Henri Dutilleux's Piano Sonata (1947–1948) was his only piano sonata. It is dedicated to and premiered by his wife Geneviève Joy on 30 April 1948. ^{[1] [2]} The Piano Sonata has since become one of the most acclaimed post- World War II works in the genre ^{[1] [3]} and has been championed by major pianists such as John Ogdon, Robert Levin, John Chen and Claire-Marie Le Guay.

Although Dutilleux had been active as a composer for ten years when he wrote his piano sonata, he viewed it as his Opus 1, the first work that he considered up to his mature standards. ^{[2] [4]} Debussy, Ravel, ^[4] Bartók and Prokofiev ^[5] have been cited as influences on the piece although critics have also stressed that its language is original and distinctive, ^{[4] [6]} a personal synthesis of French Impressionism and Soviet music. ^[7]

Music

The work has three movements. ^[1]

The piano sonata represented an opportunity for Dutilleux to experiment with an ambitious, large-scale project, something that his previous commissioned works did not permit. In his own words: "I wanted to move gradually towards working in larger forms, and not to be satisfied with short pieces – to get away, if you like, from a way of writing that was 'typically French' ". ^[8] The piece combines two concerns typical of Dutilleux's mature works: formal rigour and harmonic research. ^[2] Its themes are ambiguous, never completely modal or tonal. ^[9]

The first movement, Allegro con moto, starts in ²
₂ but often changes meter. It is bi-thematic and classical in structure, with an ample first theme while the second one derives from the former. ^{[1] [6]} From the very first bars, it displays F♯ major-minor ambiguity. Tritones are also featured prominently, as well as extremes of register which give the piece a symphonic character. ^[9]

The Lied is the shortest movement. In ternary A–B–A form, it is also sparser and more pensive than the other two. ^[6] Its basic tonality is D♭ major although some degree of modal-tonal ambiguity is again noticeable. It begins in ⁴
₈ with some meter changes later on. ^[9]

The last movement starts with an imposing Choral in ³
₂ that suggests a four-voice polyphony. It is characterized by carillon-like sonorities that are created by the overlapping of low and high sustained notes. ^[9] It is followed by 4 variations (Vivace – Un poco più vivo – Calmo – Prestissimo). Variation II features an early example of "fan-shaped phrases", a device Dutilleux would use frequently in his later works. ^[9] The movement concludes with a varied recapitulation of the Choral. The variations are thus structured in a mini- sonata form, creating a "sonata within a sonata". ^{[1] [6]} Throughout the movement, several passages have a toccata-like character. ^{[6] [9]}

The work has been described as "a brilliant, multi-layered piece with echoes of Bartók and Prokofiev" ^[5] as well as a "sonata that Debussy might have written... sensuous and classical". ^[4]

Selected discography

• 1995 – Marie-Josèphe Jude (CD – Harmonia Mundi #911569)
• 2000 – Claire-Marie Le Guay (CD – Accord #465772)
• 2000 – Anne Queffélec (CD – Virgin #45222)
• 2007 – John Chen (CD – Naxos #8557823)
• 2010 – Robert Levin (CD – ECM #2105)
• 2012 – John Ogdon, recorded in 1972 (CD – Warner Classics #4637)
• 2013 – Geneviève Joy, recorded in 1988 (CD – Erato #42755)
• 2015 – Kathryn Stott (CD – BIS #2148)
• 2020 – Élodie Vignon (CD – Cypres #4658)

References