Miaskovsky: Piano Sonatas No. 2, 3 & 4

Chronique

For performances of Nikolay Myaskovsky's Second, Third, and Fourth piano sonatas, some listeners may prefer Hungarian pianist Endre Hegedus' muscular accounts; others, English pianist Murray McLachlan's probing readings; but for those who like it hot, French pianist Lydia Jardon's almost violently passionate interpretations may be the ones to beat. Jardon has the fire-breathing technique and the full-bodied tone to play these tremendously challenging works, and there's nothing here she cannot dispatch with aplomb. More importantly, Jardon has the no-holds-barred ardor needed to sell these knotty and gnarly works. And sell them she does; her fervent readings of the single-movement Second and Third sonatas are impossible to resist, and her unrelentingly intense account of the three-movement Fourth Sonata will simply not be denied. Some of Myaskovsky's more austere admirers might object that Jardon comes close to forcing herself on the music, but others may find her approach highly congenial and wholly persuasive. No one could debate the disc's sound quality, which is crisp, clear, and immediate.

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