Mostrando postagens com marcador Sonata. Mostrar todas as postagens


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




REFLECTIONS & COMMENTS
by MURRAY PERAHIA

Robert Schumann once wrote of himself: "In my case, man and musician always tried to express themselves simultaneously; even now, this is probably so, although I have, to be sure, learnt to control myself and also my art more. How much joy and pain are buried inthis small handful of notes will be discovered by your sympathetic heart."

Though not spoken by him, one can't help feeling that these sentiments would have been exactly Vladimir Horowitz's, for he was a man who gave himself completely through is music and who confided his deepest emotions through his playing. His tone, especially if heard live, had such a dramatic presence - a speaking quality - that you felt you were listening directly to his most private thoughts. At their most inspired, these thoughts just seemed to come forth spontaneously and naturally - unpracticed and unself-conscious. In fact, he practiced very little; most of his prodigious work must have been done in his mind. But he achieved a rare mastery at the piano, a mastery which he said "implies control, in music as well as in life." By this he didn't mean a constricting restraint - quite the contrary - rather "a setting of standards... in regard to taste, style and what is appropriate..." How closely were his life and art intertwined and how closely did his playing reflect the interests and concerns of his life.

Thus it was natural that his playing was always changing, always evolving: the high-powered, demonic virtuoso who walked the tightrope of the possible in his youth became the searching, reflective, mature musician of late years. His was a long and fascinating artistic journey through many different bypaths and side roads, which constantly found an enthusiastic response and, indeed, adoration from his public. In the 30s Horowitz almost singlehandedly generated interest in Scarlatti - the sonatas were hardly known at that time. Later on, Clementi, recognized only for his pedagogical value, was rediscovered as a substantial composer. Horowitz intoxicated us with the startling and daring colors of Scriabin, the visceral excitement of Prokofiev, the daredevil virtuosity of Liszt, the refined elegance of Chopin. Rachmaninoff himself was so impressed by Horowitz's performance of his Third Concerto that he never played it again. Horowitz's passions became the passions of many generations, and we discovered with him new and unimagined possibilities.

This final recording, which documents his last steps on this journey, becomes, in hindsight, a kind of summation. In his last few years the had developed a strong attachment to the simplicity and directness of the classical composers, most notably Mozart and Haydn. When he immersed himself in a composer, he went through the entire output - he would read through all the sonatas, concertos, chamber music, operas etc. He felt that what made these composers classical, in the truest sense, was not a prudish detachment or "objectivity" but rather an intensity and purity of expression where every note matters, every not has meaning.

The same holds true for Chopin, a composer whose works Horowitz played throughout his life. Here his love of singing and opera enabled him to reveal the true shape and character of these beautiful melodies. Perhaps through listening to great singers, perhaps just instinctively, he was able to master the very elusive art of bel canto - the laws of which, according to the great Viennese theorist Heinrich Schenker, "can neither be taught nor transcribed." They come from an inner understanding of the embellishments and diminutions that give the music lfe.

With Liszt, we really reach the heart of the recording. Like Chopin, Liszt was also a lifelong passion of Horowitz's, but here, we don't hear the fire-breathing virtuoso, the dazzling pyrotechnics of earlier years. Instead we get something very personal, as if he were distilling the essence of Liszt. In Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (wich was the last piece Horowitz ever played), the harmonic audacity, the imagination and sheer beauty of the variations is very movingly rendered. The Liebestod, where constant striving for beauty and fulfillment ever higher and higher culminates in a transfiguration, can't help but have extra-musical implications given the circumstances of the recording.

This is indeed an eloquent summation of a life devoted to the beauty of music - a life which we as listeners will always be grateful for and those of us who where lucky enough to know him will always cherish.



Horowitz - The Last Recording


Haydn

Piano Sonata in E flat major, Hob. XVI:49

Chopin

Mazurka Op. 56 nr. 3
Nocturnes Op. 55 nr. 2 & Op. 62 nr. 1

Fantaisie-Impromptu Op. 66
Etudes Op. 25 nrs. 1 & 5


Lizst

Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen

Wagner-Liszt

Isolde's Liebestod




Vladimir Horowitz, piano






Vladimir Horowitz and Wanda Toscanini Horowitz, October 1989



Beethoven's sonatas for violin and piano have a central role in the history of keyboard chamber music. The first performances of these works aroused strong reactions from both audiences and critics, and their influence on later generations of performers and composers remains profound. Revered by nineteenth-century violinists and pianists, they remain classic works in the recital programs of modern performers. The recorded legacy includes many complet sets of the ten sonatas, as well as legendary recordings such as that of Op. 30, No. 3, by Fritz Kreisler and Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Opus 47 by Joseph Szigeti and Béla Bartók. As it developed after Beethoven, the genre included two important violin sonatas by Schumann, three by Brahms, and an important series of violin sonatas by French composers - Franck, Saint-Saëns, Fauré and Debussy. ...


