Piotr Anderszewski has finally been able to record some of the music of Karol Szymanowski, and it has been worth the wait. This is a brilliant performance of music that is rich in so many ways and that deserves a wider audience outside of the composer's homeland. The three works here were written between 1915 and 1917 and, therefore, share many qualities. The two triptychs, Masques and Métopes, reflect Szymanowski's encounter with the music of
Ravel. They are atmospheric and harmonically colorful, but go beyond
Ravel in their use of multiple, simultaneous tonalities. What frequently marks this music is the idea of "two": distinct, but related moods, keys, articulations, themes, and so on. are set against each other. In Masque No. 2, "Tantris le bouffon," it is the clown vs. the desperate lover; in the first Métope, "L'île des sirènes," it is long waves of notes vs. short trilling remarks. Those types of contrast exist even in the much more formally constructed Sonata No. 3.
Anderszewski makes the differences very clear, giving the music a focus and intensity that is almost tangible. In his hands, this Impressionistic music is like a vivid dream that seems too real to have been only a dream.