NIKOLAI PEIKO (1916-1995): Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1 - Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2, Sonatina No. 2, Ballada, Variations, Bylina, Concert Triptych for 2 Pianos.

Description: Peyko was a significant Soviet symphonist (eight of 'em) but we have to be content for now with two volumes of piano music. When first hearing the six-minute Ballada of 1939, you might think it's St. Petersburg in 1915 but then you find out that the wild avant-garde quality of the music is due to Peyko's imitating the intonations of Yakutian epic poetry. The rest of the works are more what you'd expect, Russian bell-sounds often present, Shostakovichian irony, Prokofievian march-rhythms but also the more conservative romantic qualities which probably came from his teacher Myaskovsky. Dmitry Korostelyov (piano), Maria Dzhemesiuk (second piano).