Eckhardt-gramatte: 6 Piano Sonatas / Hamelin

MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN

CD 1: 1-3. Sonata No.1 4-7. Sonata No.2 "Die Biscaya Sonate" 8-11. Sonata No.3 CD 2: 1-4. Sonata No.4 "Die Befreite Sonate" 5-6. Sonata No.5 "Klavierstück" 7-9. Sonata No.6 "Drie Klavierstücke"

Wholenote Discoveries - September 2011
Outside Canadian music circles where her legacy lives on in a prestigious music competition, the colourful name of Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté (1899-1974) might not be particularly well known. But rest assured, this woman led an equally colourful life as performer, composer and pedagogue. Born in Moscow, she entered the Paris Conservatory at age eight, studying piano and violin, and went on to a successful concert career on both instruments. Later, two marriages brought her to Barcelona, Berlin, Vienna, and finally to Winnipeg where she settled in 1953 when her second husband Ferdinand Eckhardt became the director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. There she broke new ground as a teacher and composer, her contemporary style very much steeped in the romantic tradition. Among her compositions are six piano sonatas, written between 1923 and 1952 – and who better to perform this technically challenging music than piano titan Marc-André Hamelin? This two CD Centrediscs set is a re-issue of an Altarus recording from 1991. These sonatas, covering a thirty year period, display a wealth of contrasting styles. The first, written in 1923, pays homage to the Baroque period – think 1920s neo-classicism. Conceived as a two-part invention, the mood is buoyantly optimistic, and Hamelin easily meets the technical demands required to bring it off convincingly. Considerably more subjective is the second sonata, completed only a year later. In four movements, the piece aptly describes Eckhardt-Gramatté’s emotional state over a two year period, from the dark days in Berlin during the Great War to the more cheerful time when she and her first husband, artist Walter Gramatté settled in Spain. The mercurial nature of these sonatas, with their ever-changing moods presents no challenge to Hamelin. The vivacious finale from the fifth sonata is handled as deftly as the languorous Nocturne of the Sonata No.4. Eckhardt-Gramatté’s music might not be to everyone’s taste. Some might find it too strident, while others, too deeply-rooted in late romanticism. Nevertheless, she occupies a unique place in 20th century music, and this set is a fine tribute to a composer who undoubtedly deserves wider recognition. Richard Haskell

Price: $28.98