During his lifetime, Russian composer Samuil Feinberg (1890-1962) was first and foremost highly respected as a concert pianist. For his final Conservatory exam he impressed the panel of examiners by learning the complete Well-tempered Clavier by heart, and I believe he was the first pianist to perform that work in concert. Following his graduation in 1911, Feinberg earned his living as a pianist while writing music on the side. He had the honor of meeting Alexander Scriabin who highly praised his technique and musicianship. Here is a recording of Feinberg playing Mazurkas by Scriabin. And quite like Scriabin whose early works are influenced by the music of Chopin but then went on to develop his own highly evolved harmonic language and 'mystical' or 'allegorical' outlook, the early Sonatas of Samuil Feinberg rely heavily on Scriabin's influence but progressively become more far-reaching and experimental, temporarily touching on serial technique, to eventually return to a more individual style. It's the type of piano music that transcends the instrument. I know I've said this before but it bears repeating: this is not music written for the piano but rather music to be executed on the piano. This may sound like one and the same thing, but it's actually very different. The musical narrative, based on motivic cells, is deeply embedded within the overall structure of the notation, and it takes a highly refined musician to bring it all to the surface. Unlike a Mozart Sonatina, it requires 'attentive' listening but the rewards are great. To follow along the journey or trajectory of an idea from its inception, to fruition and final resolution is time well spent.

Confident in the knowledge that virtuoso pianist-extraordinaire Marc-André Hamelin has already, many times over, scaled the heights of technical virtuosity and plumbed the depths of musical unconventionality, who better to tackle these oddities of the piano repertoire. If you visit his website via the link provided above, you will notice that his discography alone speaks volumes. There is only one other extant recording of these Sonatas on the BIS label dating back about 16 years. The noticeable difference between the two is that Hamelin's is definitely more musical. Less fiddly or unwieldy than the older recording. After all, one could say after hearing Hamelin's recording of the complete Piano Sonatas by Alexander Scriabin that "Marc-André Hamelin eats Scriabin's music for breakfast". Therefore playing the Samuil Feinberg Sonatas should be a natural, logical progression. I'm sure countless days of study and work were spent simply learning these complex pieces, let alone mastering them (I know - just looking at one page of any of Scriabin's Sonatas is intimidating, so I can imagine how daunting it must be to even consider diving deep into the Feinberg). But here it is. Another impressively ornate feather in Marc-André Hamelin's cap.

Samuil Feinberg (sometimes spelled Samuel) composed a total of 12 Piano Sonatas. I for one can't wait to see what Hamelin has to say about the remaining six. If you enjoy listening to music for what it has to offer rather than just a background distraction to your daily existence, the music of this neglected composer is for you, especially when given Hamelin's revelatory perspective.

Below are short audio clips of Sonata No. 1 and Sonata No. 4