If the overall title ''Early Piano Music'' leads you to expect a disc full of rare, previously unheard Prokofiev juvenilia then you will be disappointed. What we do have, however, is a useful gathering together of some of his most popular 'early period' piano music; though to include the Fifth Sonata might be stretching the definition 'early' a bit too far—more 'early middle period' I would say. However, enough of this nitpicking and on to the performances.
Boyan Vodenicharov certainly lives up to the glittering career resume as outlined in the insert-notes (he has won, or been runner-up, in at least five major piano competitions), and this is more than evident in his performance of the Fifth Sonata. Just occasionally you come across a performance (and for some strange reason this is more of a rarity on disc than it is in the concert-hall) when performer and music strike up a harmony that enables the listener to perceive the music afresh—this, for me, is one such occasion.
As an interpretation it is slightly different from either Raekallio (Ondine) or Berman (Chandos—both highly recommendable), whose performances, I feel, have more of a Ravelian lustre in the opening movement. Vodenicharov's account on the other hand is crisper and more delineated, revealing more textural detail, though never allowing the music to become merely brash. In the second movement the reverse is true. Here, more than in any other performance I can remember, the Ravelian influences are more pronounced; the bluesy syncopated left hand 'jabs' and slinky melody (so reminiscent of the slow movement of Ravel's Violin Sonata) being beautifully turned and shaped. The final movement is a fine example of his rhythmic acuity, each minute detail being extremely accurate yet the entire movement naturally flowing. Clear-cut textures and a simple, uncluttered approach also inform the four charming miniatures that make up The tales of an old grandmother, Op. 31, appropriately understated and subtly crafted.
Vodenicharov's Visions fugitives may not be as liquid or as subtly introspective as say Demidenko (Conifer) or Berman (Chandos), but they still, nevertheless, have many qualities to recommend them; not least a crystalline clarity and some very deft pedalling (throughout this disc he proves himself to be an exceptional technician in this respect). The five Sarcasms, Op. 17 are less satisfactory, especially Nos. 1, 2 and 5, where his tone in louder passages is not perhaps as cultivated as he has displayed elsewhere on the disc, though to be fair, I feel that this could be the result of them having been recorded at a different session at a higher volume level. To close the disc Vodenicharov gives us a hair-raising account of the youthful Toccata, Op. 11; rhythmically as sharp as a pin and guaranteed to leave the listener in a state of disbelief. I very much look foward to hearing more from this exceptionally talented artist. On the whole, a well recorded disc.'