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Liszt - Sonata in B minor; Scriabin - Piano Sonata nr. 2 - Ivo Pogorelich

Posted in Deutsche Grammophon, Ivo Pogorelich, Liszt, Piano, Scriabin, Sonata

At the moment of finishing the composing of his Sonata in B minor, in 1853, Liszt had abandoned his brilliant career as a concertgoer more than ten years ago and changed it for an easier life as kapellmeister in Weimar, followed by Princess Sayn-Wittgenstein, who became Liszt´s mistress and fervent worshipper. This was probably done so to have more time to compose and to give free classes to his pupils, or probably because he was such a restless head following the romantic idea of unsteadiness suggested by Heine, as is the romantic idea of the genius. Anyhow, it is very difficult to come to a precise conclusion upon the complex and contradictory character of Liszt, which inevitably reflects in his pieces. When one reads any of the books written about his life, one realizes that his music was a reflection of his life: very passionate with innumerable affairs, and on the other hand full of mysticism even devoting the end of his life to a convent. According with this duality, it is widely recognized that god and the devil appear equally in his music, especially noticeable in the figure of Faust as used by Liszt. Here we reach one of the most trite discussion about Liszt, and particularly about his Sonata in B minor: Programmatic or not programmatic? Every author gives an opinion about that, from the vaguest Peter Raabe who considered it an autobiography, to the well-depicted stories of Tibor Szasz approaching the absurd.

We now assert that whatever it is, it doesn´t really matter, as we must be aware that either explanation, programmatic or non, converges to a unique point: the fight between two opposite poles. In our opinion, such is not a coincidence, owing to the fact that the base of the German philosophy at that time and later was greatly supporting this these, held by Martin Heidegger and F. Nietzsche. However, Nietzsche described Liszt as "the advent of showmen in music". Here again we feel this two sides of the genius, sometimes poetical and subtle, other times superficial and full of show, able to captivate the audience even forgetting the music that had to play, according to Berlioz. Schumann found this kind of virtuosity to be worthless although the sonata in B minor was dedicated to him.

What we can never deny is that Liszt and Chopin were the two that totally changed the piano technique, and we would not be wrong to say that not such an important advancement in piano technique has been made since what they did. Starting from the technique of using a coin on the wrist and then developing their études (either by Chopin or Liszt), it seems one of the big gaps ever jumped in the history of art.

The sonata in B minor is possibly the best exponent of Liszt´s mastery in piano and in composition. Indeed a pinnacle, a monument, in the history of piano and of music in general, not only for his improvements in the technique but also for the revolutionary conception of the piece itself. The big scales, chords and succession of octaves must not be seen as a mere adornment since they not only give stress but give together a sensation of orchestral sound in the piano. Apart form the mere piano technique, the composer followed the path of changing the sonata form, a path formerly opened by Beethoven, to turn it into one big movement, as in his symphonic poems.

Some essential pianists and writers have considered the piece as a whole variation of one motif, as Claudio Arrau has. We share that opinion, calling it a "psychological transformation" of the motif during the piece. The introductory scale is part of that motif, although the relation might be not direct, but in a way of contrast; the contrast between the relief of the death and the satisfaction of life, both inevitably two parts of existence. The epitome of this relief is the final: a unexpected chord which amazingly is a tonic of B Major. Liszt had doubts about whether the "relief" should be forte or piano.

The sonata is divided in three sections but at the same time is a unique form. It has a splendorous exposition where the main theme is presented, followed by a development where the Scherzo appears, and finally a huge recapitulation and a coda, where an impressive fugue takes the relay. We neglect the subjective interpretations that has been formulated about the possible lyrics of the theme.

Notwithstanding, when trying to make a deeper analysis of the piece, even nowadays nobody agrees on a unique analysis. This gives us the best clue to conclude that this is an eclectic piece subject to many interpretations. This is the reason why we believe that the piece will endure alive, not only in the hoary shelves of musicologists but mainly in concert halls and recordings.

