's became friends with the Yugoslavian ambassador and his wife Natalie Chaponitsch in Istanbul. So she was the probable link to Yugoslavia.

There are three other pieces in the suite--"In the Woods", "Village Dance", and "On the Banks of the Danube". In my earlier years I was a "well rounded pianist", but since the 1980s I've focused only on the Late Romantic period. The logistical problem is this: The piano literature is extremely vast, and in the normal lifetime one can only scratch the surface of it. In other words, the repertoire is huge, but life is too short. This year I turn 70, so I've narrowed the field and play only the Late Romantics now. Also aesthetically, I look for music that's achingly beautiful with plenty of romantic surge in them. If a piece doesn't meet my aesthetic standard, then I keep looking.

When it comes to full sets, I normally don't do them--because I would have to play pieces that I don't enjoy. The one exception was when I did three complete sets of the Russian composer Georgy Catoire--only because all of his music is astonishingly beautiful!

Thanks again for pausing here and listening to my recording. I really appreciate it!

David

If you're only going to play one type of music, hadn't it better be Bach or Mozart rather than late romantics?

Hi Tim,

I appreciate your stopping by. I agree with you that this score is not Bortkiewicz at his best. And it has an echo of Chopin. But it has been exciting doing the first recording of one of these pieces. I listed the other titles from Op. 58 in reply to Tony007. I agree that the group might provide more context. As for this nocturne, it's brief but very plaintive and beautiful too.

I haven't completely ruled out doing this suite, but if it were to turn out that I am less enthusiastic about the other three pieces, then I might not like preparing them. In that sense, as a pianist I wouldn't want to rob Bortkiewicz of his genius.

Thanks again for your comments.

David

RachFan, a wonderful piece of music and beautifully played!

As one who is not fond of most 20th century+ music, I read your introduction, and almost moved on. I'd never heard of Bortkiewicz, and figured why bother? But then I thought, "What the heck, you're already here. Click the damn link!" I'm so glad I did.

The Wikipedia article about him describes a life of constant dislocation and upheaval, both physical and emotional, and this small sample of his music certainly reflects that. The article also says that "He was unaffected by the music trends of the 20th century — the composer never saw himself as a 'modernist'" (which may explain my immediate attraction to his music.)

Anyway, thank you for the introduction!

Hi Polyphonist,

To be honest Baroque and Classical music were never my forte, though I do like to listen to others playing it.

David

I see. It just seems silly, though, to limit yourself to such a narrow range when there is so much better music out there.

"Better" to whom?

When you reach a certain age, you realize that time's a wastin'. So you listen to, or play whatever feeds your soul. The word "better" is somewhat meaningless.

And I thought you would agree with me.

You are wise, Old Man.

Old Man,

Thanks! I could not have phrased that answer any better.

And I see that JoelW gets it too.

I can well understand that many pianists enjoy Bach, for example, with its statements/sequences, attention to fugue voices' entrances, strettos, mordents, picadie thirds, palltrillers, etc. To that I say great!! I respect their preferences in the piano literature, and am glad they enjoy that set of challenges. And I admire their artistry.

For me now it's very different. I enjoy the achingly beautiful melodies and the big romantic surges of Late Romanticism. And that piano literature is huge too. Just to mention a few: Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Dohnanyi, Medtner, Bortkiewicz, Catoire, Liadov, Glazunov, Liapunov, etc. This is some of the most challenging and gorgeous music ever devised for the piano. So no, I don't feel self-deprived for no longer playing Baroque when I can far more enjoy preparing and recording Late Romantic music. That's not to criticize the Old Masters in any way, nor the pianists who toil to play their music. That's what is so great about music in general and the piano literature in particular--there is far more than enough for everyone with different tastes in music.

David

I'm not going to say what I want to say right now.

It probably doesn't matter anyway.

Joel is doing his best to crash the thread.

Since I'm only a few years younger than you, RachFan, my response to Polyphonist was based on my own feelings about music. I've sometimes been criticized for being "close minded" to modern music. And while I have little doubt that I could find gems here or there, my time on earth is limited. So I tend to gravitate toward those composers who have an established history of bringing me the greatest joy. Since I've barely scratched the surface of Bach's output, why would I waste time on Bartok? (Sorry, Bartok fans!)

And I'm talking about limiting my listening to certain periods. When you wrote of limiting your focus to the "late romantics", I assumed you were referring to your playing, and that's an entirely different kettle of fish. I'm only a low-grade intermediate player, so the "playing" part doesn't enter into it for me, because there's little I can play anyway. (Even took a peek at some Bortkiewicz scores on IMSLP. Yikes! Slammed that door quickly!) Since learning to play a piece imposes far greater time demands than simple listening, I understood perfectly why you would want to narrow your focus to a period, or group of composers that really speaks to you.

One day these young whippersnappers like Polyphonist will come to understand all of this.

On the contrary - I'm very similar to you.

Your lip is bleeding. Spit it out.

That's one I haven't heard before.