Roberto Sierra - Piano Sonatas Nos. 13 & 14 (Matthew Bengtson)

Information

Composer: Roberto Sierra

• Piano Sonata No. 13
• Estudios de ejecución trascendental
• Piano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight"

Matthew Bengtson, piano

Date: 2026

Label: IBS Classical

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Roberto Sierra, Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning, and Matthew Bengtson present a new recording on IBS Classical, captured at the Auditorio Manuel de Falla in Granada. The program features Sierra’s Piano Sonatas Nos. 13 and 14, which engage with Beethoven’s legacy while redefining the sonata form through inventive structures and spectral, memory-inspired gestures. Central to the album are the twelve Estudios de ejecución trascendental, reimagining Liszt’s virtuosity with Afro-Caribbean rhythms, salsa-inflected motifs, and complex harmonic textures. Bengtson’s authoritative, rhythmically vivid performance highlights Sierra’s idiom, offering a definitive and deeply personal interpretation of this contemporary piano repertoire.

Matthew Bengtson is a distinguished pianist, scholar, and educator recognized for his expertise in both contemporary and rarely performed repertoire. Trained at Harvard, Peabody Conservatory, and Cornell University, he also studied in Europe with Claude Helffer and Philippe Entremont. Acclaimed as a leading interpreter of Scriabin and Karol Szymanowski, Bengtson has toured internationally, recorded extensively, and premiered works by Roberto Sierra. He is a proponent of historical performance practice, performing on harpsichord and fortepiano, and is Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, where he teaches piano, fortepiano, and piano literature while mentoring prize-winning students.

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