Solo piano music, we are often told, was not Tchaikovsky’s happiest medium, in terms of either musical or idiomatic inventiveness. Taken as a whole his piano music is certainly uneven, but The Seasons are among his finest instrumental works. Sadly, Luba Edlina’s recording does not show this collection of Schumannesque miniatures in its best light.
Edlina is well known and respected as the pianist of the Borodin Trio, but overall I found her interpretation disappointingly short of imagination and subtlety. From the outset the problems of insufficient characterization are clear: in Edlina’s hands “February” lacks the necessary carnival atmosphere, while “March” (subtitled “Song of the Lark”) is not particularly song-like. Here Lydia Artymiw demonstrates a more beautiful singing tone, a luminous clarity of the melodic line, and a greater subtlety of pedalling. The Hunt of “September”, too, does not have the excitement and drive of Mikhail Pletnev’s superb recording. Generally, the limitations of Edlina’s tonal palette result in a rather monochromatic and hard-edged sound; one can hear more lively characterization from Viktoria Postnikova, and a much greater sense of colour and orchestral depth from Pletnev.
The Borodin Petite Suite is more successful. “In the Monastery”, with its tolling bells and stark textures, and the two mazurkas draw more imaginative responses from Edlina, but overall it is too little too late. If you specifically want the Borodin then Edlina is persuasive enough, but Pletnev would be my first choice in the Tchaikovsky. The recorded sound is good, but cannot disguise the rather brittle quality of Edlina’s tone.'