Vincent Persichetti: Complete Piano Sonatas
Liner Notes   Cat. No. 80677     Release Date: 2008-01-01

Geoffrey Burleson, piano

Vincent Persichetti's (1915-1987) twelve piano sonatas were written over a forty-three-year period. The first nine sonatas, written between 1939 and 1950, are strong, integral and varied works reflecting diverse approaches toward synthesizing a number of styles and idioms. In these pieces, the voices of Schoenberg, Hindemith, Copland, and Bartok and jazz are variously combined and distilled within Persichetti's own developing compositional language, with an increasing emergence of an original style that reaches a kind of initial culmination in the expansive Sonata No. 4.

The last three sonatas were created over a much longer span of time than the first three, appearing in 1955, 1965, and 1982, respectively. Each of these last three sonatas represents dramatic culminations of Persichetti's musical universe. Throughout his output, Persichetti employs a very wide stylistic palette, embracing diatonic and modal tonalities, pandiatonicism, polytonality, and atonal languages, as well as other diverse musical approaches.

Like all of his works, the piano sonatas are brilliantly crafted, with the opening material usually serving as a unifying element for the entire piece. There is a strong penchant for homophonic textures, a great rhythmic vitality in the fast movements, and often a sense of very affecting poignance in the slow movements. Persichetti also uses scintillating registral contrasts and juxtapositions brilliantly throughout all of his piano writing.

This first-ever integral recording of these works features six world premieres and is a major addition to the Persichetti discography.

Geoffrey Burleson

Vincent Persichetti: Complete Piano Sonatas

MP3/320 $28.00
WAV $28.00
2x CD-R+ $50.00
CD-R+ titles come in a jewel case with print booklet.                         Liner Notes
A *.pdf of the notes may also be accessed here free of charge.

Sonata No. 1, Op.3: I. Allegro moderato
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 1, Op.3: II. Adagio
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 1, Op.3: III. Vivace
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 1, Op.3: IV. Passacaglia
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 2, Op. 6: I. Moderato
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 2, Op. 6: II. Sostenuto
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 2, Op. 6: III. Allegretto
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 2, Op. 6: IV. Allegro
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 3, Op. 22: I. Declaration
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 3, Op. 22: II. Episode
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 3, Op. 22: III. Psalm
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 4, Op. 36: I. Broad
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 4, Op. 36: II. Moderately
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 4, Op. 36: III. Plaintively - Briskly
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 5, Op. 37: I. With Motion
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 5, Op. 37: II. Tenderly
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 5, Op. 37: III. Briskly
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 6, Op. 39: I. Lightly
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 6, Op. 39: II. Slowly
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 6, Op. 39: III. Blandly
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 6, Op. 39: IV. Fast
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 7, Op. 40: I. Moderato
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 7, Op. 40: II. Andante
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 7, Op. 40: III. Vivo
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 8, Op. 41: I. Lightly
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 8, Op. 41: II. Quietly
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 8, Op. 41: III. Fast
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 9, Op. 58: I. Moderato
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 9, Op. 58: II. Allegro agilite
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 9, Op. 58: III. Larghetto
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 9, Op. 58: IV. Allegro risoluto
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 10, Op. 67: I. Adagio
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 10, Op. 67: II. Presto
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 10, Op. 67: III. Andante
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 10, Op. 67: IV. Vivace
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 11, Op. 101: I. Risoluto
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 11, Op. 101: II. Articolato
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 11, Op. 101: III. Sostenuto
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 11, Op. 101: IV. Leggero
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 11, Op. 101: V. Conclusivo
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 12, Op. 145: I. Sostenuto - Risoluto
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 12, Op. 145: II. Amabile
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 12, Op. 145: III. Scherzoso
Vincent Persichetti
Buy
Sonata No. 12, Op. 145: IV. Brioso
Vincent Persichetti
Buy