Daniel Mateos Moreno

[Extracted from Filomusica]

Liszt

Sonata in B minor

Scriabin

Piano Sonata nr. 2

Ivo Pogorelich

4 comments »

Beethoven - Piano Sonata Op. 111; Schumann - Symphonische Etüden Op. 13, Toccata Op. 7 - Ivo Pogorelich

Posted in Beethoven, Deutsche Grammophon, Ivo Pogorelich, Piano, Schumann, Sonata

Beethoven still had five years left to live when he wrote this sonata but in many ways it feels like a definite end. The thirty two piano sonatas has spanned nearly thirty years of his life and transformed the genre from an at home entertainment to a vehicle of intimate, personal expression. Pianist Robin Taub describes Op. 111 as , "a work of unmatched drama and transcendence … the triumph of order over chaos, of optimism over anguish."

The work is only two movements, something he did in four previous sonatas but still unusual enough for Beethoven's publisher to assume that the final sonata-rondo has been lost in the post. A sketch was made for the last movement but, with every second counting, it was put aside in favour of the Missa Solemnis.

Beethoven had managed to solve the problem of unity between movements by resolving the conflicts of one in the other. The two-movement format also results in an interesting binary comparison representing the opposing forces of major/minor, allegro/adagio, appassionato/semplice, sonata form/variation form, turmoil/ecstatic serenity, earthly/spiritual prevalent in much of his work. ...

Extracted from

The Omniscient Mussel

Superb interpretations of Beethoven's Sonata Op. 111 and Schumann's Symphonische Etüden. Young Pogorelich in one of his greatest moments! (Erlen)

Beethoven

Sonata in C minor, Op. 111

Schumann

Symphonische Etüden, Op. 13
Toccata, Op. 7

Ivo Pogorelich, piano

2 comments »

Tchaikovsky - Klavierkonzert no. 1 - Ivo Pogorelich, London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado

Posted in Claudio Abbado, Concerto, Deutsche Grammophon, Ivo Pogorelich, London Symphony Orchestra, Piano, Tchaikovsky

TCHAIKOVSKY WITHOUT EVENING DRESS

Pogorelich on this recordings

Ivo Pogorelich was a student at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, so when I asked him when he had first played the Concerto in B flat minor I expected a totally different answer from the one I got. "My teachers told me that my hands were exactly right for the concerto, all my friends played it - but I didn't", he said with a laugh. "I didn't want to. You could hear it being hammered out by every other student; I had an overdose of this music - I'd virtually been brought up on it."

He pondered. "I first heard the B flat minor Concerto on the radio when I was five. At the time I was thrilled by the way the piano sang and swelled with sound. Soon afterwards I heard it at a concert - an overwhelming impression. But then my experiences as a student gradually turned me against the Concerto. All I could hear was a virtuoso piece for up-and-coming pianists, a test of finger dexterity - not art.

At least, when I was 18, I began to study the concerto myself - and to rediscover it.

It certainly isn't the stale, self-satisfied jangle of notes which had so got on my nerves as the practice piece of my fellow students! I had thought that this concerto reduced all pianists to a common denominator, whether they were young or old, Russian or American.

I'd been wrong. It was all those up-and-coming pianists around me who had been reducing the concerto to a common denominator, subjecting Tchaikovsky to the circus act of their interpretation. Now I realized that wasn't what he'd had in mind. It became my purpose to show that Tchaikovsky had written a genuine dialogue between piano and orchestra. What it needs is partnership, not ostentatious cascades of sound with humble orchestral accompaniment. It is true that you have to toil like a gallery slave to master the technical difficulties of the piano part. But it is after that that the real work begins; you have to get into the frame of mind in which Tchaikovsky wrote this work to discover its secrets. Above all the pianist must not seek merely to dazzle, but must allow complete equality to the orchestra; when a theme is taken up by the woodwind, or the lower strings reveal structural features of the music, they must really be audible - the concerto must not be swamped by the flood of sound poured out by the pianist.

I am glad that Claudio Abbado and the orchestra fully shared my view in this matter, and that every instrumentalist gave of his best. Mere routine would be especially dangerous in the case of this work.

On the day before we began recording the concerto we performed in concert, and then we tried to bring the same live quality to our playing in the studio. Only without evening dress."

Hanno Rinke,
Translation: John Coombs

Tchaikovsky

Piano Concerto nr. 1, in B flat major, Op. 23

1. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso -
Allegro con spirito [23:18]
2. Andante semplice - Prestissimo - Tempo I [7:43]
3. Allegro con fuoco [6:39]

Ivo Pogorelich, piano

London Symphony Orchestra,
Claudio Abbado