Where Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831) set a precedent as Poland’s first distinguished female composer, Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) is very much her modern counterpart. A protégé of Nadia Boulanger, Bacewicz encompasses influences of late Romanticism and modernism. Szymanowska had ties to compatriot Frédéric Chopin through her compositional style, and Bacewicz too shares a parallel: a dual heritage. Born to Polish mother and a Lithunian father, she chose to stay in Poland, and her works embrace the country’s folk traditions. On her new album, pianist Joanna Sochaka opts out of following a more conventional route of chronological order. Instead she alternates Bacewicz’s three sonatas with selected etudes to explore her own fascination with piano technique, as she writes, “in the context of Bacewicz’s output.”
The year 1949 was successful for the composer who won a prize at Fryderyk Chopin Composers’ Competition for her Sonata No. 1 and the Concert Etude. (It’s worth noting that No. 1 is not technically the first – another piano sonata, premiered by Sochaka here, predates it by two decades). The interplay between consonance and dissonance of Sonata No. 1 is the underlying theme of the Moderato (track 6). Bacewicz makes adjustments in the ‘pull’ of each force at different times to create a captivating dynamism. The movement is filled with both storminess (0:34) and calm that is not without disquietude (1:40). I very much enjoyed the dignified Andante (track 7), which seems to parallel the Moderato in pitting tonality against atonality: parallel intervals create an open texture against which angular and crystalline tones are splotched. Sochaka’s performance has an austere, almost emotional imperviousness to it, but not one leads to boredom. In fact, the listener becomes an outsider eagerly looking in, trying to understand the mystery.
The Concert Etude (track 10) is also a world premiere recording: it hearkens back to the grandness of Romanticism but also has a harmonic ambiguity almost akin to Ligeti. For all its virtuosic flair, it doesn’t sound like a study; the fluidity of the double note passages goes hand-in-hand with effortless shifts in dynamics and character. The pianist also brings out the composer’s larger melodic framework, bringing out the expansive and lyrical qualities the etude has to offer. However, she does not skimp on excitement and power when it’s needed: the single note runs are swift and crisp while the bass tones of the Steinway D, with a nicely controlled touch, resound nicely.
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Sonata No. 2 (1953) is the only work that Bacewicz chose to publish and give the first performance of herself. It bears a resemblance to No. 1 in that both are a homage to her Polish roots. They also seem to exude similar emotions. The ferocity of the Maestoso (track 1), for instance, hits us straightaway with thick chords and a thunderous bass. An evolution of style, though, does seem evident in some phrases that now sound not just atonal but pointilitic. Sections like 1’24”-1’42” have an eerie ostinato that may remind us of the opening of Scriabin’s 9th sonata.
An exciting Toccata (track 3) features folk music associated with a region in the foothill of the Tatra Mountains. Sochaka brings out the dance-like lilt of the oberek, letting the rhythm drive the vitality. As far as comparisons go, Krystian Zimerman’s 2009 DG effort is worth mentioning here: like Sochaka, he has a fine blend of virtuosity and musicality. I did find his Toccata fraught with more nervous and scampering energy, which actually works splendidly with the movement’s intensity.
The Etude in Thirds (track 5) has a gaiety that offsets the seriousness of the Sonatas. Sochaka surmounts the technical challenges with ease while clearly enjoying the playful and eccentric humor. The dissonances that appear so confidently against the tonality can make us envision a joyful but unwelcome guest at an elegant gathering.
The liner notes, written by the performer herself, offer a nicely tailored musical analysis. They also shed light on her own personal convictions for researching, studying, and performing the works. Recorded at the The Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz University of Music in Łódź, the album has a sound engineering that puts the musical capabilities of both pianist and piano into a polished light. A solid recording all around – warmly recommended.
Grażyna Bacewicz – Piano Music
Piano Sonata No. 1 & 2, Piano Etudes
Joanna Sochacka – Piano
DUX Records, CD 1689
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