BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY OF NORTHERN IRELAND 1958-1959 FIFTH RECITAL under the auspices of THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST ANNIE FISCHER Pianoforte SIR WILLIAM WHITLA HALL Queen's University, Belfast FRIDAY, 16th JANUARY, 1959 at 7.45 p.m.

Chaconne in G major George Frederick Handel (1685-1759) 08 DIBUM ZITZA Much ink has been spent in trying to make a distinction between a chaconne and a passacaglia. It will do well enough to say that both are a set of variations on a ground bass. The second part of Vol. II of the Händel Gesellschaft edition of his works comprises two chaconnes in G major, one with 21 variations, the other with 62. It will depend on the arithmetical ability and staying power of our members to decide which of the two is to be played tonight. They both date from 1733. Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Adagio sostenuto Allegretto Presto agitato Beethoven merely described this sonata as a Sonata quasi una fantasia, a title he had used also for Op. 27, No. 1. It was the critic Rellstab who wrote that the opening movement reminded him of moonlight on Lake Lucerne and the title has stuck. The writing is certainly as impressionistic as anything in Debussy and the nickname may be considered to be one of the few such titles that justify themselves. The sonata has also been known under the title of the Laube sonata (Laube meaning arbour or bower) from a popular tradition as to its place of composition. The movements are intended to follow on without a break. Four Impromptus, D.935 Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Allegro moderato Allegretto Andante (Theme and Variations) Allegro scherzando 013 This work was written in 1827, a few months before Schubert's death, and he had agreed to the title by which it is known. Schumann, when the work was published in 1838 as Op. 142, in a review assumed that the work was in reality a four- movement sonata, and Einstein supports this view. In all probability Schubert, who was really only beginning to find a ready sale for his works, though an erratic one, thought it would sell more easily if listed as four separate works. The first move-

ment is undoubtedly in "sonata form", albeit with peculiarities, and the second movement fits well into a sonata scheme. Schumann, for some inexplicable reason, did not care for the andante, a set of variations on a theme from Rosamunde which Schubert also uses in the A minor quartet. The finale is in rondo form. INTERVAL MIGUEL CA Berceuse, Op. 57 Two Valses : Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Dances Bela Bartók (1881-1945) Bartók's close association with Kodály was concentrated on the examination and publication of the folk music of Eastern Europe, an interest which he never at any time lost. Indeed, when political events finally forced him to take refuge in America in 1939, it was possible to find him a paid job which his prickly conscience could bring itself to accept, by getting him to examine and transcribe the rich collection of recordings of Balkan folk music which had been made by Millman Parry in the course of his Homeric studies. Bartók was a highly accomplished virtuoso pianist, and one is surprised to find that the bulk of his work for solo piano consists of collections of very short pieces. These dances were published in 1915. MLADE Op. 64, No. 1 in D flat Op. 42 in A flat Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) Scherzo in C sharp minor, Op. 39 In spite of the romantic atmosphere in which he lived, Chopin refrained from giving descriptive titles to his works. The Berceuse is one of the few to which he did so. It was written in 1843 and was one of his most popular performances in the draw- ing room or concert hall. The D flat waltz was written in 1846, the A flat in 1840. The Scherzo was written in 1839, when he was in Majorca with Georges Sand.

NEXT CONCERT- CAMPOLI AND JENNIE REDDIN 30th January, 1959 Sonata in A Praeludium, Loure and Gavotte (from Partita in E major for unaccompanied violin) Sonata in D minor, Op. 108. Arioso Rondo in G (Haffner) Concerto in D Handel Bach Brahms Bach Mozart, arr. Kreisler Paganini, arr Kreisler