In writing his violin sonatas Beethoven faced the challenge of blending his expanded styles of keyboard writing with a wider expressive range newly possible for stringed instruments. This genre enabled him to match his legendary ability to play legato with that of violin. Accordingly, the violin sonatas are turning points in the history of the genre and of chamber music itself. They also offer an interesting perspective on Beethoven's composicional development. ...

Less studied and discussed than the string quartets, Beethoven's works for piano and stringed instruments - principally his violin sonatas, cello sonatas and piano trios - form a vital group of works that deserve closer critical attention than they have yet received. ...

Lewis Lockwood and Mark Kroll


Beethoven

Sonatas for violin & piano

nr. 5, in F major, Op. 24 "Spring"
nr. 2, in A major, Op. 12 nr. 2
nr. 9, in A major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer"

Ingrid Haebler, piano
Henryk Szeryng, violin


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

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


Dopo l'attacco cardiaco subito durante il concerto di Bordeaux il 17 ottobre 1988, rarissime sono state le esibizioni pubbliche di Michelangeli. Ad esse dobbiamo affidarci per comprendere la vastità dei mutamenti interpretativi avvenuti nell'ultimo scorcio della sua vita. La padronanza assoluta nel controllo e nella variazione dell'intensità del suono, il piacere del fraseggio cantabile, che lo elegge erede diretto, e tuttora unico, della scuola strumentale e vocale del Settecento italiano e del 'bel canto', incontra più da vicino l'orizzonte della drammaticità classica, che non vuol dire enfasi, ma consapevole abbandono all'emozione, anche tragica, della musica nel fluire del tempo. Di questa poetica apollinea, che volentieri si affaccia sull'abisso felice di Dionisio, il concerto del 10 maggio 1990 a Londra è tistimonianza esemplare. ...

Sandro Cappelletto

Beethoven

Piano Sonata nr. 32, in C minor, Op. 111

Chopin

Mazurka nr. 25, Op. 33 nr. 4
Scherzo nr. 1, Op. 20
Andante Spianato et Grand Polonaise, Op. 22


Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, piano


The outstanding 19th century Russian composer and music critic Alexander Nikolayevich Serov once wrote the following profound sentences: "The big secret of all great interpreters is that their talent enables them to enlighten even the most hidden aspects of their subjects and to project a whole new world of emotions int them without losing their objectivity. And the higher the level of objectivity, the more new elements appear in each interpretation of a particular role, or a particular music."

Emil Gilels did not only have the rare gift of artistic wisdom but was also one of the few extraordinary musicians whose talents harmonised. He had a magnificent mastery of the piano, a deep understanding of the interpreted music, spontaneity as well as naturalness of self expression. Amongst the famous pianists it was probably only Emil Gilels, who had the unparalleled ability to unite classic "objectivity" in his expression with romantic freedom of interpretation. During his artistic career Gilels attained to complete artistic harmony through self-denial and love - a tremendous achievement as a person as well as an artist. Especially love, self-sacrificing and wise (in the primary, venerable and strict sense of the term) became the basis, the foundation of his artistic life. . Gilels put it like this:

"The most important thing for me is to fall in love with a piece of music. But... when love is passionate it can end tragic. It happened to me before... It's completely different when you only get to know a piece of music and realise by and by that you are imprisoned by it... Every day you are drawn to the instrument, wanting to try this, that or the other, trying to work at technically difficult aspects, looking for (or finding) some specific tonal effect or emotional accents... This long, but regular process shows positive results. But the love for one piece or another and the obligation to work at it keeps me from my regular work as concert pianist, who always has to be in good form and always has to have a ready repertoire. That's difficult to manage" (from an interview with his biographer Lev Barenboim). ...

