I have, in my possession for a while, a CD of music by an obscure Russian composer Alexei Stanchinsky performed by Alexander Malkus. Little did I realize that the original recording was actually done in analogue on LP in 1991! The programme includes one of my favourite sonatas from the Soviet era, the Sonata in Eb Minor, as well as 3 Preludes (which I recorded on YouTube eons ago).
Early works of Alexei Stanchinsky (1881 - 1914) has a close affinity to early Prokofiev and Medtner. His Sonata in Eb minor, which I have often performed and also on this record, is full of pathos typical of late-romantic Russian and Soviet works. He unfortunately suffered from mental illness and (probably) committed suicide at the age of 26. Only musicians closest to him remembered him (Prokofiev, Alexandrov, Feinberg, etc) and to the world he might as well not have existed. There are scarcely any performances by big name pianists, until Naxos/Marco Polo issued a whole CD of his works only recently. A few LP recordings exist, plus some random tracks by different modern pianists such as Jenny Lin and Thomas Adès, none of which made a huge impression on the mainstream market. The sonatas have only been recently re-published by a (now defunct) Japanese publisher.
I have finally located the Malkus LP, and what a bliss listening to these thick saucy Soviet music on analogue. Meanwhile, you can hear some of these on YouTube as well.
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