Vera Razumovskaya plays Chopin Polonaise-Fantaisie, Mazurkas, Barcarolle, Nocturnes, Ballade Scherzo

A great yet neglected and unknown Russian pianist, Vera Razumvoskaya, heard here in a Chopin recital in the small hall of the Petersburg Conservatory, 24 March 1959. Razumovskaya (1904-1967) was born in Ukraine. As a child she studied with Heinrich Neuhaus. She continued her studies with him in the Kiev Conservatory from which she graduated in 1923 at 18 years old. For two years she taught there before moving to Leningrad in 1926 to study with the great Leonid Nikolayev. When the conservatory was evacuated during the siege, she was sent to live and work in Tashkent, Uzbekistan for three years. The top photo shows her standing centre-left in the front row of a group of evacuated artists in Tashkent. The bottom photo, of the concert program, has her scheduled to play Chopin there on 15 January 1943 with fellow evacuees Goldenweiser, Iosif Shvarts (another Nikolayev student) and Aram Tatulyan (Neuhaus and Goldenweiser). She dedicated over 30 years of her life to teaching in the Petersburg Conservatory. This recording, however, leaves us to wonder what could have been in terms of concert activity, as well as what else there is to hear. Force of character and dramatic intent are unmistakable. You’ll hear an enormous dynamic range coupled to a wild and impulsive nature. It’s a beautiful creation. Even though this recording itself is enough to attest to her brilliance, it’s worth recalling some of the things said and written about Vera. In 1933 Shostakovich wrote, ’Her playing made an extremely strong impression. It’s characterised by high musicality, an extraordinarily beautiful sound, and a significant dynamic range – from the finest piano to a sonorous and expressive forte, a magnificent playing is precisely creativity itself.’ Arnold Alschwang, also a pupil of Neuhaus, described their teacher’s influence on Vera – ’She was unusually sensitive to the main vital nerve of the playing of her teacher: spontaneity, the organic creation of large forms, the complete artlessness of musical short, art that combines a large scale and broad objectives with the perfect naivety of playing, which is alien to dryness, boredom and pedantry, is full of artistic rigour.’ Grigory Kogan – ’Razumovskaya’s command of phrasing and sound is at an exceptionally high level of perfection.’ Gilels’ teacher Berta Reingbald – ’I will never forget [her playing].’ Regina Horowitz said, ’I haven’t heard playing like this since my brother [Vladimir].’ (I haven’t sourced this quote yet). 00:00 – Polonaise-Fantaisie, op. 61 11:52 – 5 mazurkas 27:34 – Barcarolle, op. 60 35:29 – Ballade 3, op. 47 42:08 – Impromptu 3, op. 51 48:03 – Nocturne op 62 no. 2 53:52 – Mazurka op. 50 no. 2 56:43 – Nocturne op. 15 no. 2 01:00:10 – Scherzo 2, op. 31 01:09:30 – Nocturne op. 62 no. 1 01:16:25 – Polonaise in F-sharp minor, op. 44 Please note that the pieces might have been played in a different order. I’ve not yet been able to verify this. Вера Разумовская - Шопен