Tributes to Chopin come in all shapes and sizes, and Oleg Marshev's recital of richly varied memories could hardly be more enterprising. Even with fierce competition from fellow-Russian, Boris Berezovsky in the Rachmaninov(though, sadly, this is no long available) his gloriously full response shines out, creating its own authority. Indeed, his full-blooded strength and sonority are awe-inspiring Above all, nothing is rushed, everything has time to tell and breathe, everything is taken with a sese of inevitability to its climax. Marshev's training and nationality instantly proclaim themselves throughout, the reverse of, say, Marguerite Long's infamous 'jeu perle.'
At the same time all three works have their weaknesses. The central variations of the Rachmaninov mark time and a thin attempt at fugal writing quickly peters out; clearly a wrong turning. Yet when you advance to Variation 21 you hear one of Rachmaninov's glories, its poly-rhythm blossoming into a romantic climb that that would warm the heart of a puritan. Finally, Marshev chooses Rachmaninov's virtuoso finish rather than the subdued end, bringing his performance to a storming close.
Mompou's very Spanish, or I should say, Catalan take on Chopin could hardly be further away from either Rachmaninov or Busoni. Choosing the innocent seventh Prelude from Chopin's opus 28 rather than the dark and ceremonial No 20 in C minor he offers his own distinctive voice. Much of the writing is 'dolce et espressivo' and never more so than in Variation 9 where he makes you recall Wilfred Mellor's loving tribute to Mompou in his book 'Le Jardin Retrouve.'
Busoni's Variations on Chopin's C minor Prelude form a formidably austere alternative to the luxuriance that has gone before, to all gentleness and light, and once more Marshev's command is unassailable. Dannacord's sound admirably captures the pianist's tonal breadth.
Bryce Morrison