SOMM Recordings is delighted to announce the second volume of Romantic Revolution, a revelatory exploration by pianist Michael Dussek of the musical relationship between his ancestor, Jan Ladislav Dussek, and Fryderyk Chopin. Volume II focuses on music composed during the period 1789 to 1846 spanning the early years of Dussek's compositional career and the final years of Chopin's. Dussek's early Sonata in G minor (Op.10 No.2) from 1789 already shows the Bohemian composer pushing against inherited norms and reaching towards the testing of form and extreme keyboard ranges that would color his music over the next 20 years, combining, as Dussek says in his insightful booklet notes, "virtuosic fingerwork [that] alternates with operatic dialogue". His Op.70 Sonata in A flat, Le retour Ã Paris, from 1805 "in every way breaks new ground" to produce "a thrilling tour de force setting new standards in virtuosic piano writing". The two companion Chopin pieces - the Fantasy in F minor (Op.49) and Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat (Op.61) - have been chosen "to emphasize the similarities of piano sonority and harmony" between the two composers. Their inclusion points to Dussek's guiding aim of the series: "simply to demonstrate the influence, in my view undeniable and at least partially unrecognized, of [Jan Ladislav] Dussek on the great Polish composer [Chopin]".

Tracklist:

Piano Sonata No. 5 In G Minor, Op. 10 No. 2: I. Grave. Adagio Non Troppo
Piano Sonata No. 5 In G Minor, Op. 10 No. 2: II. Vivace Con Spirito
Piano Sonata No. 26 In A-Flat Major, Op. 70 "Le Retour À Paris": I. Allegro Non Troppo Ed Espressivo
Piano Sonata No. 26 In A-Flat Major, Op. 70 "Le Retour À Paris": II. Molto Adagio Con Anima Ed Espressione
Piano Sonata No. 26 In A-Flat Major, Op. 70 "Le Retour À Paris": III. Tempo Di Minuetto. Scherzo Quasi Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 26 In A-Flat Major, Op. 70 "Le Retour À Paris": IV. Finale. Scherzo - Allegro Con Spirito
Fantaisie In F Minor, Op. 49, B. 137
Polonaise-Fantaisie In A-Flat Major, Op. 61, B. 159

UPC: 748871065727
Label: Somm Recordings
Release Date: 10.14.22
Format: CD

Chopin / Dussek - Romantic Revolution 2 (CD)