N. N. Grinev
(translation: Andrea Hofmann)

Scriabin

Piano Sonata nr. 3, Op. 23
5 Preludes, Op. 74

Beethoven

Piano Sonata nr. 29, Op. 106
"Grosse Sonate für das Hammerklavier"


Emil Gilels, piano



Quality: mp3, varied kbps
Size: 130 MB

Beethoven

Piano Sonatas

Sonata Op. 53, "Waldstein"
Sonata Op. 81a, "Les Adieux"
Sonata Op. 110
Sonata Op. 27 nr.2, "Moonlight"

Nelson Freire, piano


DL Beethoven Sonatas

Quality: mp3, varied kbps
Size: 95 MB


Beethoven

Sonatas for violoncelo & piano


Sonata nr. 3, in A major, Op. 69
Sonata nr. 5, in D major, Op. 102 nr. 2


Emanuel Ax, piano
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

DL Beethoven Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 192 kbps
Size: 72 MB

Mozart

The Piano Sonatas, Fantasias & Rondos

5 DISCS BOX

Alicia de Larrocha

Disc 5 of 5

Piano Sonatas KV 533, 570, 576 -
- Rondo KV 511

DL Mozart Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 192 kbps
Size: 92 MB

Mozart

The Piano Sonatas, Fantasias & Rondos

5 DISCS BOX

Alicia de Larrocha

Disc 4 of 5

Piano Sonatas KV 279, 280, 457 -
Fantasias KV 475, 397 - Rondo KV 485

DL Mozart Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 192 kbps
Size: 100 MB


Mozart

The Piano Sonatas, Fantasias & Rondos

5 DISCS BOX

Alicia de Larrocha

Disc 3 of 5

Piano Sonatas KV 309, 310, 311, 330

DL Mozart Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 192 kbps
Size: 94 MB

Chopin

4 Ballades

Piano Sonata nr. 2 -

"Funeral March"

Emanuel Ax

(RCA Victor Silver Seal)


DL Chopin Ballades & Sonata 2


Quality: mp3, 128 kbps
Size: 59 kbps


Beethoven - 29 Piano Sonatas + Eroica Variations Op. 35 -
9 CD BOX
Emil Gilels

Disc 9 of 9

Sonata Op. 101
Sonata Op. 106 ("Hammerklavier")

DL Beethoven Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 160 kbps
Size: 79 MB


Beethoven - 29 Piano Sonatas + Eroica Variations Op. 35 -
9 CD BOX
Emil Gilels

Disc 8 of 9

Sonata Op. 81a ("Les Adieux")
Sonata Op. 90
Sonata Op. 109
Sonata Op. 110

DL Beethoven Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 160 kbps
Size: 86 MB


Beethoven - 29 Piano Sonatas + Eroica Variations Op. 35 -
9 CD BOX
Emil Gilels

Disc 7 of 9

2 Sonatas Op. 49
Sonata Op. 53 ("Waldstein")
Sonata Op. 57 ("Appassionata")
Sonata Op. 79 ("Coucou")

DL Beethoven Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 160 kbps
Size: 92 MB


Content:

Disc 1 - Sonatas D. 958 & 959
Disc 2 - Sonata D. 960

DL Schubert Sonatas
Disc 1
Disc 2


Quality: mp3, 192 kbps
Size: 98 MB + 71 MB


Beethoven - 29 Piano Sonatas + Eroica Variations Op. 35 -
9 CD BOX
Emil Gilels

Disc 6 of 9

3 Sonatas Op. 31

DL Beethoven Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 160 kbps
Size: 82 MB



Beethoven - 29 Piano Sonatas + Eroica Variations Op. 35 -
9 CD BOX
Emil Gilels

Disc 5 of 9

2 Sonatas Op. 27 & Sonata Op. 28

DL Beethoven Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 160 kbps
Size: 70 MB



Beethoven - 29 Piano Sonatas + Eroica Variations Op. 35 -
9 CD BOX
Emil Gilels

Disc 4 of 9

Sonatas Op. 22 & 26, Eroica Variations

DL Beethoven Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 160 kbps
Size: 84 MB


Beethoven - 29 Piano Sonatas + Eroica Variations Op. 35 -
9 CD BOX
Emil Gilels

Disc 3 of 9

3 Piano Sonatas Op. 10


DL Beethoven Piano Sonatas

Quality: mp3, 160 kbps
Size: 75 MB

You are visitor nr.

Estadisticas y contadores web gratis
Estadisticas Gratis

Visitors around the world

Followers

Warning!

The prime propose of this Blog is offer some musical material for research and knowledge of composers, works and performers. We DO NOT understand that the medium quality mp3 files are substitutes to actual Compact Discs recordings. We strongly recomend: buy your original CD (try the amazing Amazon site) and enjoy a superior audio quality with the almost always constructive informations of the Booklets.