Dario Bonuccelli - Wagner: Complete Piano Works (2013)

Tracklist

CD1
01. Tristan und Isolde, Act I: Prelude (version for piano): Tristan und Isolde: Prelude (version for piano)
02. Albumblatt für Ernst Benedikt Kietz "Lied ohne Worte": Albumblatt in E Major
03. Polka in G Major
04. Zuricher Vielliebchen-Walzer in E-Flat Major
05. Albumblatt in C Major, "In das Album der Furstin Metternich"
06. Ankunft bei den schwarzen Schwänen: Albumblatt in A-Flat Major, "Ankunft bei den schwarzen Schwane"
07. Albumblatt in E-Flat Major
08. Polonaise in D Major, Op. 2
09. Polonaise in D Major
10. Notenbrief für Mathilde Wesendonck: Notenbrief fur Mathilde Wesendonck
11. Elegie: Elegie, WWV 93
12. Fantasia in F-Sharp Minor

CD2
01. Sonate fur das album von Frau M.W. (Sonata for Mathilde Wesendonck)
02. Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: I. Allegro con brio
03. Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: II. Largetto
04. Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: III. Menuetto: Allegro
05. Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: IV. Finale: Allegro vivace
06. Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 4, "Grosse Sonate": I. Allegro con moto
07. Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 4, "Grosse Sonate": II. Adagio molto ed assai espressivo
08. Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 4, "Grosse Sonate": III. Maestoso-Allegro
09. Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 4, "Grosse Sonate": III. Maestoso: Fugue: Tempo moderato e maestoso



Released in 2013 for the bicentennial of Richard Wagner's birth, this double-disc album of his complete piano music shows a side of the composer that is seldom heard. Wagner's reputation rests on his music dramas, most significantly on the tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen, but also on such masterpieces as Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Parsifal, which influenced western music well into the 20th century. Yet the young Wagner emulated Beethoven in his piano sonatas and his massive Fantasia in F sharp minor, and revealed his own style gradually, in a handful of short dances and album leaves. This presentation on Dynamic eschews chronological order and presents the more characteristic pieces on the first CD, while saving the early sonatas for the second disc. Greater emphasis is placed on the Wagner we know, especially in the opening arrangement of the Prelude to Tristan und Isolde, and the handful of pieces that Wagner wrote from the 1850s on. The dances that are included are of limited value, except perhaps for their imitation of Chopin and Liszt. However, Wagner's earnest struggles with sonata form are perhaps of greater interest to students of his musical development, and the second disc gives a clear view of Wagner's style in the 1830s. Dario Bonuccelli's playing is clear and focused, but lacking emotional involvement throughout the first disc until his reading of the Fantasia, which is adequately impassioned. Yet Bonuccelli has saved his best performances for the sonatas, which clearly benefit from his committed playing and lucid interpretations. Dynamic's sound is quite deep and spacious, giving Bonuccelli extraordinary presence and resonance.

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