Sonata for piano (1955)

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Anna Tokarczyk - piano, Warsaw 1960

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{slider=Sonata. Veloce /fragment/ }

Anna Tokarczyk - piano, Warsaw 1960

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{slider=Sonata. Elegiaco /fragment/}

Anna Tokarczyk - piano, Warsaw 1960

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{slider=Sonata. Barbaro /fragment/}

Anna Tokarczyk - piano, Warsaw 1960

Sonata for piano

Sonata for piano

Sonata for piano

Sonata for piano

Sonata for piano

Sonata for piano

Sonata was dedicated to PWN Edition on its tenth anniversary. In it Serocki summed up his previous experiences with the modern piano technique, finding inspiration first of all in solutions used by Béla Bartók. This produced a complex rhythm, percussion-like treatment of the piano as well as atonal way of organising pitches, which – as in Suite of Preludes – was an exploration of possibilities offered by twelve-note series and well thought-out choice of intervals.

The work consists of four movements. Mov. I – Inquietamente – is turbulent and “angry”, bringing to mind, according to Tadeusz A. Zieliński, Prokofiev’s Seventh Piano Sonata. Second section, Veloce, is full of quick and ethereal passages resembling this time the finale of Chopin’s Sonata in B flat minor. Third section – Elegiaco – in an ABA form, contains in its outer sections expressive, melodious cantilena based on broken chords for the left hand (mainly combinations of fourths and tritones). The middle part is dominated by a chromatic succession of chords. The finale – the striking Barbaro – is a show of piano virtuosity, sustained staccato secco, similar in its structure to the rondo. In terms of rhythm, it brings to mind Prokofiev’s Toccata, though the title itself suggests Bartók’s famous piano work (Allegro barbaro).

• Tadeusz A. Zieliński, O twórczości Kazimierza Serockiego [On Kazimierz Serocki’s Oeuvre], Kraków 1985.

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Sheet music available from: PWM