UK premiere of songs by Nikolay Golovanov

Nikolay Golovanov (1891-1953) is primarily known as the principal conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow from 1919 until his death in 1953. Under his baton Soviet audiences first heard such important works as Rachmaninov’s Third Symphony and Symphony Dances, and Prokofiev’s ‘Love of Three Oranges’, Fourth Symphony and Fifth Piano Concerto. Golovanov was also chief conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra (1926-29), the All-Union Radio Symphony Orchestra (1937-53) and the Stanislavsky Opera Theatre (1938-53). He was awarded the Stalin Prize of the 1st degree on four occasions (1946, 1948, 1950, 1951), and was the first to conduct an opera performance broadcast across the Soviet Union. He was married to the singer Antonina Nezhdanova, to whom Rachmaninov dedicated his famous Vocalise.

Golovanov was a prolific composer. His works include an opera, a symphony, two symphonic poems, orchestral suites, an overture on Russian themes, a piano sonata and about 200 romances. Only a few of his works for a capella choir have been recorded, on the Hyperion label and still fewer of his songs. Although composed when he was not yet 20, the songs are remarkably mature in style, and reflect the influence of Borodin, Scriabin, Medtner and Rachmaninov.

A soloist of UK’s prestigious Glyndebourne Festival and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, baritone Igor Golovatenko has specialised in Golovanov’s music for several years. Following debuts in European opera houses, including the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Igor made an acclaimed debut at Glyndebourne’s production of Donizetti’s Poliuto in 2015. The Telegraph critic described him as ‘a rock-steady young baritone from the Bolshoi’. Erica Jeal wrote in The Guardian, ‘He delivers the best singing of all – smooth, rich-toned and authoritative, yet his voice is agile enough to sound comfortable in everything Donizetti throws at him’. And from Richard Morrison of The Times, ‘Golovatenko is immense: a voice like a sustained thunderclap’. Golovatenko is also an accomplished cellist, conductor and composer.

Alexander Karpeyev, a graduate of Moscow conservatory and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, is the artistic director of London’s Medtner Festival and music curator at Pushkin House in London. He is a well-known specialist of the music of the Russian Silver Age, and his recent Kings Place debut in London was pronounced ‘first rate’ by Seen and Heard Magazine. On that occasion the critic of Catholic Herald recognized in his playing ‘the deep, internalised musicianship of a master’.

This afternoon concert is a unique opportunity to hear two accomplished young Russian musicians and discover the music of an unjustly neglected 20th-century Russian master.

The concert will last approximately 70 minutes, with no interval.

TICKETS: £10 online or £12 on the door

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