When the war came, Szymanowski wanted to get away from German influences. The answer lay in the music of France and the dreamy harmonic language of Debussy and Ravel. How fitting, then, that this disc of largely wartime works is performed by a Frenchman. 

Cédric Tiberghien treats the impressive colouristic range of this music with great sensitivity and deftness of touch. The Opus 33 Études are short, whimsical splashes of inspiration carried effortlessly by Tiberghien’s agile playing. The performance is expertly nuanced, and captures the quicksilver transience of the music. 

You could call this music flagrant fantasy, and Szymanowski was nothing if not a dreamer. Following trips to Italy, Sicily and North Africa, the Polish composer developed a fascination with exotic locales that demanded expression. The Masques and Métopes, written between 1915 and 1916, draw on characters and stories from the mythic traditions of Greece, Northern Europe and the Middle East. Tiberghien’s take on the Métopes are particularly expressive. Calypso is like magic. 

The vibrant wash is overkill at times, making the four Études of 1902 a welcome sojourn. Bridging the Masques and Métopes, the Op. 4 Études bear an affinity with the language of Scriabin, and reveal a younger Szymanowski searching for his own personal mode of expression. Tiberghien’s interpretation is romantic and full-bodied, and is a nice addition to this beguiling disc.

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