Alexander Mosolov - Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 4

Alexander Mosolov (1900 - 1973) - Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 4 "From Old Notebooks" (1924)

I. Sonata. Andante non troppo [0:00]
II. Adagio. Espressivo, sostenuto e severo [10:33]
III. Finale. Allegro tumultuoso, infernale [17:30]

Antonin Bagatov, piano (2017)

Piano Sonata No. 2 by Alexander Mosolov is a work in B minor. Its subtitle "From Old Notebooks" references Prokofiev's third and fourth piano sonatas, composed in 1917, which are both subtitled "From the Old Notebooks".

"Piano Sonata No.2 in B minor, Op.4 ‘From Old Notebooks’ (1923-24) is in three movements commencing with Sonata that has a quite lovely opening with a gentle little motif in the right hand underpinned by firmer chords with a subtle dissonance. The music soon reaches a fast moving section with broad emphatic chords before shifting through some rather languid passages overlaid with more dramatic ideas. It develops some very fine passages of greater power before eventually finding the opening calm. Yet again it builds in power through some terrific, more complex passages before a spiky rhythmic idea appears only to get rolled into a frenetic forward rolling passage. The music rises through more virtuosic, dramatic passages to arrive at an insistent statement of the theme before calm at the end.

Adagio has a gently swaying motif that Mosolov slowly and subtly develops before soon finding a more impassioned moment. Its quiet nature returns with this pianist finding a real tension in this impressive movement before building to a peak, only to find a quiet coda.

The Final moves off at a speed with many changes, rhythmic and decorative, building through some impressive passages before a gentler middle section arrives. The music again builds through ever more demanding passages to a formidable peak before a hushed conclusion."

(source: http://theclassicalreviewer.blogspot....)