Search - Michael Endres, Arnold Bax, None :: Arnold Bax: Complete Piano Sonatas / Symphony No.1 (transcribed for solo piano)

Outstanding music brilliantly played

jsa | San Diego, CA United States | 12/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been listening to the orchestral music of Arnold Bax for more than 30 years, however, I am fairly new to his piano music. Having recently purchased & enjoyed a compilation of incidental pieces performed by Ashley Wass ("Bax Piano Works," Naxos 8.557769), I turned to the sonatas, which are major compositions that deserve serious attention.



The sonatas have a symphonic feel to them & their structure seems very Baxian, which is to say that they are rhapsodic & epic but not particularly melodic. The first two sonatas, which are both in one movement, have a number of Russian influences - here and there you can detect Scriabin & Rachmaninoff, but the music is not at all derivative; everything bears the distinctive mark of Arnold Bax. The first sonata especially reflects Russian influence whereas the second is more typically Baxian & introspective, but with numerous episodes of pianistic exposition - once you pick up the theme you appreciate that this is a very strong piece of music. The third sonata is the longest & also the one that required the most hearings to get a sense of. The first movement is quite dramatic, the second movement both idyllic & turbulent, & the finale, which returns to the mood of the first movement, concludes with a flourish reminiscent of Chopin's B flat major sonata. The fourth sonata is immediately accessible, with dance-like rhythms that are very appealing. The set closes with a surprisingly effective piano transcription of the first symphony, music that I wouldn't have associated with piano but which works extremely well in this medium. I loved it.



Michael Endres, who is German but completed his training at the Julliard School & in London, might seem an unlikely candidate as an interpreter of the Bax piano sonatas. But this would only be so because British music has been recorded almost exclusively by British musicians, as they have been virtually the only ones interested enough to record it. It is our very good fortune then that Michael Endres is interested in 20th century tonal music & tracked down the scores of these sonatas (in the informative liner notes he says that the symphony transcription was almost impossible to locate), developed a passion for them & made these outstanding recordings. He is a pianist with a comprehensive grasp of structure, which is essential to this music, a big sound, & a huge technique; however, unlike many other pianists with big techniques, he does not overplay or indulge in gratuitous pyrotechnical displays. He has tremendous rhythmic drive & the passages that demand it are delivered with a percussive thrust that is riveting. Although I have not heard other recordings of this music for comparison purposes, I would nevertheless say that his interpretations are very convincing. On top of all this, the recorded sound is gorgeous. Very highly recommended!"