Ivan Wyschnegradsky - Works for Solo Piano (Martine Joste)

Information

Composer: Ivan Wyschnegradsky

• Étude sur le carré magique sonore, Op. 40
• Di-Ra-Te-Lo-Tu
• 3 Pièces for Piano, Op. 38
• 4 Fragments, Op. 5
• Ombres
• 2 Préludes fo Piano, Op. 2
• 24 Préludes for Piano

Martine Joste, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Shiiin

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While widely celebrated as a pioneer of microtonal music, composer Ivan Wyschnegradsky maintained a lifelong devotion to the standard piano. This unique Shiiin label release presents his complete, previously unpublished works for traditional solo piano. The chronological program travels backward from his mature Étude sur le carré magique sonore, Op. 40, to his early 1916 Petrograd preludes composed before his permanent relocation to Paris. Pianist Martine Joste, a close associate who premiered numerous works under Wyschnegradsky's guidance and co-founded his namesake association in 1983, delivers a dynamic, sensitive performance that illuminates this lesser-known dimension of the composer's creative evolution.

Born in Saint Petersburg in 1893 to a prominent family, Ivan Wyschnegradsky balanced studies in mathematics and law with rigorous musical training under Nicolas Sokolov. A visionary pioneer of microtonality and ultrachromatism, he developed a 1/12th-tone notation system before immigrating to Paris in 1920. Wyschnegradsky dedicated his career to expanding harmonic boundaries, collaborating internationally to develop quarter-tone instruments and publishing a seminal manual on quarter-tone harmony. Despite wartime imprisonment and chronic illness, his revolutionary compositions—including Journée de l'Existence—were championed by prominent contemporaries like Pierre Boulez and Martine Joste until his death in 1979.

A distinguished alumna of the National Superior Conservatory of Music of Paris with five first prizes, Martine Joste is a premier French pianist and educator. After advanced training under Paul Badura-Skoda, she began an international solo career spanning Europe, the Americas, and Asia. A passionate champion of contemporary music, Joste has premiered over forty works, including dedicated pieces by John Cage and Sylvano Bussotti. Her eclectic discography ranges from Haydn to avant-garde composers. Additionally, she is known for organizing innovative, theme-based concert events and regularly conducting specialized piano workshops on contemporary repertoire.

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