Mosolov: Sonata for piano No5; Sonata for piano No2

On this CD:

1. Sonata for piano, No 2 in B minor, Op 4 "From Old Notebooks"
Composed by Alexander Vasil'yevich Mosolov
Performed by Herbert Henck

2. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op 15
Composed by Alexander Vasil'yevich Mosolov
Performed by Herbert Henck

3. Sonata for piano, No 5 in D minor, Op 12
Composed by Alexander Vasil'yevich Mosolov
Performed by Herbert Henck

Tracks:

Sonata for piano No. 2 in B Minor Op. 4 'From Old Notebooks': Sonata - Andante non troppo
Sonata for piano No. 2 in B Minor Op. 4 'From Old Notebooks': Adagio - Espressivo, sostenuto e severo (Allegretto)
Sonata for piano No. 2 in B Minor Op. 4 'From Old Notebooks': Finale - Allegro tumultuoso, infernale
Deux Nocturnes Op. 15: Elegiaco, poco stentato
Deux Nocturnes Op. 15: Adagio
Sonata For Piano No. 5 In D Minor Op. 12: Lento grave - Allegro affanato
Sonata For Piano No. 5 In D Minor Op. 12: Elegia - Lento
Sonata For Piano No. 5 In D Minor Op. 12: Scherzo marciale - Presto, con fuoco
Sonata For Piano No. 5 In D Minor Op. 12: Adagio languente e patetico - Lento

Customer Reviews:

bleak, sinister stuff.......2003-10-21

Mosolov's stuff is hard to find, but ECM shines through by releasing this recording of Henck playing these black pieces. Highly recommended

Dark and different.......2001-03-07

Alexander Mosolov (1900-1973), too, uses his own distinctive scheme of tonal organisation, different from Roslavets, and different from the Vienna School as well. His sonatas are technically very complex and difficult, and symphonically oriented, exploiting the full resources of the modern instrument. The noctures are miniatures, less driven, less intense, gentler, but dark and brooding, a melancholy night, gloomy with a few glints of light.

Most of Mosolov's music is filled with raging passion and dark colors, sadness, despair, longing, resignation, no resolution, and no triumph. His expression markings include "lugubre" and "feroce" and dozens of shades in between. This represents his emotional range. Thematic material is obscure, no melodies, fragments of themes, shreds and shards projected with furious intensity, driven, but (certainly in this performance) not mechanical or motoric. This is in spite of Mosolov's Futurist leanings and links with "machine music." He always makes us aware of the piano as a mechanical device, but never merely that.

Herbert Henck puts this difficult material across in a beautiful, spirited performance and finds a lot of lyricism behind an often forbidding surface. (But when you're done listening you still won't remember any of the tunes.)

The recording and production are up to the highest possible standards, as with all of ECM's releases, which are unsurpassed. The liner notes, by the performer, are exemplary and show him to be as eloquent on paper as he is on the keyboard. The notes significantly enhance the enjoyment and understanding of the music.

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Music Review

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