COMPOSERS: Gerhard/Homs
LABELS: Marco Polo
WORKS: Two Sketches; Soirées de Barcelone; Dances from Don Quixote; Three Impromptus; Piano Sonata No. 2
PERFORMER: Jordi Masó (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 8.223867
This year marks the centenary of the birth of the Catalan composer Roberto Gerhard, a pupil of Granados and Felipe Pedrell, and ultimately of Schoenberg. From the early Two Sketches (1921-2), the second of which employs a Catalan folk-tune, to the 12-note Impromptus of 1950, he constantly rethought his compositional techniques, but even in his most doctrinaire works the modality and inflexions of folk music are never far away, and his gift for the lyrical mostly prevails. The Second Sonata of his pupil, Joaquim Homs, is a strictly 12-note work, but by no means difficult for the listener.
Masó’s interpretations are masterly. His fingerwork is neat, his dynamic control impeccable, and, being Catalan himself, the music is in his blood. Wadham Sutton