Edna Iles plays Medtner: Improvisation No. 2 (in the Form of Variations), Op. 47 (1958, live)

What comes after the poorly named “Second Improvisation” is in truth a pinnacle of pianism on its own, only to be rivalled in its epoch by its absolute music counterpart, Godowsky’s Passacaglia, for out of the barest and austere of foundations, a jagged, up-and-down fragment and a long lyrical tune, harmony, melody, and figuration are built from exploding the theme into a million pieces and combining various shards together to result in a joyful and curious set of expressive character-pieces. The central theme is that of the song of the Water-Nymph, of the rusalka (русалка), and her faint and quiet call for the Hero. Throughout the form of the music, we’re led like a traveler through what feels like a medieval Rhein-Sage: the knight starts the journey with deep meditation for the quest ahead, going from the cozy town square with the Winged Dancers’ show, by the witch’s hut in the Enchantment, past the shouting crush of a market day with the Tumult of the Crowd, and into the enigmatic forest, where we are met with all that threatens to encroach the human world— the Wood-Goblin (Леший) looming, unseen, among the trunks; elves gone before the eye can fix on them; gnomes hunched low and patient in root and stone... Until the knight calls them silent, with a primordial chant (Var. XII. Incantation) that is the sole theme which will come to be an answer to the Nymph's call at last, in the Conclusion. 00:00 The Second Improvisation 00:02 - Theme: The Song of the Water-Nymph (Thema - Gesang der Wassernymphe, Тема - Песнь русалки) 02:19 - Variation I. Meditation (Meditation, Раздумье) 03:49 - Variation II. Caprice (Caprice, Каприз) 05:06 - Variation III. The Winged Dancers (Beflügelte Tänzer, Пернатые) 07:11 - Variation IV. Enchantment (Zauber, Чары) 08:40 - Variation V. Humoresque (Humoreske, Причуды) 10:03 - Variation VI. Mid the Waves (Auf den wogen, В струях) 11:24 - Variation VII. The Tumult of the Crowd (Das Rauschen der Menge, Шум толпы) 13:02 - Variation VIII. In the Forest (Im Walde, В лесу) 14:01 - Variation IX. The Wood-Goblin (Waldgeist, Леший) 14:32 - Variation X. The Elves (Die Elfen, Эльфы) 15:33 - Variation XI. The Gnomes (Erdgeister, Гномы) 16:43 - Variation XII. Incantation (Beschwörung, Заклинание) 18:35 - MISSING: Variation XIII. The Threat (Drohung, Угроза) 18:37 - Variation XIV. Song of the Water-Nymph (Gesang der Wassernymphe, Песнь русалки) 20:25 - Variation XV. The Storm (Unwetter, Непогода) 22:35 - Conclusion (Abschluss, Заключение) Original video:    • Edna Iles plays Medtner: Improvisation Op....   - ‪@DreamBoatPianoArchive‬ Description inspired on ‪@mkrd3181‬' posting GRACIAS A MI AMIGO ‪@0600TuTe‬ POR SEGUNDEARME EN LA MINIATURA 🐑🐑🐑