LEONID POLOVINKIN (1894-1949): Suite Dzuba, 2 Événements, Op. 5, Danse Lyrique, Op. 20, 2 pièces, Op. 30, Humoresques Nos. 1 & 2, Suite Les Attraits, Sonata No. 4, Septième Événement.

Description: Another forgotten member of the Revolutionary avant-garde surfaces: Polovinkin's early piano sonatas (he only wrote five before being crushed by the forces of reaction, after which he wrote nine symphonies in "socialist realist" style) were heavily influenced by Scriabin and other western European influences from Hindemith in his most avant-garde period, to Casella. He was conductor of the Moscow Central Children's Theatre orchestra, so many of the piano pieces recorded here (dating from after 1932 when "socialist realism" became mandatory) are probably adapted from scores for children's opera and ballet and use short, simple and easily apprehendable themes. What could have been - and what makes this disc a must for all collectors of the Russian avant-garde - are the 1927 sonata (very much in the vein of late Scriabin) and the three "Events" from 1922 and 1928, in which tonality and form are stretched in the joy of experimentation. Anait Karpova (piano).