TAMARA STEFANOVICH | ORGANISED DELIRIUM
Works by Boulez, Eisler, Bartók, Shostakovich, and Scarlatti.
Released on March 7 (Pentatone). To listen, click here.
By Damián Autorino
Editor at Moto Perpetuo
The title Organised Delirium is inspired by Antonin Artaud’s concept, often referenced by Boulez to describe the structured chaos in his early works, particularly his Second Piano Sonata. This sonata serves as the central pillar of Tamara Stefanovich’s album, a piece she studied closely with the composer. As a result, she not only has complete technical command over this highly demanding work but also a deep understanding of its content and meaning.
“What helps in this sonata,” says Stefanovich, “is that the structure is masterfully done, that it guides you through the piece, so I have to find my ways—how to glide through it, when to stop, how to understand what the piece needs from me at that moment.”
The album is a personal exploration of the sonata form. To achieve this, the Boulez sonata is paired with twentieth-century sonatas by Eisler, Bartók, and Shostakovich, along with an epilogue that takes us back to the origins of the sonata form through the music of Domenico Scarlatti.
Despite their differences in time period and style, these works share a spirit of innovation, rhythmic vitality, and a challenge to traditional forms. Scarlatti’s Sonata in B minor, K. 87 serves as a distant precursor to the radical explorations of the 20th century. Written in a single movement, it already shows the kind of structural and harmonic freedom that later composers would push further.
Eisler’s Piano Sonata No. 1, composed in 1923 and dedicated to his teacher Arnold Schoenberg, embodies early atonality within the sonata form, blending expressive lyricism with a modernist approach. Bartók’s Piano Sonata, written just three years later, is more grounded in folk rhythms and percussive textures, expanding the possibilities of the piano’s sonority while maintaining an undeniable structural clarity.
Shostakovich’s Piano Sonata No. 1 disrupts traditional form in yet another way, existing as a single-movement piece that unfolds unpredictably, balancing lyrical moments with bursts of raw energy. Finally, Boulez’s Second Piano Sonata takes the challenge even further, deconstructing the very notion of sonata form into an avant-garde statement of extreme complexity, intensity, and structure-shattering innovation
What makes Stefanovich’s approach so compelling is the way she links these works together. While each composer approaches the sonata differently, she highlights the underlying sense of innovation that ties them together, making this more than just a collection of pieces—it becomes a statement about the evolution of musical thought. By placing these sonatas side by side, Stefanovich presents a narrative of transformation—where the sonata evolves from its Baroque roots through expressionist and folk-influenced modernism, ultimately arriving at the radical, highly intellectualized experimentation of Boulez.
Subscribe to our newsletter