Christoph Deluze - Dmitri Kabalevsky: Piano Sonatas Opp. 6, 45, 46 (2011) PS3 ISO + DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

The Preludes and Sonatas of Dmitri Kabalevsky are amongst the best piano works of the forties, and deserve a place on concert programs alongside better-known works by composers such as Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Pianist Christoph Deluze has become well known for his interpretations of Kabalevsky, and here he performs the three Piano Sonatas. The first is reminiscent of Scriabin, and the second and the third are war pieces filled with highly virtuosic passages. Deluze's performances confirm their impressive stature, intense lyricism and rhythmic vigor. Sonatas on the SACD disc are excellent, with a very natural ambiance, and Deluze‘s performance are exceptionally good.

Christoph Deluze's second album devoted to the music on Dmitry Kabalevsky covers the composer's sonatas. The three sonatas together fill just about an hour, but there is enough substance in the music that listeners who can appreciate Kabalevsky's style should feel satisfied. Deluze presents the sonatas in reverse, beginning with the Sonata No. 3, the most popular one. For those who don't know this music, but do know the music of Prokofiev, this may strike them as a lightweight imitation. Kabalevsky's sonata often has some of the same staccato sound, but the character is not as outspoken as Prokofiev's, even though there is clearly sarcasm in the final movement. The second movement is gentler, played with nuanced touch and phrasing by Deluze. Sonata No. 2, written during World War II, is the centerpiece of the recording, literally and figuratively. The succession of changing characters and moods in each movement seem to tell a story of the war, perhaps how it played out in one village or town. It is more substantial in that respect than No. 3, which was written a year later, and even the textures in it seem weightier. At times, particularly in the third movement, the different lines and voices Deluze brings out give it orchestral-like dimension. The much earlier Sonata No. 1 (1929) is a different animal, with an indebtedness to Scriabin. The melodies don't quite seem to settle into anything that's immediately easy to follow or into a single tonality, and there's the impression that the young Kabalevsky was aiming to be modern and shocking, to not follow the more romantic path of Rachmaninov or others. Its finale does pay homage to those ever-present bells that are found in so much Russian music. Deluze understands this music thoroughly and performs with utmost skill, demonstrating that even though Kabalevsky was obviously a more conservative composer than his contemporaries, he was nonetheless a talented one with a unique voice.

Tracklist:

01. Piano Sonata No.3, Op.46 - I. Allegro con moto
02. Piano Sonata No.3, Op.46 - II. Andante cantabile
03. Piano Sonata No.3, Op.46 - III. Allegro giocoso
04. Piano Sonata No.2, Op.45 - I. Allegro moderato, festivamente
05. Piano Sonata No.2, Op.45 - II. Andante sostenuto
06. Piano Sonata No.2, Op.45 - III. Presto assai
07. Piano Sonata No.1, Op.6 - I. Allegro non troppo ma con fuoco
08. Piano Sonata No.1, Op.6 - II. Andantino semplice
09. Piano Sonata No.1, Op.6 - III. Vivo-Allegro molto-Allegro tenebroso

Personnel
Christoph Deluze - piano/Klavier

Recorded in July 2010 at City Hall of La Chaux De Fond, Switzerland.
DSD BiChannel Recording. Engineered & Edited by Jean Claude Gaberel & Karel Soukenik.


Thanks to the Original ripper!
Uncompressed SACD ISO size > 794 MB
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