

The three Sonatas were written in quick succession. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic. One features pianist Nella Maissa in a 1958 Portuguese broadcast (and you can read my rave review by typing Q2743 in Search Reviews) the other is a 1965 Philips recording by Estonian pianist Kabi Laretei, who coached the work with Hindemith. The principal rivals in Ludus Tonalis are John McCabe (Hyperion) and Boris Berezovsky (Warner Classics). Discover Hindemith: Ludus Tonalis Suite 1922 by John McCabe released in 1996. It’s probably a toss-up between the Berezovsky and McCabe Ludus Tonalis/Suite “1922” couplings, but for me, two historic versions eclipse all modern competition (I say this without having heard Joyce Hatto’s traversal on Concert Artist). My only half-quibble concerns the pianist’s rather typewriterish flattening out of the Ragtime finale’s syncopations that John McCabe treats more idiomatically. The rhythms of 1920s jazz and gray, gnarly Teutonic dissonances collide in the Suite “1922”, which Berezovsky’s fingers relish with glee.
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At times, though, I’d like to hear more energy, incisive articulation, and rhythmic swagger (the march movements for instance), plus more abandon and fantasy in the Praeludium and Postludium that bookend the piece.

In Interludium nine Berezovsky’s dulcet left-hand chords provide gorgeous support for the curvaceous espressivo right-hand melody lines. 6) that are measured enough to communicate contemplative, lyrical repose yet never drag their feet. He chooses tempos for the slower, more transparent fugues (like No. His world-class virtuosity particularly shines in the fourth and eighth Interludiums, where the rapid legato figurations elegantly and evenly fly. From a technical standpoint, Boris Berezovsky cannot be faulted, and he avoids the willful exaggerations of Ollie Mustonen’s controversial though admittedly exciting Decca recording (long out of print).

Ideally, the performer should elevate the fugues beyond their seemingly doctrinaire surface and characterize the interludes with as much variety as they deserve, without violating the text. Great recordings are even fewer and farther between. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Hindemith: Ludus Tonalis Suite 1922 by John McCabe (CD, 2012) at the best online prices at. New recordings of Hindemith’s 1942 contrapuntal keyboard tour-de-force Ludus Tonalis are few and far between, and they tend not to stay in print.
