This appears to be the first recording devoted entirely to piano works of Croatian composer Boris Papandopulo (1906-91). It’s hard to pigeonhole his eclectic, attractive style. Certain works, such as Igra (Scherzo fantastico) and the first of the Eight Studies, evoke the young Prokofiev’s brash, harmonically spiky and motoric keyboard writing. The four-movement Partita’s witty melodies and sudden dissonant flourishes might best be described as Poulenc on Balkan holiday, while the Ten Musical Impressions’ lean textures and stark tone clusters wouldn’t be out of place in works by Papandopulo’s younger contemporaries such as Ligeti or Kurtag.
There’s much to admire in Nicholas Phillips’ solid, characterfully varied performances, such as his supple delivery of the First Study’s rapid lines in the piano’s outer registers, and his appropriately bluesy phrasing in the second of the aforementioned Ten Musical Impressions. However, this music could benefit from a wider range of dynamics and tone color, which may be due more to the dry, constricted sonics than to the pianist himself. In any event, let’s hope that this disc inspires pianists to look beyond the usual suspects when seeking out worthy 20th century repertoire.
