Melvin Chen - Shostakovich: Piano Works (2007)

Tracklist

01. 7 Dolls' Dances: No. 1, Lyric Waltz
02. 7 Dolls' Dances: No. 2, Gavotte
03. 7 Dolls' Dances: No. 3, Romance
04. 7 Dolls' Dances: No. 4, Polka
05. 7 Dolls' Dances: No. 5, Waltz scherzo
06. 7 Dolls' Dances: No. 6, Hurdy Gurdy
07. 7 Dolls' Dances: No. 7, Dance
08. Aphorisms, Op. 13: No. 1, Recitative
09. Aphorisms, Op. 13: No. 2, Serenade
10. Aphorisms, Op. 13: No. 3, Nocturne
11. Aphorisms, Op. 13: No. 4, Elegy
12. Aphorisms, Op. 13: No. 5, Funeral March
13. Aphorisms, Op. 13: No. 6, Etude
14. Aphorisms, Op. 13: No. 7, Dance of Death
15. Aphorisms, Op. 13: No. 8, Canon
16. Aphorisms, Op. 13: No. 9, Legend
17. Aphorisms, Op. 13: No. 10, Lullaby
18. Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 12: Ia. Allegro
19. Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 12: Ib. Lento
20. Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 12: Ic. Allegro
21. Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61: I. Allegretto
22. Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61: II. Largo
23. Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61: III. Moderato

Melvin Chen makes Shostakovich rock. Not so much in the opening Dances of the Dolls - seven pieces of sugar and spice and everything nice - but from there on until the end of this all-Shostakovich disc from Bridge, Chen rips loose. With a steely fingered technique, a muscular attack, and indomitable stamina, Chen turns in a recital that may just singe your eyebrows. His Ten Aphorisms are sly, subversive, seductive, and sometimes cruel, while his single-movement Piano Sonata No. 1 moves past cruel and into pitiless and violent. When Shostakovich played the First Sonata, it is said he broke hammers and strings in the instrument and left blood on the keyboard and Chen seems likely to duplicate the feat; it sounds like the piano is being splintered. The three-movement Second Sonata is not quite as vicious, but its cumulative impact is even more devastating. Listen to the buildup of tension in the enormous closing movement that then pulls back into space and silence. Recorded in sound so loud your fillings will shake, Chen's Shostakovich demands to be heard.

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