Balakirev Sonata in B-Flat Minor (Kentner, 1949)

Balakirev: Sonata in B-Flat Minor (1905) Louis Kentner, piano Recorded June 2, 1949, in EMI’s Studio No. 3, Abbey Road, London, under the auspices of the Maharajah of Mysore’s Musical Foundation, on Columbia 78-rpm matrices CAX 10536 through CAX 10541. Issued in August, 1951, as Columbia LX 1407 through LX 1409, and in automatic sequence as LX 8810 through LX 8812. There was no LP issue, and the 78 set was withdrawn in 1954 when EMI withdrew the majority of their classical 78 sets. Balakirev’s Piano Sonata, a work with roots in a student composition though it was not definitively completed until five years before the composer’s death, is in four movements: 1. Andantino 2. Mazurka: Moderato (at 6:24) 3. Intermezzo: Larghetto (at 11:09) 4. Allegro non troppo, ma con fuoco (at 15:52)