Rathaus, Shostakovich: Piano Sonatas

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[Rathaus] Technically, they are stunning performances, especially in the more manic passages; and in spots (the quieter moments of the first movement of the Second), Stoupel brings out the hints... — Fanfare, March/April 2021 More…

Release Date: 13th Nov 2020
Catalogue No: AVI8553481
Label: Avi Music
Length: 1 hour 44 minutes

Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days

Rathaus: Piano Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 2

Work length32:04

$4.60

$5.75

$6.70

Vladimir Stoupel

I. Grave e maestoso

Track length11:09

$1.40

$1.75

$2.05

II. Lento con espressione

Track length9:35

$1.20

$1.50

$1.75

III. Scherzo. Presto

Track length5:20

$1.00

$1.25

$1.45

IV. Finale. Grave - Allegro energico

Track length6:00

$1.00

$1.25

$1.45

Rathaus: Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 20

Work length24:23

$4.40

$5.50

$6.40

Vladimir Stoupel

I. Langsam

Track length7:10

$1.20

$1.50

$1.75

II. Scherzo. Presto

Track length4:46

$1.00

$1.25

$1.45

III. Fuge. Andante con moto

Track length7:24

$1.20

$1.50

$1.75

IV. Presto

Track length5:03

$1.00

$1.25

$1.45

Shostakovich: Piano Sonata No.1, Op. 12: I. Allegro

Work length13:32

$1.60

$2.00

$2.35

Vladimir Stoupel

Shostakovich: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61

Work length34:19

Album only

Vladimir Stoupel

I. Allegretto

Track length7:05

$1.20

$1.50

$1.75

II. Largo

Track length9:37

$1.20

$1.50

$1.75

III. Moderato

Track length17:37

Album only

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Vladimir Stoupel is regarded as one of the most competent pianists of Russian music and here presents the World Premiere Recording of Sonata No. 3 by Karol Rathaus. "Although Karol Rathaus (1895-1954) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) were contemporaries, they could hardly have led more different lives. Both biographies nevertheless exemplify the 20th century with its catastrophes, persecutions and destruction, and it is thus worthwhile to feature their music together in the same program. Born into a Polish Jewish family in Ternopil (then part of Austria-Hungary), Karol Rathaus started composing at a very early age. He was accepted into the Vienna Academy for the Performing Arts and Music in 1913, but his studies were suddenly interrupted by the onset of World War I: for the next four years, he would have to serve in the Austrian army. As one of Franz Schreker's favorite students, he followed Schreker to the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where he passed the entrance exam with flying colors with his First Sonata for Piano in C Minor, op. 2 (1920). The Vienna publishing house Universal-Edition published the sonata and signed a ten-year contract with the young composer. This marked the beginning of the quasi-meteoric rise of Karol Rathaus, whom prominent German critics were starting to hail as "New Music's greatest hope" (Walter Schrenk). In December 1926, 20-year-old Dmitri Shostakovich presented his 1st Piano Sonata, op. 12, to the public in Leningrad. Certain parallels with Rathaus's 3rd Sonata are striking: driving momentum, rapid changes of mood, a complex and technically challenging piano texture, free tonality, and a bustling metropolitan mood. In Shostakovich's sonata we additionally encounter a series of clusters along with a grotesque aspect..." (Excerpt from the liner notes by Vladimir Stoupel).

Reviews

March/April 2021

[Rathaus] Technically, they are stunning performances, especially in the more manic passages; and in spots (the quieter moments of the first movement of the Second), Stoupel brings out the hints and whispers well. And while he sometimes fails to differentiate dynamics, especially in the louder passages, his tone is so powerful that you’re apt to be convinced as you’re listening.

Rathaus, Shostakovich: Piano Sonatas

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