Bartók’s spirit penetrates the aggressively jagged terrain outlined in André Jolivet’s two piano sonatas, respectively composed in 1945 and 1957, each comprising three movements. Their rhythmic asymmetry and polytextural elaboration require a high degree of virtuosity and stamina on the part of any artist brave enough to attempt to comply with their demands. The Canadian pianist Philip Adamson channels his formidable keyboard prowess toward making this essentially dour and grim music sing out with remarkable variety of texture and dramatic shape. He also turns in powerful performances of the Five Ritual Dances in their original solo piano version (as opposed to the composer’s later and better-known orchestral versions).
The slightly distant engineering reinforces the billowy sonorities Adamson creates in denser, softer passages, such as those in the First sonata’s opening movement, yet it also undermines the dynamic impact of climactic moments, such as the stabbing low B-naturals near the end of the Danse funéraire. For the sonatas alone, I lean toward Daniel Wayenberg’s leaner, more energetic 1965 performances reissued by EMI France in 2004. And if you can locate Bernard Lemmens’ excellent recordings on René Gailly, grab them. Then there’s the curiously named pianist Red-headed Veronique, who recorded both sonatas for Cybelia in the mid-1980s–a release I haven’t heard. At any rate, Adamson’s impressive pianism makes me want to know more of his work.
