Masques Metopes Etudes Opp.4 & 33

Cedric Tiberghien's first solo recording for Hyperion explores the sensual, crepuscular sound-world of Szymanowski's piano music. Tiberghien's expressive, mercurial, quicksilver playing, with it's extraordinary pianissimos and kaleidoscopic range of color, makes him an ideal performer of this repertoire. Szymanowski's most celebrated works have been recorded here. The four early etudes include the popular Andante in modo d'una canzone, a sorrowful song above slow repeated chords. The rest of the (later) works show the maturing of Szymanowski's unique piano style and in particular the salutary influence of Ravel's and Debussy's weightless, diaphanous textures.