Yet another recording of Shostakovich's Second Sonata—the sixth I have reviewed in two years, and still no sign of a reissue of the classic RCA Gilels. But this one does little to hasten the day when the Sonata's qualities can be as confidently summarized as those of its near contemporaries, Prokofiev's Sixth, Seventh and Eighth.
Not that Stoupel, a pupil of Evgeni Malinin in Moscow and now resident in France, is a routine sort of player. His first movement tempo is unusually fast for allegretto and his second movement is largo with a vengeance—both main themes are played at almost exactly half Shostakovich's metronome mark. There is enough conviction behind the approach to suggest genuine emotional response rather than willfulness, and Stoupel sensitively probes the bleak corners of the finale Variations. The real problem is that his technique is not sufficiently polished to do justice to his conception, and the recording quality is undistinguished, with a curious sizzle on quiet treble notes.
The Preludes from Op. 34 are nicely characterized—Chaplinesque both in their slapstick and their pathos—and one wishes Stoupel had recorded the entire set. His selection of three of the best-known Preludes and Fugues again enjoys mixed success, however; the A minor Fugue goes better than the Prelude, the D flat Prelude better than the Fugue. The massive D minor gets close to the heart of the matter, but by this stage the piano has gone so out of tune it is difficult to listen with any real pleasure. A special mention for the sleeve-note which credits Shostakovich with 13 symphonies, 10 string quartets and an opera The Young Guard!'