From the "menace" of the Italian minaccia, Medtner offered the explanation "Have I not been threatened by Life?" for the name of this turbulent, evasive piece. It is a wonderful, ambiguous and perplexing masterwork ; a departure from his previous sonatas, in both form and tonality. Medtner called it his ‘most contemporary composition’, explaining that it reflected ‘the threatening atmosphere of contemporary events’, though it was also probably as much affected by his own recent misfortunes. In one long movement, which exhaustively treats only a small amount of material, the work arguably shows Medtner at his most rigorously intellectual. In particular, the development section incorporates an elaborate fugal episode, and is remarkable as much for the range of tonalities through which it passes as for its rhythmic freedom. In a tailpiece to the coda, the composer ends the sonata in characteristic fashion with an outburst of defiant optimism. Marc-André Hamelin described it as "the most concentrated 15 minutes of music one could ever hope to play or listen to". It was dedicated to the Canadian pianist and pupil of Scriabin, Alfred La Liberté, one of Medtner's most loyal supporters.
Milne :
I. Allegro sostenuto, concentrando - 0:04
II. L'istesso tempo (ma con entusiasmo) - 2:20
III. Fuga: Sempre al rigore di tempo - 8:04
IV. Tempo I, concentrando - 10:56
V. A tempo (con entusiasme) - 12:28
VI. Coda: Sempre animato (al rigore di tempo) - 15:49
Tozer :
I. Allegro sostenuto, concentrando - 17:46
II. L'istesso tempo (ma con entusiasmo) - 20:03
III. Fuga: Sempre al rigore di tempo - 26:23
IV. Tempo I, concentrando - 29:03
V. A tempo (con entusiasme) - 30:34
VI. Coda: Sempre animato (al rigore di tempo) - 33:29