Sonata for Piano / Sonata na Fortepian

Description

Lutoslawski's Piano Sonata, the only composition preserved from his early student years, was completed on 29 December 1934. That three-movement work was modelled on the music of Debussy and - to a certain extent - Ravel (especially his Sonatine).

The composer himself acknowledged Szymanowski's influences. The rich palette of sound colours reveals impressionistic origins and, in most of the Sonata (and especially its first movement), the basis of the timbre is the quick succession of broken chords, providing, by means of the pedal, a glimmering background for the subjects and independent motives.

The Sonata places certain technical demands on the pianist. In order to perform it correctly, considerable dexterity is required as well as a mastery of passage-work and octave technique, sensitivity to instrumental colouring and skill in bringing polyphony into prominence vividly.

In later years Lutoslawski's attitude towards his youthful Sonata was so critical that, though the manuscript survived the turmoil of war, he never decided to publish it. In the 1970s Ryszard Bakst acquired a copy of the music and recorded it for Polish Radio, albeit against the wishes of the composer.

Danuta Gwizdalanka, Krzysztof Meyer (excerpt from the book Lutoslawski. A Road to Mastery)