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SZYMANOWSKI. Piano Sonata No 1, Op 8; Piano Sonata No 2. Op 21; Piano Sonata No 3, Op 36; Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor. Raymond Clarke (piano) Athene ATH CD19 DDD [73' 50"]

 


Crotchet




This is an important disc and it has to be said at once that Raymond Clarke is a staggering pianist of exceptional gifts. In case it is not obvious to any listener to the performances, Szymanowski's music is incredibly difficult both technically and interpretatively. There are so many notes, huge chords and constant changes of mood and tempo.

In fact, this is my major reservation about the disc. The music is so intense that it is exhausting. It becomes wearisome. There are moments of great excitement and, occasionally, calm but it is so devoid of effective contrast. It is often formless and lacking in direction and purpose and I feel sure the composer had this in mind since each of the sonatas ends with a fugue which musical form, or device, is very predictable, restrictive and can be academically stuffy. The composer, seeing his loose episodic meanderings, then embarks on the 'respectability' of a fugue as if he wants to be accepted as a composer in direct line from Bach. The piano at Nottingham University is 'tubby' at times and 'suspect' in other ways.

The other reservation may not be the pianist's fault either but the range of tone from pppp to ffff is not made and so contrast is lost and the composer's instructions are not realised. For example, in the Sonata No 2, bar 70 is marked p, bar 73 mp and bar 75, pp. It is not really that evident in this recording; bar 97 is marked fff and con fuoco, bars 122 and 125 are marked pp and so on. The Sonata No 3 begins ppp but it isn't and so when we reach the first fff at bar 114 the eight degrees of increased range is not realised. The pppp velocissimo at bar 210 and 214 should sound as an inaudible whisper, but it does not. However, other recordings do not follow all the dynamics either and Szymanowski's instructions are excessive.

I accept that Clarke has so many notes and other major technical difficulties to contend with, which he does remarkably well (there seemed to be a few nasty moments in the curious A major Fugue of the Sonata No 2), that all the variations of tone may be the least of his problems. The piano has a couple of 'bad' notes in the octave upwards from middle C.

It is incredible to believe that the Sonata No 1 won a Chopin prize in 1910. Perhaps this is because of the obvious influences of Chopin particularly his own first sonata and the Etude in E flat Op 10 No 11. What adds to the tedium of Szymanowski's Sonata No 1 is that the first three movements are all exclusively in ¾ time. There is no variation of time signature. The finale figure is in common time. The third movement Tempo di minuetto has big chords played as arpeggios which makes it sound like a musical box and something quite puerile albeit attractive. All the themes of this sonata are hardly memorable and the flabby structures are contrasted by the dominant 'correctness' of the subsequent fugue.

Like Chopin's first sonata, also in C minor, Szymanowski's is an essay in which the various constituent points are not made coherently or with any semblance of order. At least, the Chopin has a gorgeous slow movement.

I find it almost as incredible that no less a pianist than Arthur Rubinstein gave the premiere of the Sonata No 2 in Warsaw in 1911. It begins with a frequent Szymanowski rising theme. Here it is B, C#, D, F, G#, B. This is a two movement work; an allegro assai and a there and variations ending with a fugue and with a sarabande and minuet thrown in thus showing again the composer looking over his shoulder either as a mark of respect to older composers or displaying his lack of personal security. That the music is elaborate rather defeats it. It is so dense in texture that is rather tiring. The second movement is not a unified whole and, again, none of the themes are memorable. There is, however, a successful allegretto scherzando section, mainly in B flat.

The Sonata No 3 dates from 1917 and is marginally the best of the three. It is not so overwhelmingly exhausting but it is tonally unstable. The one continuous movement is really four sections but the boundaries are not crystal clear. The fugue is the best of the three but, as with all three sonatas we are left with having heard three massive essays of moody, intense, perhaps psychological music that some may find claustrophobic.

The Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor is slight.

I believe the only other available recordings of the sonatas is Martin Jones' six CD set for Nimbus. The sonatas in his set do not follow the dynamics and there are many wrong notes, missing notes and one gets the impression that Nimbus put pressure on Martin Jones to record them without giving him time to know the pieces. The Nimbus set is poor. If you want the Szymanowski sonatas you have no choice but Clarke's performances.

Raymond Clarke's performances are almost breathtaking and this is an important and welcome disc. There will be many who find it quite irresistible.

Raymond Clarke has recently suffered a bad accident and we wish him a full and lasting recovery.

Reviewer

David Wright

Performances

Recording


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Athene


Reviewer

David Wright

Performances

Recording

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