Pierre Boulez composed his first two piano sonatas between 1946 and 1948 in what was still his formative period: grappling with the conflicting influences of
Olivier Messiaen and
René Leibowitz,
Boulez had yet to find a distinctive voice and the methods that would give him greater flexibility. As assured and forceful as these early serial works are, their aphoristic phrasing, concentrated gestures, and abrupt interruptions point to
Boulez's discontentment with form and seem rather constrained in invention. The Piano Sonata No. 3, however, is a mature work from 1955-1957, composed after
Boulez had developed his practice of constant row regeneration and had begun composing open-ended formants, or modules, rather than directional movement forms. These discoveries give the sonata an expansiveness and variety lacking in the previous works. Furthermore, the performer is free to choose not only the sequence of events, but also which sections to perform. Under the composer's supervision, pianist
Paavali Jumppanen has selected Formant 2: Trope and Formant 3: Constellation-Miroir and plays them with clarity, nuanced execution, and relaxed timing. As a result, the Sonata No. 3 feels more personally expressive than the other two sonatas, though
Jumppanen's readings of them are competent and far from sterile. DG's sound quality is superb.