Szymanowski The Complete Piano Music

NI1750

£19.99

Details

Karol Szymanowski is on of the most important figures in the development of Polish cultural life during the crucial period following the death of Chopin to the birth of ‘Solidarity’. Throughout his life he remained acutely aware of his Polish roots from the towering importance of Chopin to the folk music of his beloved Tatra Mountains.

Szymanowski’s piano music has been championed and kept alive by schools of pianists over the years. The composer always knew that Szymanowski the composer wrote music which was too difficult for Szymanowski the pianist. As these recordings show, Martin Jones has no difficulty in extracting poetry from the composer’s often awesome technical demands.

Tracks

CD 1

Nine Preludes, Op.1; Variations in B flat minor, Op.3; Four Studies, Op.4; Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op.8

CD 2

Variations on a Polish Folk-Theme in B minor, Op.10; Fantasia in C major, Op.14; Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor; Sonata No.2 in A major, Op.21

CD 3

Metopes, Op.29 (Trois poemes pour piano) : I L'ile des Sirenes II Calypso Lento III Nausicaa

Etudes, Op.33

Masques, Op.34 (Trois morceaux de piano) : I Sheherazade II Tantris le Bouffon III Serenade de Don Juan

Piano Sonata No.3, Op.36

CD 4

Mazurkas, Op.50; Deux Mazurkas, Op.62

Four Polish Pieces : I Mazurka II Krakowiak III Oberek IV Polonez

Romantic Waltz

Reviews

"The first volume of Szymanowski's complete piano music was a singularly impressive achievement, one that deserved great recommendation. This second volume... maintains that same level of excellence both as music and as performance." Stereophile

"This complete Nimbus survey invites enthusiasm, particularly as the music is presented in historical sequence...one senses the composer gradually forging his own individuality. Martin Jones is a consistently persuasive advocate and he is naturally recorded. A most rewarding set." The Penguin Guide

"Martin Jones has the elegance and poise for Szymanowski's quiet reflections on Chopin, and he can roar satisfyingly when a Lisztian mood is called for." Gramophone