Karol Szymanowski – Masques, Métopes & Études
Szymanowski (1882-1937): 12 Études, Op. 33; Masques, Op. 34; 4 Études, Op. 4; Métopes ‘Trois Poèmes’, Op. 29;
Cédric Tiberghien, piano
Hyperion CDA67886 (Feb. 2014)
In French pianist Cédric Tiberghien’s first solo recording for Hyperion he embraces the sensual, crepuscular sound-world of Szymanowski’s piano music. Tiberghien’s expressive, mercurial, quicksilver playing with its extraordinary pianissimos and kaleidoscopic range of color makes him an ideal performer of this repertoire.
Szymanowski’s most celebrated works have been recorded here. The early 4 Études include the popular Andante in modo d’una canzone, a sorrowful song above slow repeated chords. The rest of the (later) works show the maturing of Szymanowki’s unique piano style and in particular the salutary influence of Ravel’s and Debussy’s weightless, diaphanous textures.
Reviews:
Karol Szymanowski was never a concert virtuoso but knew the piano inside out, writing music that, despite its often complex textures, is always beautifully laid out for the hands. The three Métopes from 1915 recall ‘the leavening, salutary influence of Ravel’s and Debussy’s weightless, diaphanous textures’ (to quote Francis Pott in his booklet-note) and rely ‘upon a performer of fastidious polyphonic instincts and acute subtlety’ … one can have no reservations about Cédric Tiberghien’s playing throughout this absorbing disc—Gramophone
Few players of this music combine quite such clarity and articulation with shimmering sparkle and virtuosic flair: this is sophisticated pianism … The most famous of these Scriabinesque pieces, the sorrowful and haunting No 3 in B flat minor, was made popular by Paderewski, and Tiberghien’s performance explains its enduring appeal … you will be left wanting to listen again—BBC Music Magazine (5 stars for Performance and for Recording)
[Source: hyperion-records.co.uk]