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American Record Guide

The three works in this unusual program, two from the 20th Century, one from the 21st, would appear to have little in common; but there is a subtle unity. The juxtaposition between clangorous bird song and lyrical moments in Messiaen’s Catalogue d’oiseaux Book I is startling, especially in the probing performance here by pianist Roderick Chad­wick.

David Gorton’s Ondine from 2004 fits nice­ly with the program. Female water spirits are evoked here, not birds, but the “liquid trickle’ of their laughter, registered by shimmering trills and other figurations, has a Messiaen-like ambiance. Chadwick ripples and splashes his way through the piece with precision and color.

Szymanowski’s much earlier Sonata 3, full of variety and invention, has rich polyphony but also hazy, shimmering moments and sud­den juxtapositions between angularity and sensuality that anticipate the later works on the program. Rounding out the program are brief interludes and postludes played by violinists Peter Sheppard Skaerved and Shir Victoria Levy – an eccentric but colorful touch.