Prokofiev’s Sixth Sonata may not match the Seventh’s war-horse status, yet it too has been served by many first-rate recordings, from umpteen Sviatoslav Richter versions to worthwhile contemporary contenders. The latter include Ivo Pogorelich (DG), Bernd Glemser (Naxos), and François-Frederic Guy (Naïve). Nikolai Lunganski merits consideration here as well. His all-encompassing technique and powerful projection make a visceral impact in the first movement while still allowing moments of lyrical respite to expand and congeal. Like Guy and Glemser, Lugansky voices the Allegretto’s woodwind-like staccato chords in careful perspective to the melodies that pass between registers. In Lugansky’s hands the slow movement’s discursive slow waltz defines controlled freedom. He milks the Finale’s central section’s bleak qualities by applying double doses of sustain pedal and pushes the rapid outer sections within nanoseconds of the legal speed limit, the comfort of home listeners be damned!
In contrast to the light-fingered transparency both Richter and Frederic Chiu bring to the Fourth Sonata’s somber, lower-register-dominated first two movements, Lugansky’s weightier textures suggest sustained strings rather than caustic winds and brass. However, his perky romp through the convivial finale leaves little room to match Chiu’s playful nuance and irony.
From a pianistic perspective, you can hardly fault Lugansky’s fluent and assured account of the 10 pieces arranged from Romeo and Juliet. Yet Chiu’s wider range of dynamics, crisper rhythms, and more sophisticated “orchestration” of Prokofiev’s part writing adds considerable color, shape, and a more palpable sense of the music’s theatrical function. Buy this mainly for the sonatas.
