This first of three discs devoted to George Enescu’s piano music presents three significant pieces. Indebted to Romanian folk music and in three large sections, the ruminative yet striking Nocturne in D flat is a work of shifting sonorities and moods. The Pièces impromptues, Op. 18 are independent, unrelated character pieces that illuminate once again the composer’s fascination with the indigenous music of Romania. The Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 24, No. 1 is – by contrast – a massive statement characterised by harmonic surprises, innovative techniques, insistent rhythms and, in the final, slow movement, the doina, a type of Romanian song at once contemplative, nostalgic and melancholic.
This recording was made on a modern instrument: Shigeru Kawai
This first of three discs devoted to George Enescu’s piano music presents three significant pieces. Indebted to Romanian folk music and in three large sections, the ruminative yet striking Nocturne in D flat is a work of shifting sonorities and moods. The Pièces impromptues, Op. 18 are independent, unrelated character pieces that illuminate once again the composer’s fascination with the indigenous music of Romania. The Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 24, No. 1 is – by contrast – a massive statement characterised by harmonic surprises, innovative techniques, insistent rhythms and, in the final, slow movement, the doina, a type of Romanian song at once contemplative, nostalgic and melancholic.
This recording was made on a modern instrument: Shigeru Kawai
Tracklist
1
Nocturne in D-Flat Major (1907) (00:19:07)
Pièces impromptues, Op. 18, "Suite No. 3" (1916) (00:25:00 )
2
I. Mélodie (00:03:15)
3
II. Voix de la steppe (00:03:20)
4
III. Mazurk mélancolique (00:05:28)
5
IV. Burlesque (00:05:34)
6
V. Appassionato (00:04:51)
7
VI. Choral (00:07:16)
8
VII. Carillon nocturne (00:06:52)
Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 24, No. 1 (1924) (00:25:00 )
9
I. Allegro molto moderato e grave (00:11:05)
10
II. Presto vivace (00:04:40)
11
III. Andante molto espressivo (00:07:38)
