Shostakovich: Piano Concertos & Piano Sonatas

Signum Following his engaging release of Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, pianist Peter Donohoe turns his attention to the composer’s two piano concertos and two piano sonatas. He opens with Sonata No. 1, a grim, serious and austere nod to the older Prokofiev. Donohoe’s needle-sharp articulation and firmness of tone set the nerves appropriately on edge, carving out the music’s contours with glacial insistence. Then there’s the Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, which immediately introduces a feast of jollity and mischief, but also embraces the gorgeous expansiveness of the Lento and irrepressible energy of the Brio finale. The second Piano Sonata is a substantial creation, which Donohoe invests with a menagerie of colours and moods, before embarking on the Concerto No 2, with a hint of darkness, dispelled by the carefree cut and thrust of the finale.