THE BELFAST MUSIC SOCIETY in association with THE ARTS COUNCIL FOR NORTHERN IRELAND and THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT, QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY PETER KATIN (piano) Elmwood Hall 7.30 p.m., 20 October 1984 od? boods

- 1 - Sonata in G major, Hob. XVI/39 Allegro con brio Adagio Prestissimo Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Haydn wrote some 62 keyboard sonatas, spread over most of his composing life from the 1750's to the mid-1790's. Seven of these are missing, but the recent discovery of the long-lost Haydn mass in County Antrim serves to remind us that even at this late stage such works might yet reappear. This sonata, bearing the number given in Antony van Hoboken's 1957 catalogue of Haydn's works, is one of a set of six published in 1780- the first collection of Haydn's music to be issued by Artaria of Vienna. The composer insisted that they add the following note "in order to forestall the criticisms of any bright sparks": 'Among these sonatas are two movements that begin with the same theme.... The composer explains in advance that he has done this on purpose, modifying the continuation of the movement in each case.' The first movement of this Sonata in G is one of those to which Haydn refers (the other, perhaps better known to many players and listeners, is the A major Scherzando middle movement of the second Sonata of this set, Hob. XVI/36, in C sharp minor). The movements have in common the rising anacrusis figure with which each begins; in this case it is a prominent feature of the recurring Rondo theme. The episodes, in minor keys, which alternate with the reappearances of the Rondo section (varied, after its first part), derive in some measure from features of

- 2- those very recurring sections to which they also provide a contrast. Thus, the first episode incorporates the above-mentioned rising anacrusis figure, while the second is indebted in the same way to the dotted rhythms which figure throughout in the right-hand part. Similar rhythmic patterns are also to be found in the opening section of the slow movement. But they disappear after seven bars, when the music moves from the initial C major into G major, and assumes an almost concerto-like character, with melody and accompaniment maintaining between them a flowing triplet semiquaver pattern almost uninterruptedly to the end of the movement. This affinity with concerto procedure is at its most marked in the later. stages, when we have the characteristic succession of a pause on a second inversion chord, and a 'cadenza' which is rounded off by a trill (in both hands here). been The at times almost Scarlattian finale includes a TUO characteristic Haydn fingerprint: as so often, the second subject (starting in bar 17) bears a close relationship to the first subject on this occasion he virtually exchanges right- and left-hand material from one theme to the other. poupidas v1. Sonata in F minor, Op.57, 'Appassionata' vignada vii Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Allegro assai Andante con moto Allegro ma non troppo Although only a quarter of a century separates Haydn's G major Sonata from Beethoven's 'Appassionata (not his title, but more justifiable than some of those applied to others of his sonatas) of 1804-5, it was a momentous period, taking in as it did the French an

- 3- Revolution and the earlier part of the Napoleonic Wars. In spite of the upheavals in society of which Beethoven was as aware as most, it was still to one of his many vous aristocratic patrons and friends, Count Franz von Brunswick, that the piece was dedicated though it has been suggested that its passionate nature may be attributed rather to the inspiration of one or other of Franz's sisters, Therese or Josephine. bo naid thing Beethoven himself regarded this as his greatest sonata, prior to the composition of Op.106, and it has always been deservedly popular. It is well enough known not to require detailed comment throughout, but one may draw attention to certain features and relationships which are of persistent significance. The opening theme of the first movement, which outlines the F minor chord (and whose rhythmic shape appears little altered in the same movement's second subject) is repeated up a semitone, here outlining a G flat - B flat - D flat chord. Semitonal relationships of this and other kinds, both melodic and harmonic, are prominent particularly in the outer movements, as in the 4-note (three short and a long) figure in the first movement which in other contexts oxe might qualify as a 'fate' motif. Each of the first two phrases of the first movement ends with a trill over a diminished seventh, and this tonally ambiguous and dramatically potent chord plays an important part in the work, notably in the dynamically sharply contrasted chords which end the middle movement, and the opening section of the Finale which immediately follows. The second movement is a set of variations (though not specifically described as such) in D flat major; its serenity provides a counterpoise to the turbulence of the surrounding movements. The theme has two eight-bar sections, each repeated, and depends, especially in its first section, more on its harmonic than on its melodic character, the richness of sound being intensified by both

