Dmitri Kabalevsky - Piano Sonatas (Alexandre Dossin)

Information

Composer: Dmitri Kabalevsky

• (01-03) Piano Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 6
• (04-06) Piano Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 45
• (07-09) Piano Sonata No. 3 in F major, Op. 46
• (10-12) Piano Sonatina in C major, Op. 13 No. 1
• (13-15) Piano Sonatina in C minor, Op. 13 No. 2

Alexandre Dossin, piano
Date: 2009
Label: Naxos
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.570822

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Review

Can this Brazilian pianist make a case for Kabalevsky’s piano music?

This useful collection of Kabalevsky’s three piano sonatas is played commandingly by Alexandre Dossin, a prize-winning Brazilian pianist. Yet only an artist of altogether more charismatic virtuosity can lift such music so that it acquires at any rate an air of distinction. Only then are you made less aware of Kabalevsky’s derivative style and of how the obvious influences of Scriabin and Prokofiev are so rarely transformed into a convincingly personal idiom. You might also forget how Kabalevsky’s occasional forays into a self-conscious modernism and mock-pastoral tradition were sufficiently modest not to offend Soviet officialdom.

However, the Third Sonata remains a bright and witty exception and when played with Horowitz’s spine-tingling bravura or Moiseiwitsch’s feline elegance it quickly becomes the star offering among the composer’s piano works. So if you want to hear Kabalevsky’s frequent banality turned to dazzling advantage you will need to hear those two incomparable pianists (Horowitz on RCA, Moiseiwitsch on Naxos). You could also seek out Artur Pizarro’s stylish and brilliant performances on a long-deleted Collins issue. And you certainly won’t want to be without Van Cliburn’s stunning live performance of the A minor Rondo on a recently released Testament disc (2/09). Here, the Two Sonatinas remind you that Kabalevsky was a skilled composer of children’s pieces. More generally Dossin is well if not outstandingly recorded and Naxos’s accompanying notes are detailed if flattering.

-- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY:  9 / SOUND QUALITY: 7
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/May09/Kabalevsky_Dossin_8570822.htm
http://www.allmusic.com/album/kabalevsky-piano-sonatas-complete-mw0001413505
http://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.570822&languageid=EN
https://www.amazon.com/Kabalevsky-Piano-Sonatas-Complete-Dmitri/dp/B001U1L9S0

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Dmitri Kabalevsky (30 December [O.S. 17 December] 1904 – 14 February 1987) was a Russian composer. He helped to set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures. He was a prolific composer of piano music and chamber music; many of his piano works have been performed by Vladimir Horowitz. Kabalevsky wrote for all musical genres and was consistently faithful to the ideals of socialist realism. In Russia, Kabalevsky is most noted for his vocal songs, cantatas, and operas while overseas he is known for his orchestral music.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Kabalevsky

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Alexandre Dossin (born 13 September 1970 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) is a Brazilian pianist. He was awarded First Prize and Special Prize at the 2003 Martha Argerich International Piano Competition. Dossin is a graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he studied with Sergey Dorensky. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where his teachers were William Race and Gregory Allen. Currently on the faculty at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance, he maintains an active performing, teaching and recording career.

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Dossin

http://www.naxos.com/person/Alexandre_Dossin/49596.htm

http://www.dossin.net/

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