Paul Rickard-Ford - Cui: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 2 (2026)

Tracklist

01. 4 Morceaux, Op. 22 («À Mr Théodore Leschetizki», 1883): I. Polonaise
02. 4 Morceaux, Op. 22 («À Mr Théodore Leschetizki», 1883): II. Bagatelle Italienne
03. 4 Morceaux, Op. 22 («À Mr Théodore Leschetizki», 1883): III. Nocturne
05. Valse-Caprice, Op. 26 («À Mme Anna Essipoff-Leschetizky», 1883)
06. 2 Bluettes, Op. 29 («À Mme La Comtesse De Mercy-Argenteau», 1886): I. Valse
07. 2 Bluettes, Op. 29 («À Mme La Comtesse De Mercy-Argenteau», 1886): II. Scherzando Giocoso
08. 2 Polonaises, Op. 30 («À Anton Rubinstein», 1886): I. [Allegretto]
09. 2 Polonaises, Op. 30 («À Anton Rubinstein», 1886): II. [Allegretto]
10. 3 Valses, Op. 31 (1886): I. [Allegro]
11. 3 Valses, Op. 31 (1886): II. [Allegretto]
12. 3 Valses, Op. 31 (1886): III. [Allegretto Mosso]
13. 3 Impromptus, Op. 35 («À Mr Hans De Bülow», 1886): I. [Allegro]
14. 3 Impromptus, Op. 35 («À Mr Hans De Bülow», 1886): II. [Allegro]
15. 3 Impromptus, Op. 35 («À Mr Hans De Bülow», 1886): III. [Allegretto Mosso]
16. 5 Morceaux, Op. 52 («À Louis Diemer Et Raoul Pugno», 1895): I. Prélude
17. 5 Morceaux, Op. 52 («À Louis Diemer Et Raoul Pugno», 1895): II. Petit Caprice
18. 5 Morceaux, Op. 52 («À Louis Diemer Et Raoul Pugno», 1895): III. Intermezzo
19. 5 Morceaux, Op. 52 («À Louis Diemer Et Raoul Pugno», 1895): IV. Étude-Fantaisie
20. 5 Morceaux, Op. 52 («À Louis Diemer Et Raoul Pugno», 1895): V. Marche-Humoresque
21. Impromptu-Caprice (1896)
22. 4 Morceaux, Op. 60 (1900-01): I. Jadwinia-Polka [«À Mme Hedvige Zaleska»]
23. 4 Morceaux, Op. 60 (1900-01): II. Novellette [«À Mr Alexandre Ziloti»]
24. 4 Morceaux, Op. 60 (1900-01): III. Mazurka [«À Mlle Léocadie Kachperow»]
25. 4 Morceaux, Op. 60 (1900-01): IV. Polonaise [«À Mme Marie Kerzine»]
26. Thème Et Variations, Op. 61 («À Joseph Hofmann», 1901)

This valuable revival of the piano music by Cesar Cui began with a 2CD volume played by Marco Rapetti (PCL10211), surveying the composer’s early output from 1877 to 1888. Born in what is now Vilnius, capital of modern-day Lithuania, Cui began to learn the piano as a child, initially from his elder sister. His first and last compositions were written for the piano, and he produced 29 opus numbers for the instrument (the total opus catalogue reaches 106).
The Australian pianist Paul Rickard-Ford now moves the project on with a chronological survey from the Quatre Morceaux Op.22 of 1883 to the Theme and Variations Op.61, from 1901. Dedicated respectively to Theodore Leschitzky and to Josef Hofmann, these pieces show how admired Cui was in his day, even if he is now generally treated as the forgotten member of the ‘Mighty Handful’ group of Russian composers.
One of Liszt’s final works was a piano transcription of Cui’s orchestral Tarantelle Op.12. Other collections on the album are dedicated to Anton Rubinstein (the two Polonaises Op.30) and to Hans von Bülow (three Impromptus Op.35), as well as a charming pair of Bluettes Op.29 dedicated to the Countess de Mercy-Argenteau who was Cui’s generous patron and indefatigable supporter outside Russia.
Many of the pieces here are receiving their world-premiere recordings, such as the four pieces composed in 1900-01 and collected as Op.60. They include a Polka, a Novelette, a Mazurka and a Polonaise: all familiar genres, which Cui inflected with his individual brand of Russian-accented lyricism ultimately drawing on an early-Romantic lexicon of expression formulated by Chopin and Schumann. Thus all the music here belongs to the salon, designed first and foremost to charm and to entertain.
Paul Rickard-Ford has been on the staff of the Sydney Conservatorium for more than thirty years and was Chair of the Piano Unit from 2006 to 2016. His discography includes the Années de pèlerinage of Liszt as well as recitals of Chopin and Schumann.