PIOTR LACHERT (b.1938): Piano Sonatas No. 14 “Triste”, No. 18 “Russa” and No. 24, Avale Koan - 10 Miniatures for Piano.

Description: Purchasers of this otherwise thoroughly enjoyable disc might do well to spare themselves the burden of reading the polemical claptrap in the booklet by Alain van Kerckhoven, a founder of the 'New Consonant Music' movement (and Lachert's publisher), which amounts to an almost conspiracy-theory level dismissal of all 'modern' music that the essayist believes not to conform to his ideals. Lachert had a long and distinguished career in diverse fields, notably as pianist, and his piano writing is idiomatic and accomplished, in a tonal idiom, with clear, uncomplicated textures and rhythms. A prolific, self-taught composer, he plainly absorbed influences from all over 19th and 20th century Europe. The 18th Sonata, subtitled Russe sounds like a cautiously modern tribute to 19th century Russia, and the composer’s Polish origins are clearly reflected in the many Chopinesque gestures in No. 14, Triste. The first movement of the 24th bears the subtitle 'Ambiguity', which may refer to its tonality, which is less clear-cut than the other pieces here, though we are a long way from atonality or any kind of complexity; or perhaps its moods, which are inconsistent and unstable. The second movement is a nocturne, and the short third is played entirely in rhythms tapped out on the body of the piano, apart from a few cadential chords at the end. The Miniatures are attractive little character pieces, like a set of post-modern preludes. Justyna Philipp (piano).