KRZYSZTOF MEYER (b.1943): Piano Works, Vol. 1 - Aphorisms, Op. 3, Piano Sonatas No. 1, Op. 5, No. 2, Op. 7 and No. 3, Op. 13, Quasi una fantasia, Op. 104.

Description: This disc provides a fascinating glimpse into the early development of the composer. An accomplished pianist, as yet unknown as composer, Meyer wrote his early piano pieces for himself, and they reflect trends in Polish modernism of the time. The nine 'Aphorisms', written when Meyer was eighteen, are extrovert character pieces, largely atonal, and with much Bartókian gesture to the writing. The first sonata followed almost immediately; here Meyer briefly flirted with strict dodecaphony in a meticulously organized composition, further formalized by the use of variation form in the main movement. The work is not all formal experimentation by any means; the harmony is rich and full, the music passionate and demonstrative, full of youthful fire. The following year finds Meyer experimenting with a kind of sonorism, with dense textures built up through overlapping trills and droplet, bell and gong sounds (all produced using conventional piano techniques). The 3rd Sonata, his last that used 12-note techniques, also incorporates sonorous effects, but has a greater sense of development and progression. The 2005 'Quasi una fantasia' is quite different; a Beethoven hommage and competition piece, it is much more tonal and pianistically orthodox, with echoes of Shostakovich and a somber, somewhat protesting character. Marek Szlezer (piano).