Ustvolskaya: Piano Sonata No. 1; Piano Sonata No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 3; Piano Sonata No. 4; Piano Sonata No. 5; Piano Sonata No. 6

COMPOSERS: Ustvolskaya
LABELS: Col legno
WORKS: Piano Sonata No. 1; Piano Sonata No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 3; Piano Sonata No. 4; Piano Sonata No. 5; Piano Sonata No. 6
PERFORMER: Markus Hinterhäuser (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: WWE 1CD 20019

Brittle and uncompromising, Ustvolskaya's piano music is not for casual listening. The pre-1960 sonatas (1-4) interweave rigid lines with ruthless precision. Sonatas 5 and 6 came over 20 years later and contain vast clusters of low notes thumped out in an unrelenting percussive onslaught. Such single-mindedness is awkward but mightily impressive. Christopher Lambton