Beethoven, Maozart and Rachmaninoff Programme Notes Essay Example
Beethoven, Maozart and Rachmaninoff Programme Notes Essay Example

Beethoven, Maozart and Rachmaninoff Programme Notes Essay Example

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An Evening of Classical music Programme Notes Sonata in C minor (‘Pathetique’), Op. 13 Beethoven (1770–1827) Grave; Allegro di molto e con brio Adagio cantabile Rondo: Allegro Beethoven’s ‘Pathetique’ sonata was published in 1799 during what is referred to as his early period. At this time Beethoven was living in Vienna, supported by many generous patrons including Prince Karl Linchnowsky, to whom this sonata is dedicated.

Beethoven’s early sonatas were written not only for artistic but also for pragmatic reasons.As a performing pianist, Beethoven sought to push the boundaries of the ‘forte piano’ which was, at the time, still undergoing rapid development, having only been in popular use for around sixty years. Many of Beethoven’s sonatas worked to the extremes of the tonal range of the instruments of the day, and made full

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use of the dynamic range available, characteristically adjoining loud and soft sections to further accentuate the contrast. It has been suggested that the form for the Pathetique sonata was inspired by a piano sonata published two years earlier by Dussek (opus 35, number 3).Both pieces are written in C minor, and the slow movement of Dussek's piece is marked 'patetico', perhaps giving an insight into Beethoven’s naming of the piece. The Pathetique is one of only two piano sonatas that Beethoven named himself; the other being the sonata of opus 26 ‘Les Adieux’ or, as Beethoven preferred, ‘Das Lebewohl’.

The first movement of the sonata is prefaced with a Grave section, a feature commonly found in symphonic works but never before used in a piano sonata. Sixteen bars later it makes way for the main section, in sonata form; it eturns twice

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albeit briefly, poignantly punctuating the movement. The second movement, in rondo form, provides relief from the mental anguish of the first. The opening cantabile section, in a major key, is twice displaced by themes set in minor keys; both times it prevails, bringing the music back to its original, tranquil, mood. The Rondo returns to the home key of C minor. Despite this, it presents a playful atmosphere, totally unlike that of the first movement; it isn't until the final moments that the mood of the opening returns.

Satie Gnossienne No 1Eric Satie (1877-1925) composed his first three Gnossiennes around 1890, without any time signatures or bar lines (often referred to as “absolute time”). Satie’s peculiar scores could be read as musical poetry and his tempo markings were devised from phrases such as “lightly with intimacy”, “with radidance” and “make demands on yourself”, leaving the pianist to use their own musical interpretation in order to realise the composers intensions. The word “Gnossienne” describes several pieces of music composed by Satie that did not fit into any of the existing styles of classical music like a piano prelude or a sonata.Therefore, Satie solved this dilemma by simply titling the pieces with ‘Gnossienne’, a word that Satie had created. Satie's gnossiennes are often viewed as a musical continuation of his popular Trois Gymnopedies, though some musicologists believe they are more closely related to his Sarabandes. Either way, it's apparent that music like this has never been composed before, making it easy to understand why such an enigmatic title was given to them.

Faure Dolly Suite 1. Berceuse 2. Le Jardin de Dolly The Dolly Suite, Op 56,

is a collection of six duet pieces for piano.Faure composed them between 1894 and 1897, in honour of Helene, nicknamed Dolly, who was the daughter of his mistress at the time. The suite became famous for its enchanting and lyrical melodies.

The Berceuse was composed for Helene’s first birthday, and the remaining pieces also appeared in time for the child’s subsequent birthdays and other family occasions. The suite’s popularity grew when it became the closing music for the BBC Home Service radio programme, ‘Listen with Mother’, which was broadcast from 1950 to 1982.Mozart Piano Sonata in Bflat Major K333 1. Allegro 2.

Andante cantabile 3. Allegretto grazioso Mozart’s piano sonata in B flat major, number 13, K333, was composed between 1779 and 1783 during his ‘early phase’ whilst living in Vienna. The sonata is full of agility and complexity and also reflects Mozart’s admiration of and influence by Johann Christian Bach, a contemporary of Mozart’s who died in 1782. Musical scholars familiar with both composers agree that the opening motif of K333 is very similar to Bach’s Op.

5 no. 3 and Op. 17 no 4 piano sonatas.Another overall source of influence is the style of the concertos of the time, which was heavily ornamented, expressive and highly spirited. The first movement contains numerous concerto-esque flourishes that stray from the standard sonatas, thereby adding an element of boldness to the piece.

The Allegro first movement is playful and lively. It’s simple melody is accompanied by arpeggiated style chords played in the left hand. The theme is repeated and is then varied followed by a climax that builds slowly and ends with an arpeggio of

F major.The recapitulation section begins by varying the main theme to a minor key. Finish There are eighteen surviving sonatas for solo piano by Mozart; a further four have been lost.

The reason for the performers considerably few piano works, is due to Mozart being such an excellent improviser, a skill that was a prerequistite amongst keyboard players at the time. Mozart would often improvise new sonatas during performances, but only officially recorded the sonatas that he deemed fit for teaching and publishing purposes.

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