Pierre Boulez: Piano Sonata No.1 (1991)

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Pierre Boulez: Piano Sonata No.1 (1991)

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Amazon.com Customer Review
This Erato disc contains six generally minor works by Pierre Boulez. These works are minor in that they are less grand in their proportions but they are generally not minor in quality. The collection reminds me vaguely of the concept of "b-sides" in rock music, and just as with many rock acts, one feels that some gems are unfairly neglected. Two of the pieces here are among Boulez's earliest acknowledged works. The Sonatine for Flute and Piano and the Piano Sonata No. 1 both date from 1946, when Boulez was still trying to find his own sound going beyond the basis he found in the Second Viennese School. The Sonatine is inspired by Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony op. 9 in form and by Berg in its serial material, while both the Sonatine and the Piano Sonata find inspiration in Webern and Schoenberg for the virtuoso and "delirious" piano parts. The former is a rather unexciting work, I'd call it juvenalia even if Boulez thinks it worthy of preservation. However, the latter is a rich piece which displays new sides of itself on every listen. I quite enjoy Pierre-Laurent Aimard's performance here, it has a savagery to it unlike the methodical touch of Jumppanen or the nimbleness of Biret. The Ensemble Intercontemporain and BBC Singers perform, conducted by the composer himself. The pieces were recorded in the projection space at IRCAM, and so the sound quality is very good indeed. I heartily recommend this to the Boulez fan.

Tracklist

1. Sonatine
2. Première Sonate: Lent
3. Première Sonate: Assez Large
4. Dérive
5. Mémoriale (…xplosant-Fixe…Originel)
6. Dialogue de L'Ombre Double
7. Cummings ist der Richter

Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
Sophie Cherrier, flute
Alain Damiens, clarinet
BBC Singers and Ensemble InterContemporain
Pierre Boulez, conductor

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Pierre Boulez: Piano Sonata No.1 (1991)

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