Masques

Karol Szymanowski was a central figure in the renewal of Polish music, since, although his catalogue is not extensive, he managed to open the doors to the contemporary school of his nation in the piano, orchestral, chamber and vocal fields. It is to be thanked that the emerging pianist Patricia Arauzo has chosen this composer as the protagonist of her first solo album. The rigor and transparency, as well as the impetus and expressive force, characterize the approach to his work. Furthermore, the clarity with which Arauzo manages to make the simultaneous sound levels independent and to highlight the hidden themes interweaving the dense texture gives his versions an extraordinary communicative capacity, not easy to achieve in the Polish composer's art. The five works he has recorded in Masques allow us to go through the three creative stages of Szymanowski's career through the piano. They are three periods in which he cultivated eclectic languages that made up a polyhedral personality dotted with recurrent elements such as dance rhythms, with their vibrant internal energy. Above all, they shaped the concept of the masque as an element of concealment or a defensive shield against a vital and artistic reality that was not understood in his time.