Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
Performer: Nicholas Angelich
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Warner
Catalogue: 9029526768
Release: 2021
Size: 1.29 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat major, Op. 84
01. I. Andante dolce
02. II. Andante sognando
03. III. Vivace
Visions fugitives, Op. 22
04. No. 1, Lentamente
05. No. 2, Andante
06. No. 3, Allegretto
07. No. 4, Animato
08. No. 5, Molto giocoso
09. No. 6, Con eleganza
10. No. 7, Pittoresco
11. No. 8, Commodo
12. No. 9, Allegro tranquillo
13. No. 10, Ridicolosamente
14. No. 11, Con vivacità
15. No. 12, Assai moderato
16. No. 13, Allegretto
17. No. 14, Feroce
18. No. 15, Inquieto
19. No. 16, Dolente
20. No. 17, Poetico
21. No. 18, Con una dolce lentezza
22. No. 19, Presto agitatissimo e molto accentuato
23. No. 20, Lento irrealmente
Ten Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 75
24. No. 2, Scene. The Street Awakens
25. No. 3, Minuet. Arrival of the Guests
26. No. 4, Juliet as a Young Girl
27. No. 6, Montagues and Capulets
28. No. 10, Romeo and Juliet Before Parting
Nicholas Angelich’s new album is dedicated to Prokofiev, the so-called unclassifiable artist– considered revolutionary by some, neo-classical by others.
Coming to public attention as a virtuoso pianist, Sergei Prokofiev left a fascinating body of work, that of a composer torn between two societies, between the culture of his homeland and the unchallenged culture of the West.
The third and last of the “war Sonatas”, the Eighth Sonata was premiered by Emil Gilels in 1944. Serious and virtuosic, it is also the longest and, probably, the most “human” (Michel Hofmann) sonata by its author. The French-American pianist Nicholas Angelich gives a fascinating translation, with great fluidity, with much left unspoken, and a heightened sense of poetic and dreamy sound. This album, which is wholly dedicated to Prokofiev is of a very high standard. Thanks to his exceptional technical mastery and his musical intelligence, Nicholas Angelich manages to reveal the infinite richness of a music too often known for its virtuosic side, which tends to be, under some fingers, quite brutal.
The twenty pieces of Visions Fugitives unfold with a wide variety of refined, liquid and mysterious timbres. The performer’s fine filigree work perfectly matches that of the composer in this beautiful recording that ends brilliantly with a selection of five pieces from the ballet Romeo and Juliet transcribed for the piano by the composer himself. The variety of the colours and the power of Angelich’s piano would almost make us forget the orchestral magic of this famous score.