I had another listen to the electronic Etude today, having remembered that it hadn't yet been mentioned on this thread. Rather strangely it seems more impressive on each repeated hearing, although the ending seems no less abrupt. It sounds as though Barraque planned something rather longer than what we're left with and was obliged to stop a third of the way through. My suspicion about Barraque's referencing (see . . au dela du hasard above) seems to have its confirmation here - there's what seems to be a pretty unsubtle allusion to the beginning of Clair de lune (of all things). It would be interesting to compare it with the efforts of his contemporaries: I've never heard the Boulez Etude, for example, although I do have fondish memories of Michel Philippot's Etude in comparison to the apparently serial Antiphonie and Vocalises of Pierre Henry.

But then Barraque's music does sound completely different to that of Boulez, however vaguely similar some of it does look on the page: I'm with Sydney on that one (Boulez 2nd sonata/Barraque sonata). Chafers's recommendation of the Henck recording of the sonata seems to be confirmed by a number of reviews I've read in the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately none of them, however, compares Henck's account with that of Roger Woodward, which seems to be universally accepted as the authoritative version of an earlier generation. Does anyone have views on this?

I've drawn a blank so far on whatever may or may not exist of the 2nd sonata. Roger Woodwards website is not accepting emails. Strangely it's not referred to in Paul Griffiths's book (as tinners has pointed out), whereas Bill Hopkins clearly states that "shortly before his death in August 1973 [Barraque] had turned aside from his other projects to compose a new sonata for him [Woodward]". This quote from the Woodward sonata record sleeve. I seem to remember this being mentioned in the programme note for Woodward's Roundhouse performances in 1972 (which Barraque attended), but I could be mistaken.

We would like to have a good look at the printed music before venturing anything much more. It is true that that did not stop us in the case of Stockhausen, but Barraqué was a rather more serious person was he not.

In the meantime we have acquired the scores of all Boulez's piano works and all Stockhausen's Pieces (indeed we now have in mind multiple additions to the latter's thread when we have nothing better to do); but is any Member able to direct us to something of the same kind in Barraqué's case?

There doesn't, but Herbert Henck's remarks (in the liner notes to his ECM disc) on constructing a performing score are quite interesting reading.

The fault wasn't really Bruzzichelli's or Bärenreiter's, incidentally. Barraqué seems not only to have been a sloppy proof-reader but also unable to add up, so that even referring to the autograph doesn't help in many/most cases.

I thought I'd asked your question about recordings somewhere else a year or so ago - maybe on the official R3 boards? The consensus seemed to be Henck, but there was someone else supposed to be quite different but also good, and worth comparing (not Stefan Litwin: I don't know anyone who rates his recording in the cpo box!).

Henck does it for me; the anti-consensus on Litwin is so remarkable (not sure I've seen anything like it in any other recording I can think of) that though I've had the box for a few years I've never even listened to it.

I've also heard good things about Woodward (very different from Henck; I've only heard it once and don't remember it that well) and Pi-Hsien Chen.

I imagine this was the thread from TOP which was referred to?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio3/F2620066?thread=3751589

The nine year old girl, who had in 1950 been born in Tai-Wan, was sent to Germany to continue her studies at the "Music-hoch-school" in Cologne.

Really? It says more, and evokes more, than any of the other review quotes on that page as far as I can see.

I've never heard Marilyn Nonken play Barraqué, but I have her recordings of Feldman, Finnissy, etc. and she's an excellent pianist. I believe she's now playing with ELISION too?