Search - Stanchinsky, Blumenthal :: Piano Sonatas / 3 Sketches

Underrated Genius of Piano music

Nick Hodgson | Christchurch, New Zealand | 05/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I simply cannot believe that there is so little available by this sadly obscured composer, considering the depth and power of the music contained on this disc. The only explanation we have is that he did not write a huge amount of material and many of his manuscripts were burned or destroyed. Stanchinsky lived a tragic and very short life (he died at age 26). He suffered from mental illness and his death was either a suicide or was the result of a panic attack caused by losing his way home. Most of the music here is comtemporary with Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" but is certainly more romantic in colour. Although unlike other romantic composers, Stanchinsky not only hints at dissonance then pulls away, he in fact embraces it as an integral part of his romanticism (especially on the later pieces contained here). This music needs to be heard."

Very interesting music in decent performances

G.D. | Norway | 05/16/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When Alexey Stanchinsky died in 1914 at the age of 26 he had already obtained a rather individual voice. His oeuvre is exclusively for solo piano, and - perhaps apart from the Scriabinesque early E flat sonata - forward-looking and experimental in style. There are some apparent influences of Mussorgsky here, in particular in the Sketches, and more obviously from impressionism and Russian vaudeville, but these are all absorbed into a very individual style ("eclecticism" isn't a word that springs to mind). The music is all harmonically bold with strange, dream-like chord progression, and with irregular rhythmic patterns. It is also full of interesting ideas, resourceful and inventive.



Daniel Blumenthal proves to be a strong advocate for this interesting music, providing technically assured performances and a profound understanding of the forms and patterns. Sometimes the music sounds as if it might be driven just a little too hard, but in general he has a nice ear for the colors and rhythmic complexities. The sound quality is more than decent. An interesting release, then - perhaps not exactly earth shattering, but nicely filling out more of the picture of the Russian avant-garde at the time of and slightly before the Russian revolution."