Melvin Chen
Dmitri Shostakovich
Bridge Records 9238
www.bridgerecords.com
Pianist Melvin Chen admirably captures the multifaceted characteristics of Shostakovich’s music on his latest Bridge CD. Chen’s interpretation of the First Piano Sonata emphasizes its tempestuousness and daring sweep. He dexterously performs myriad whirlwind scalar passages and powerfully articulates its thunderous verticals.
Ten Aphorisms, Op. 13, show off the composer’s well-known mordant wit, which Chen displays with an incisive, punctuated delivery. Dances of the Dolls, seven pieces for children (arrangements of excerpts from Ballet Suites), present an entirely different side of the composer: graceful, elegant, and, for Shostakovich, positively good-humored.
Shostakovich’s Second Piano Sonata, written in 1943, was more traditional in structure than his first. This is certainly due in no small part to the official censures the composer had received for previous, more adventurous, works. Rather than having his genius blunted by the subsequent formal conservatism required of him by the State, Shostakovich instead created a number of wondrously well-crafted pieces. The Second Sonata is an attractive work, filled with memorable themes marvelously developed. After a boisterous reading of the first movement, the lyrical second movement is given a particularly evocative, at times haunting, interpretation by Chen. The Finale is paced perfectly, with a gradual yet inexorable move to its climax. Dare we hope that Chen might record the Preludes and Fugues?
-Christian Carey
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Very glad to see a new recording of the first sonata and the Aphorisms. I have an old LP of the same (plus Prokofiev’s Chose en Soi) with Victor Pleshakov that I digitized, as recordings of these two works are so uncommon compared with the second piano sonata. Both of these early works were ahead of their time in the Soviet Union at that time, and are more in line with The Nose or the Fourth Symphony. The Aphorisms contain some serial aspects, I recall. They need to be performed more often.
Very glad to see a new recording of the first sonata and the Aphorisms. I have an old LP of the same (plus Prokofiev’s Chose en Soi) with Victor Pleshakov that I digitized, as recordings of these two works are so uncommon compared with the second piano sonata. Both of these early works were ahead of their time in the Soviet Union at that time, and are more in line with The Nose or the Fourth Symphony. The Aphorisms contain some serial aspects, I recall. They need to be performed more often
Hello.
I am an amateur pianist and write journals and articles on music on blogs.
I wonder if it is ok to translate a part of your reviews into Korean
Frankly, I already did with your full name and the link here in my article.
Please let me know it’s ok for you.