Kashperova (1872-1940) has been described as a “late romantic” composer. But after much research into her music and life, and time spent getting to know all the intricacies of this sonata, Alyssa and Sandra do not believe that this description fully captures Kashperova's unique voice and legacy. The Duo is excited to share this sonata true(*) to her urtext score, as well as what they've learned of her style, and her lifelong pushing of boundaries, both musical and social.
(*) Since making this recording, we have made several new discoveries that we wish we had found before – so it was as true as we knew it to be at the time of release. We will start an “errata” page soon, for those who may be as obsessed as we are with playing exactly what she put into the music. After knowing her former professors tried to “correct” her Sonata, we don't want to be guilty of the same errors – as we have been learning, absolutely everything she put on the page was fully intentional and had its own meaning.
Visit our “Op.1 No.1 Discoveries” page to learn of some of what we found during our two-year “deep dive” into studying Kashperova's original score, her memoirs, and her biography (we are still discovering new things on a regular basis), as we continue to add videos and essays on the many things we've discovered in this magnificent work – and please join our mailing list to get notified whenever we've added new elements!
Duo Kashperova performs Leocadiya Kashperova's Sonata for piano and cello, Op.1, No.1
(Higher-res audio files available upon request.)
Sandra Ruttan, piano and Alyssa Wright, cello
Recorded by Sam Ruttan, Mixed by Ray Dillard, Crush Studio, Mastered by Randall Crafton, Kaleidoscope Sound
Photography by Andre Beneteau
Leocadiya Kashperova began her life with a rather privileged upbringing. She was born in rural Russia in 1872, her father a decorated Lieutenant and Honourable Justice, and her mother a pianist, painter and poet who fought to have her prodigious daughter admitted to the St. Petersburg Conservatoire at age 16.
Kashperova was recognized in her time as a fiercely talented pianist and composer, but her career and music were later buried due to the forces of revolution and patriarchy – both of which are themes coded in her music.
Decades after composing this Sonata, Kashperova married a revolutionary and, we strongly suspect, helped him secure the Smolny Institute (where she was teaching in 1917) as the command centre of the Bolshevik Party.
Even in this early work, we can hear a pull away from her ‘landed gentry’ upbringing and father’s military career, toward sympathy for those on and of the land. While the revolution was still years away, tensions were already rising, with regional rebellions following “peasant reform” and an ongoing agrarian crisis, alongside increasing state involvement in industrial development.
Although Kashperova has not written much about this piece, she has left some very intentional clues in the music. After two years of reading her memoir and biography and studying her score, we are still finding new things!
There are themes of nationality, and the tension between love of land and love of power. There is a play between masculine and feminine elements, often poking fun at the former. And there is an overall wink of “here I am, bet you didn’t see me coming, you underestimated me, and I am not going anywhere.”
Dedicated to cello professor Alexander Wierzbilovich, this was her first work composed after graduation. Her former professors attempted to “correct” her work, but she refused, having written it exactly as she intended. They could no longer influence her voice.
Allegro moderato: So sing she does. Her “here I am!” does not begin with bombast, but with a quiet, song-like meandering, evoking carefree innocence. Other elements introduced here include nationalistic- and folk-like themes, along with birdsong. The note B, which begins and ends every movement and is predominant at every transition, becomes “her” note, later forming her signature motif, B-A-C-B, used throughout her career. There are distinctly Beethoven-like passages (she was an admirer), though softened and allowed to fade where he might have driven forward. As phrases develop, they move from what was once described as a “feminine” entry, easing in to the beat, to more direct, “masculine” bowing and phrasing. Yet, after a final triumphant bird call, the movement ends as quietly as it began.
Scherzo: After the cello sounds the B, Kashperova’s beloved birds chirp and flutter through the scherzo theme. In come a group of rebels: bombastic, clumsy and perhaps a little tipsy, cutting in with their own loud chorus. Now another, louder interruption, and the birds scatter as the Russian Generals roll in, hosting an elegant ball. There are moments of questioning, but the music is repeatedly drawn back into the waltz, until those octaves remind her that true happiness is found out on the land with the birds. A gunshot, perhaps a cannon, unsettles everything. The birds try to resume their song, but something has changed. The rebels reappear, more chaotic than before, as the birds try to carry on. But then the Generals’ waltz returns, ominously, like a thunderstorm rolling across the countryside. As the storm fades, the birds are left to have the final word.
Andante: The octave Bs sound a call back to the land, but the birds are nowhere to be heard. A lament unfolds, shaped by the octaves used to signify happiness. A moment of melancholy, then gunshots lead to a brief agitato section. Church bells seem to ring out in those familiar octave, suggesting victory – but at what cost? A mournful wail, and the battle resumes with greater intensity, canon fire echoing across a bird-less land. The lament returns with a deep sadness, until those insistent Bs pull her back to herself, anchoring her identity and place. Her own national song rises, now resolute. The lament theme returns, but now on her terms, and nothing, not even that persistent march of war, can pull her away from her path.
Rondo: The battle, both internal and external, has passed, and it’s time to celebrate! There is no easing in to the beat anymore, no apology. The Maestra has taken her place. Kashperova’s joie de vivre carries through the movement, with the returning birds adding to the energy with full-throated song. Those joyful octaves ring across the landscape, and there’s no more holding back on those Beethoven-like flourishes. Late arrivals appear, as flights of swans glide down to the water (you’ll hear a “Swan Lake” quotation in the piano after they land), now that peace has returned. A moment of joy, celebration, and triumph.
Leocadiya is here, her voice is clear, the Maestra has arrived!