Prokofiev - Piano Sonatas 1, 3 & 5, Visions fugitives
£16.10
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Label: Harmonia Mundi
Cat No: HMM902204
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Instrumental
Release Date: 6th May 2022
Contents
Works
Piano Sonata no.1 in F minor, op.1Piano Sonata no.3 in A minor, op.28
Piano Sonata no.5 in C major (revised version), op.135
Visions fugitives, op.22
Artists
Alexander Melnikov (piano)Works
Piano Sonata no.1 in F minor, op.1Piano Sonata no.3 in A minor, op.28
Piano Sonata no.5 in C major (revised version), op.135
Visions fugitives, op.22
Artists
Alexander Melnikov (piano)About
The dazzling Sonatas nos. 1 and 3 sweep aside the codes of the period, unlike the more enigmatic and eminently subtle Sonata no.5, heard here in the revised version Prokofiev made in the last years of his life.
In the coupling, the Visions fugitives, the Russian pianist realises to perfection the mixture of brilliance and poetry that gives this cycle its peculiar charm.
Sound/Video
Paused
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1Piano Sonata no.1 in F minor, op.1
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2Piano Sonata no.3 in A minor, op.28
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3Piano Sonata no.5 in C major, op.135 (1953 version): 1. Allegro tranquillo
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4Piano Sonata no.5 in C major, op.135 (1953 version): 2. Andantino
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5Piano Sonata no.5 in C major, op.135 (1953 version): 3. Un poco allegretto
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6Visions fugitives, op.22: 1. Lentamente
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7Visions fugitives, op.22: 2. Andante
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8Visions fugitives, op.22: 3. Allegretto
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9Visions fugitives, op.22: 4. Animato
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10Visions fugitives, op.22: 5. Molto giocoso
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11Visions fugitives, op.22: 6. Con eleganza
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12Visions fugitives, op.22: 7. Pittoresco (Arpa)
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13Visions fugitives, op.22: 8. Commodo
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14Visions fugitives, op.22: 9. Allegretto tranquillo
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15Visions fugitives, op.22: 10. Ridicolosamente
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16Visions fugitives, op.22: 11. Con vivacità
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17Visions fugitives, op.22: 12. Assai moderato
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18Visions fugitives, op.22: 13. Allegretto
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19Visions fugitives, op.22: 14. Feroce
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20Visions fugitives, op.22: 15. Inquieto
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21Visions fugitives, op.22: 16. Dolente
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22Visions fugitives, op.22: 17. Poetico
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23Visions fugitives, op.22: 18. Con una dolce lentezza
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24Visions fugitives, op.22: 19. Presto agitatissimo e molto accentuato
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25Visions fugitives, op.22: 20. Lento irrealmente
Europadisc Review
Melnikov opens with the single-movement First Sonata in F minor of 1909, Prokofiev’s official Opus 1. In this piece Prokofiev drew (as he would in several subsequent sonatas) on material from six unpublished sonatas from his student years, to create a work very much in the post-Romantic soundworld of Rachmaninov and Scriabin. The latter influence is immediately evident in the sheer velocity with which Melnikov launches into the opening left-hand chromatic descent, the music immediately opening out onto an opulent vista of late-Romantic harmonies. But it is the ease with which Melnikov negotiates the sudden changes of mood and texture, and above all his entirely natural way with rubato to distinguish between different rhetorical gestures that marks this performance as something very special indeed.
The Third Sonata in A minor of 1917 is another work based on a sonata from his ‘old notebooks’, from which he jettisoned the second and third movements to create a compact single-movement sonata-form work. The leap forward in style is evident in the breathlessly insistent drive of the first subject with its choppy quaver accompaniment. The lyrical folk echoes of the second subject feel like they inhabit another world, a typically Prokofievan juxtaposition; and again it is the sensitivity with which Melnikov manages the transition that distinguishes his reading, along with his variety of touch in bringing out the melodic line. This skill is evident above all in the splashy upward cascades as the development reaches its climax, and the pellucid stillness of the subito ppp before the contained energy of the transition to the compacted recapitulation, which builds here to a thrilling close.
What a contrast, then, to move to the neoclassical atmosphere of the three-movement Fifth Sonata in C major, composed in 1923 but performed here in its 1953 revision. That Prokofiev took the trouble to revise the work in the final months of his life – mainly to clarify small points of texture and form – testifies to a degree of affection on the composer’s part. The unmistakable thumbprint of the opening motif draws the listener gently into a world where, for all its brief moments of high virtuosity, clarity is the watchword. Melnikov’s colourful yet sensitive touch in the first two movements (where treble textures dominate, and ventures into the lower register are always consequential) illuminates the Sonata’s unique beauties, including the sardonic edge of the central Andantino. The third movement, initially exhibiting the classical clarity of the opening Allegro tranquillo, becomes gradually more elaborate, but even when denser, quasi-orchestral textures come to dominate toward the work’s close, the carefully weighted playing ensures that there is no loss of overall focus.
Melnikov rounds off his cycle with a performance of the twenty miniatures that make up the Visions fugitives, op.22 (1915–17), his second recording of these works, and one which demonstrates his (and Prokofiev’s) mastery of a dazzling variety of moods and colours. These ‘fleeting visions’ – the shortest under 30 seconds, the longest clocking in at just over two minutes – range from the exquisitely lyrical via the witty and bitingly sardonic to the boldly assertive, displaying all the many facets of Prokofiev’s complex musical personality. Melnikov’s performance is a veritable pianistic kaleidoscope; the highlight is surely the translucent delicacy he deploys in no.17 (‘Poetico’), followed by the mysterious meanderings of no.18. This is a performance that elevates these tiny pieces to the level of Chopin’s Préludes, while never neglecting their 20th-century edginess. It’s a lovely way to round off what must now be counted among the most revelatory, characterful and accomplished accounts of the Sonatas on disc, in an admirable recording that does Melnikov’s playing full justice. Thoroughly recommended!
Reviews
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