BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY OF NORTHERN IRELAND Price 1971-1972 THIRD RECITAL under the auspices of THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST DAVID WILDE : Pianoforte SIR WILLIAM WHITLA HALL Queen's University, Belfast MONDAY, 31ST JANUARY 1971 5p PR2

BEETHOVEN 1770-1827 Sonata in C major, Opus 2, No.3 The third of three sonatas written in 1795 and dedicated to Haydn. These have been called early peaks in the chain of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas. According to a biographer the composer once said "I generally have a picture in my mind when compos- ing". If that is so, the picture he had when writ- ing this sonata must have been of some very bright and glittering scene. 1. Allegro con brio Opens with a brilliant flourish. 4-part writing which suggests a string quartet in fact the second subject belongs to a quartet Beethoven wrote at the age of 15. There is a brief cadenza in the coda to the movement. 2. Adagio (E major) This is in rondo form, with one recapitulated episode containing "two subordinate groups" (Tovey). Denis Matthews remarks on the dramatic effect when the main theme is "thundered out" in C major - the key of the other movements. 3.Scherzo: Allegro (C major) with Trio (A minor) A movement which begins like a fugue but then gives this up in favour of a syncopated chordal figure. After the Trio and the return of the Scherzo the coda dies out, pianissimo, in the bass. 4.Allegro assai. C major again. A movement in sonata-rondo form which begins with a moving staircase effect, produced by a rapid upward flight of staccato sixths. The coda is full of pauses, false starts and key surprises.

Sonata in E major, Op. 109 This sonata comes at the other end of Beethoven's life. Written in 1820 (when he was 50) it was published the following year, together with Opus 110. The form in which it is written is flexible and uncon- ventional. The work ends with a slow movement without the orthodox return to earth of a fast finale. 1. Vivace ma non troppo (alternating with Adagio espressivo). A short movement in sonata form. It begins jauntily but almost at once this carefree mood is interrupted by the adagio theme. The alternation of these two ideas is presented in sonata form; the absence of transition between the two themes makes the movement compressed and concise. 2. Prestissimo. (E minor) Another short movement in sonata form (6/8). The mood here is urgent. Steps by which the bass moves in the first subject are later developed into an independent theme. 3. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo. The binary tune on which the composer developed six variations has been described as "one of Beethoven's most intimate and touching melodies". Variation 1: mostly new melody with a simplified bass. Variation 2: double variation on two contrasted ideas - Variation 3: the two are dovetailed by means of repeats. Allegro vivace. Double variation by development, the repeats being "variation of the variation" (Tovey) Variation 4: contrapuntal. A little slower than the theme. Variation 5: Allegro ma non troppo. Double variation. Variation 6: Change of tempo and mood; scales and trills. Denis Matthews says:- "when the theme re-emerges in its quiet simple form it appears enhanced in the light of all these adventures. 11 INTERVAL

CHOPIN 1810-1849 Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49 Written 1840-41. The work opens with a march- like theme; the episodes are dramatic and lyrical and are related harmoniously. Nocturne in E major, Op.62, No.2 This is one of Chopin's last two nocturnes and was written in 1846. Polonaise in C minor, Op. 40, No.2 Written 1838-39, just after Chopin had sent off the completed manuscript of the Preludes and before he started on the Scherzo in C sharp minor. The Polish nobility used to dance the Polonaise in full national costume in the 17th and 18th centuries - it was a processional dance. After he left Poland Chopin began to see the Polonaise as an epic form in which he could glorify his country. Studies, Opus 10 No.1 in C major No.3 in E major No.5 in G flat major No.6 in E flat minor No.12 in C minor Chopin wrote 27 studies for the piano. They were initially intended to help himself and others to overcome technical difficulties but they became vehicles for deep musical expression. The first set of twelve studies were written when he was 18. ---000--- PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NORMA BURROWES/ INGRID SURGENOR RECITAL ON WEDNESDAY 16TH FEBRUARY WILL BE AT 7.30 PM