Medtner’s 14 piano sonatas, the most significant achievement in this genre by any major composer since Beethoven, span his career. The Sonata-Ballade explores a tempestuous musical allegory – the triumph of Light over Darkness, of Faith over Doubt; while the Sonata in A minor is cast in a single, terse movement, with folkloric elements and frequent use of bell-like features that exude Russianness. By contrast, the ‘Night Wind’ Sonata is a monumental epic of exceptional complexity that stunned Rachmaninov and led composer and critic Sorabji to call it ‘the greatest piano sonata of modern times.’
This recording was made on both modern and period instruments: tracks 1-4 (Steinway & Sons, Model D, serial number 578182 (Hamburg, c. 2007); tracks 5-6: Steinway & Sons, Model D (Hamburg, c. 1929)
Tracklist
Sonata-Ballada in F-Sharp Major, Op. 27 (1914) (00:23:00 ) 1 I. Allegretto - (00:11:36) 2 II. Introduzione: Mesto - (00:03:56) 3 III. Finale: Allegro (00:11:10) 4 Piano Sonata in A Minor, Op. 30 (1914) (00:17:03)
Piano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 25, No. 2, "Night Wind" (1911) (00:35:00 ) 5 Introduzione: Andante con moto - Allegro - Tempo dell'introduzione - (00:18:31) 6 Poco a poco Allegro molto sfrenatamente, presto - Quasi cadenza - Largamente (00:14:55)
