Boulez: The Three Piano Sonatas
Boulez the composer isn't for everyone, his music's appeal often confined to avant-garde enthusiasts and to those nostalgic for the days when serialism was the dominant style. But many of his works are accessible to the open-minded willing to meet him on his own ground, which is to say that melody, tonal allure and easily understandable structure are not part of a musical vocabulary that seeks to create new forms while detonating old ones. The first two piano sonatas were written when Boulez was a musical revolutionary in his early twenties; yet the results are polished and stimulating. Jumppanen, a young Finn handpicked by Boulez to record this disc, is completely idiomatic, with the technique to do justice to these works. Pollini may reign unchallenged in the Sonata No. 2 and Idel Biret's fine recording of all three works on Naxos is budget priced, tempting novices to give them a hearing. But having all three sonatas easily available in such fine performances makes this disc a must for Boulez's admirers.--Dan Davis