Préludes et sonates pour piano

Description

Less essential than his symphonies or chamber music, Shostakovich's piano works oscillate between austere and revolutionary scores, such as the Sonata No. 1 from 1926, and the romantic tribute of the Piano Concerto No. 2 from 1957. Andrei Gugnin has chosen pieces straddling these periods, from the 24 Preludes, small aphoristic masterpieces from 1933, to the warlike narrative of Sonata No. 2 from 1942. The violence of the First Sonata (composed on the heels of the First Symphony and preceding the Aphorisms) conceals a melodic vein drowned under a torrential energy. Andrei Gugnin plays with this ambivalence, balancing a touch attentive to equilibrium (Bach is subtly present) and radical expressionism. Composed between Symphonies No. 7 and 8, Sonata No. 2 features a more refined writing than Sonata No. 1. The distillation of language, particularly in the finale conceived as a series of variations “in the style of Beethoven,” encourages the performer to play with a romantic flame. This interpretation becomes almost “beautiful,” as the golden colors of the piano stand out from any historical ties, in the midst of World War II. A touch so velvety, almost impressionistic, is more suited to the 24 Preludes. Andrei Gugnin elegantly handles the acidic traits and a suave play in the bass and mid-range, a sort of homage to late romanticism. Between grating parody and lyrical gesture, his interpretation accurately shows what Shostakovich's piano was: a kaleidoscope of writings. (Jean Dandrésy)