Neither pianist
Katelyn Bouska
nor the
Yarlung
label for which she records here are household names, but this is one of the most compelling releases of 2023 thus far. With one exception,
Bouska
performs works by women composers displaced by 200 years of war in Europe. Even with increased attention to music by women, the pieces here are all but unknown, and they are, without exception, startling. Given
's theme, it may seem odd that she begins with a piece that does not fit,
Caroline Shaw
's
Gustave Le Grey
. However, it is easy to see why she did this;
Shaw
's work is a fantasy of sorts that converges on and then departs from
Chopin
Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17, No. 4
. It is an inward-looking fantasy, perhaps, that introduces the other music on the album. The other works range from early 19th century Poland to
Shadows and Ghosts
, by Ukrainian composer
Ludmila Yurina
, who recently fled her war-torn country. Perhaps the most revelatory works are by
Maria Szymanowska
(1789-1831, and apparently unrelated to
Karol Szymanowski
), who died of cholera as Russian troops devastated Warsaw in 1831.
Szymanowka
's influence on
is obvious but all too rarely acknowledged.
Viteslava Kapralova
died on the run from the Nazis in 1940, and her
Dubnova preludia
was one of the distinctive works she wrote in the few years during which she was active. Despite having been dedicated to
Rudolf Firkusny
, it is hardly known. Another revelation is the
Fragments from a Woman's Diary
by
Ruth Schoenthal
, a Jew of Austrian background who ended up in the U.S. after World War II. Written late in
Schoenthal
's life, it is nothing less than a 27-minute musical autobiography, and one can only marvel at the fact that it has been overlooked until now.
is a scholar as well as a pianist, and likely her research deserves the credit for this altogether fascinating, beautifully performed repertory. ~ James Manheim