Prokofiev: Visions fugitives, Op. 22 - Kabalevsky: Sonate pour piano No. 2, Op. 45

The art of Sergei Prokofiev was pivotal in Michel Béroff’s career. Surrounded by his music from a very young age thanks to his father, Béroff became one of its most brilliant performers on stage and on record, culminating in a legendary series of concertos conducted by Kurt Masur. The complete set of sonatas was unfortunately left partial due to Béroff’s dystonia, but he left us two sensational renditions of the Visions fugitives, collection of miniatures full of wit and inventiveness. Here is the first version, a very early recording from a young pianist not even aged 20! It is coupled with an ambitious piano work by Dmitry Kabalevsky, a dramatic “war sonata” contemporary of Prokofiev’s ones, composed by one of the leading composers of the Soviet era.