- 4- hands remaining in the bass clef almost throughout the theme. The succeeding variations progressively raise the pitch range and also (as was often a feature of earlier sets of variations) reduce the length of the prevailing notes crotchet movement giving way, in turn, to quaver, semiquaver and demisemiquaver. A final restatement of the theme alternates lower and higher registers and leads on to the dramatically juxtaposed soft and loud diminished seventh chords already referred to. The role of the diminished seventh and of the major, G flat B flat - D flat (the so-called 'Neapolitan') chord, built on the note a semitone above the keynote, described above, is arguably even more prominent in the last than in the first movement. A striking example of the former is in the middle of the Finale where the relentless semiquavers are briefly stilled, and a rising then falling outline of the diminished chord, changing eventually to the dominant seventh, heralds the return of the main theme. The latter feature makes its last. appearance in the Coda - like the first movement, the Finale ends with a section in each quicker tempo. Polonaise-Fantasie in A flat major Op.61 INTERVAL Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) This piece, completed during the summer of 1846 at George Sand's country house at Nohant in Central France, is the last of Chopin's Polonaises (the three pubished posthumously as Op.71 date from the later 1820's). The particular choice of title - the only time Chopin used it - acknowledges the fact that in his hands the polonaise has evolved from a comparatively simple ceremonial dance-form into a more extended and complex structure which has been likened to a tone-poem for piano.

- 5- It is somewhat surprising to note that Liszt, not usually afflicted with primness, considered that "although comprising thoughts which in beauty and grandeur equal - I would almost say surpass - anything Chopin has written, the work stands, on account of its pathological contents, outside the sphere of art". More recent commentators have concentrated on the harmonic richness which at times foreshadows late Wagner or Richard Strauss. Six Preludes Sergei Rakhmaninov (1873-1943) Op.23 no.10 in G flat major (Largo) Op.23 no. 2 in B flat major (Maestoso) Op.23 no. 4 in D major (Andante cantabile) Op.23 no. 8 in A flat major (Allegro vivace) Op.32 no.12 in G sharp minor (Allegro) Op.32 no.13 in D flat major (Grave) Like Chopin, Rakhmaninov wrote a prelude in each of the major and minor keys. Apart from the well-known one in C sharp minor which is a much earlier work, appearing as one of the five Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3, in the autumn of 1892 (it was later to haunt Rakhmaninov much as Land of Hope and Glory haunted Elgar), the Preludes were published in two groups, the ten of Op.23 in 1903, and the remaining thirteen as Op.32 in 1910. Although each of these pieces has its own distinctive individuality, we find many features in common which help to make up Rakhmaninov's unmistakable style of piano-writin and his characteristic sound. He was a tall man (Stravinsky somewhat unkindly described him as "a six-and-a-half foot scowl") with large hands, and their size is reflected in the full texture and wide-spanning chords which we come across in so many of his keyboard works. Sometimes the illusion may be created of the

-6- presence of a third hand, when a middle-register melody in longer notes is enclosed by accompaniment patterns above and below, as in Op.23, nos.2 and 4. The melodies are often long-breathed, frequently moving largely by step (Op.23 no.4), sometimes in the baritone register (Op.23 no.10, Op.32 no.12). There are several instances of an accompaniment pattern being established before the melody enters (Op.23 nos.2 and 4, Op.32 no.12), and at a later stage in the piece the full texture may accommodate a countermelody set against the main tune (Op.23 no.8). The various elements are often distinguished rhythmically - a commonly found cross-rhythm involves three notes in one part against two in another (Op.23 nos.10 and 4). Only one of these pieces is in a minor key, but the harmonic colour in the major-key pieces may be darkened by lowering the sixth note of the scale as many earlier Romantic composers than Rakhmaninov (Chopin and Brahms among them) had done (Op.23 nos.2, 4, and 8). At other times, an extended passage may pivot around a single note. (the middle section of Op.32 no.12), or richly-changing chromatic harmonies may be underpinned by the keynote, as when the opening theme of Op.32 no.13 returns, providing a splendid culmination to the set and to this evening's programme. Programme notes by Michael Nuttall

- 7 - TONIGHT'S ARTIST 30 PETER KATIN is one of Britain's most distinguished He has pianists with a truly international career. performed with most of the world's great orchestras and conductors, and his gramophone recordings are best sellers. He greatly enjoys playing the Viennese classics, as represented in part 1 of tonight's recital, but he is perhaps best known to audiences here for his performances of Romantic music, particularly that of Chopin and Rakhmaninov, as in part 2 of the recital. An extremely popular artist, he is a frequent visitor to Northern Ireland. NEXT RECITAL ******* Saturday, 12 January 1985, 7.30 p.m. - Elmwood Hall EMMA KIRKBY (soprano) ANTHONY ROOLEY (lute) Ci son ES.q0) #1980an engini nemos "ORPHEUS BRITANNICUS" - a recital of vocal music of the 16th and 17th Centuries, including works by Purcell, Dowland and Ferrabosco.