The Russian-born composer Vladimir Dukelsky (1903-69) may not be a familiar name to many readers, but take a peek under The Classical Catalogue's listing for a composer called Vernon Duke and you'll find entries for songs from Broadway musicals such as Ziegfeld Follies, Cabin in the Sky and Walk a Little Faster, the latter featuring the popular hit song 'April in Paris'. So maybe a fair number of you know more Dukelsky than you thought you did, for 'Duke' was the pseudonym he adopted when composing in his 'lighter' style. The 'serious' Dukelsky studied under Reinhold Gliere at the Kiev Conservatory, left Russia at the age of 17 and, after a short stop in Turkey, eventually settled in America in 1922.
Dukelsky was only 22 when Diaghilev commissioned Zephyr et Flore for his 1925 spring season in Paris and by all accounts it was well received; Prokofiev, who became a close friend of Dukelsky's, described it as 'full of superior melodies, very well designed, harmonically beautiful and not too modernist'. Well, they do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and Prokofiev is certainly the first composer that springs to mind when you hear Zephyr for the first time. To be fair, the music is attractive and engaging and has impressive moments, but ultimately there is very little individuality to be found in this relatively early work. Epitaphe, composed some six years later, is a slightly stronger work, but apart from a certain gravitas the music is stylistically very similar to the ballet, #with Prokofiev's influence still very much in evidence.
Fine performances from all concerned and Chandos's excellent recorded sound do a good job in presenting these premiere recordings in the best possible light. The notes, while acknowledging Dukelsky's 'light' music career, make no mention of Vernon Duke at all.'