Piano Works by 'The Mighty Handful' Philip Edward Fisher

• Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839 - 1881): Pictures at an Exhibition:
• 1 Promenade 01:28
• 2 I. Gnomus 02:33
• 3 Promenade 00:48
• 4 II. Old Castle 05:07
• 5 Promenade 00:27
• 6 III. Tuileries 01:01
• 7 IV. Bydlo 02:47
• 8 Promenade 00:39
• 9 V. Ballet of the Chickens in their Shells 01:09
• 10 VI. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle 02:32
• 11 Promenade 01:25
• 12 VII. The Market-Place at Limoges 01:28
• 13 VIII. Catacombae (Sepulcrum romanum) - 02:10
• 14 VIII. Con mortuis in lingua mortua 02:13
• 15 IX. The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba-Yaga) 03:46
• 16 X. The Great Gate at Kiev 05:43
• Cesar Cui (1835 - 1918): Nocturne:
• 17 4 Morceaux, Op. 22: No. 3. Nocturne 06:06
• Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (1833 - 1887): Scherzo:
• 18 Scherzo in A flat major 03:18
• Petite Suite:
• 19 I. In the Monastery 04:19
• 20 II. Intermezzo 03:22
• 21 III. Mazurka 03:03
• 22 IV. Mazurka 03:25
• 23 V. Reverie 01:37
• 24 VI. Serenade 02:10
• 25 VII. Nocturne 02:30
• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908):
• 26 4 Pieces, Op. 11: No. 3. Scherzino 01:08
• 27 No. 2. Romance 01:42
• 28 No. 1. Waltz 03:25
• Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (1836 - 1910):
• 29 Islamey 08:53
• 30 Reverie 05:32
• Total Runtime 01:25:46

Info for Piano Works by 'The Mighty Handful'

On his first solo recital album for Chandos, Philip Edward Fisher performs piano works by members of the so-called ‘Mighty Handful’, a group of five Russian composers – César Cui, Alexander Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov – who in the 1860s banded together in an attempt to create a truly national school of Russian music, free of the perceived stiffling influences of Italian opera, German lieder, and other western European forms.

“It was a good idea to group the piano works of five composers who played a vital role in the evolution of Russian music, for they offer variety aplenty. In “Pictures at an Exhibition” Fisher’s easy-on-the-ear musicality more than compensates for his lack of temperamental swagger and thunderous tone.” (Financial Times)

Balakirev: Islamey - Oriental Fantasy
Rêverie in F major
Borodin: Petite Suite
Scherzo in A flat
Cui: Nocturne in F sharp minor
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (piano version)
Rimsky Korsakov: Scherzino, Op. 11, No. 3
Waltz, Op. 15, No. 1
Romanze A flat major op. 15 No. 2

Philip Edward Fisher, piano


Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Promenade
I. Gnomus
Promenade
II. Old Castle
Promenade
III. Tuileries
IV. Bydlo
Promenade
V. Ballet of the Chickens in their Shells
VI. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle
Promenade
VII. The Market-Place at Limoges
VIII. Catacombae (Sepulcrum romanum)
VIII. Con mortuis in lingua mortua
IX. The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba-Yaga)
X. The Great Gate at Kiev
Cesar Cui: 4 Morceaux, Op. 22
4 Morceaux, Op. 22: No. 3. Nocturne
Alexander Porfir'yevich Borodin: Scherzo in A flat major
Scherzo in A flat major
Alexander Porfir'yevich Borodin: Petite Suite
I. In the Monastery
II. Intermezzo
III. Mazurka
IV. Mazurka
V. Reverie
VI. Serenade
VII. Nocturne
Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov: 4 Pieces, Op. 11
4 Pieces, Op. 11: No. 3. Scherzino
Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov: 3 Pieces, Op. 15
No. 2. Romance
No. 1. Waltz
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev: Islamey
Islamey

The Mighty Handful were all self-trained amateurs. Borodin combined composing with a career in chemistry; Rimsky-Korsakov was a naval offier; and Mussorgsky had been in the Guards, then in the civil service, before taking up music. They tried to incorporate in their music what they heard in village songs, in Cossack dances, in church chants, and the tolling of church bells; in short, the music of the Mighty Handful was brimming with sounds that echoed Russian life. From the more traditional, Chopin-esque Nocturne by Cui through to the technical innovations and strong Caucasus folk elements of Balakirev’s Islamey, the works here all show the composers’ strong connections with the past and the compositional innovations that would come to influence the likes of Prokofiev and Stravinsky, and help change the course of Russian music for years to come.

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and The Juilliard School, the pianist Philip Edward Fisher is widely recognised as a unique performer of refined style and exceptional versatility. He has performed across Europe, Africa, and North America where he made his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall in 2002, performing Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, and has also appeared at the Merkin Concert Hall and the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. At home he has given performances at the Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, and Royal Festival Hall in London, Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and Symphony Hall in Birmingham. He has appeared as a soloist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, and Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, and worked with performers such as exclusive Chandos artist bassoonist Karen Geoghegan, the tenor Robert White, pianist Sara Buechner, and violinists Elmar Oliveira, Philippe Graffin, and Augustin Hadelich. In 2001, Philip Edward Fisher received the Julius Isserlis Award from The Royal Philharmonic Society in London.

Philip Edward Fisher
(born 1979, Birmingham, England) is a British - classical pianist. Philip Edward Fisher began playing the piano at the relatively late age of 9, making his concerto debut only 3 years later with a performance of Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto at the city's Symphony Hall. He attended a local comprehensive school until winning a scholarship to study at the Purcell School of Music, London, following which he continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music.

In 2001, he received the Julius Isserlis Scholarship from the Royal Philharmonic Society of London, enabling him to take up a place at the Juilliard School, which was soon followed by his New York City debut performing Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto under the baton of Larry Rachleff at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall.

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