Kirill Voljanin
Bergmann Edition : 5 pages
Voljanin is a Moscow – born composer/ performer who music is firmly entrenched in the Romantic style, if this piece is anything to go on. This latest piece is a waltz, dedicated to the memory of Chopin, and in whose style this waltz has been written although there are plenty of very guitaristic parts to it that make it the sort of piece that Chopin might have written , had he played the guitar.
Technically it is difficult, and is a Vivace that is almost consistently written in running quavers. After a flashy 4 – bar introduction, the main them enters in the home key of E minor. It falls beautifully under the fingers and the actual fingerings and string indications are complete and work really well, but the speed of the piece means that you have to work quite a considerable amount to get it to sound effortless. The second theme is marked poco accelerando which takes 16 bars before the first theme reenters, but in a very varied way so that new material soon appears. There are many places where you are moving from one end of the guitar to the other and back in a constant flow of notes, but the actual harmonies and themes are intriguingly written, and sound beautiful throughout. After a number of re- iterations of the themes the coda enters and takes the player right to the top of the fingerboard for a very effective but tricky few bars before two light harmonics bring the piece to a very satisfactory close.
I enjoyed playing this piece, as it does really show off a player’s technique and his or her need to be musical throughout, and if you have a good technical armoury, then this piece is an ideal addition to your library!
Chris Dumigan
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