A Bettast Alusic Society Recitals Programme

PROGRAMME with or mooport sow amegons loo OLGA DUDNIK piano Sonata in D major, Hob. XVI/42 Sonata in E major, Op. 109 Preludes Op. 32, Nos. 5 and 10 Three Etudes Op. 65 Six Moments Musicaux Op. 16 HAYDN oflon si BEETHOVEN RACHMANINOV SCRIABIN RACHMANINOV thou camy2 nood bysil na sandt desesong sobe mor sent la maigo madi leo ma bovaulus aevodiss mad vidgid of nois moratel bensou Saturday, 7th February 1998 BT Studio, Waterfront Hall at 7.30pm

Sonata No 56 in D major, Hob XVI/42 andante con espressione: vivace assai 20.9 This is the third of a set of three sonatas, dedicated to Princess Marie Esterhazy, wife of the future Prince Nicholas II. Joseph Haydn 1732-1809 The sonatas were advertised for publication in the late summer of 1784. Four years later, they appeared in a version for violin, viola and cello, published by, and quite possibly arranged by, the composer Franz Hoffmeister. Such arrangements were frequently made and would not be particu- larly noteworthy except that some authors consider (on grounds of texture) the string versions to be the original and the piano sonatas merely an arrangement. Whichever version came first - and it is possible they were conceived at the same time - doubtless Haydn was fully involved; it is known that he performed the piano sonatas himself. Like its two companions, the D major sonata is in just two movements. The first subjects its main theme to increasingly decorated variations; in the central part of the movement it appears in the minor. The dashing finale makes much play with a simple 'five finger exercise' motif that is passed from hand to hand. Sonata in E major, Op 109 vivace ma non troppo adagio espressivo: prestissimo andante molto cantabile ed espressivo VOMIMAN M The last five late piano sonatas of Beethoven must be among the most important works in the reper- toire, yet, like the late string quartets, they puzzled and antagonised the listeners of Beethoven's time as much as modern music does ~ audiences today. After composing his mammoth Hammerklavier Sonata, and while working on the Choral Symphony and Missa Solemnis, Beethoven wrote his last three sonatas. Dating from 1820-22, they have been considered as a trilogy, but it would be safer to call them complementary; all three turn traditional processes such as sonata form, fugue and varia- tion to highly individual ends. In them Beethoven achieved a remarkable blend of intimacy and intense concentration. Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827 UV do jojum 1770-1827 201 q0 nojam 3 ni BIS002 Preludes from Op 32 No 5 in G major: No 10 in B minor 01 bas 2.201 In Op 109, two very brief, but strongly contrasted, movements are followed by a much longer slow finale. Equally unusually, the first movement is built from two themes in very different tempi, the first lively and based on a regular semiquaver pattern of Bachian figuration, the other, in total con- trast, slow and freely rhapsodic. The second movement, a scherzo in E minor, breaks straight in. Again it isn't a traditional scherzo movement as it plays continuously, with no trio. The finale is built on a simple hymn-like theme in E major. The variations that follow have widely contrasted textures in which contrapuntal procedures play an increasingly large role. In the sixth and final variation, the notes become increasingly more rapid until they turn into a massive trill. After this the original theme returns to bring the sonata to a quiet conclusion. 8201 yonu2 Sergei Rachmaninov 1873-1943 Like many others before and after him, Rachmaninov composed, if we ignore a couple of rejected pieces, 24 preludes, one in each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys. He didn't, however, set out at first to do so; his first prelude, the ubiquitous C sharp minor, was one of an early set of fantasy pieces.

In the early years of his marriage (1901/3) he wrote a set of 10 preludes, published as op 23. The Op 32 set was written in a much shorter time, in 1910 (though that is not to say that Rachmaninov found the task easy 'there is neither beauty nor joy' he wrote to a friend). This time R chmaninov delib- erately composed 13 preludes, to bring his total to the magic 24. The G major prelude was the first of the set to be written. That in B minor was, the composer once informed Moiseiwitsch, inspired by a painting by Böcklin - The Return - showing an old man looking thoughtfully from afar at the cottage to which he is returning. FOOT Three Studies, Op 65 allegro fantastico: allegretto: molto vivace Alexander Scriabin 1872-1915 The great majority of Scriabin's opus numbers are devoted to piano pieces, including ten sonatas (and two juvenile works in this form) and many sets of shorter pieces - preludes, studies, nocturnes, mazurkas and so on. The Chopin connection will be immediately apparent and indeed Scriabin's early music, from the 1890s, is clearly inspired by the Polish composer. By 1912, however, when he wrote his Op 65 studies, he had evolved his own highly individual style, difficult to describe in words ('Scriabinesque' isn't very helpful!) - mystical and highly perfumed, with his own very novel har- monic language. This was his last set of studies; only a few more works were to come from his pen before his early death from blood poisoning at the age of just 43, leaving merely sketches for his pro- jected magnum opus, Mysterium, a grandiose conception for choirs, orchestras, dancers, and good- ness-knows-what. Each of the studies is based on a specific melodic interval and the right hand of each uses this inter- val throughout. Thus the first is a study in 9ths, the second in 7ths, while the third is a study in 5ths, and therefore more conventional in sound - it reminds us that he was once a fellow student with Rachmaninov. At the end, the opening chromatic motif of the first study is recalled, affirming the unity of the three works. Six Moments Musicaux, Op 16 Sergei Rachmaninov This set of six piano pieces - not by any means as insubstantial as the title might suggest! - dates from the autumn of 1896 and was the last music Rachmaninov wrote before the disastrous premiere of the first symphony and the three years of subsequent silence (and psychiatric 'help') before the com- position of the second concerto. Each time the simple main theme of the Andantino in B minor is repeated, it is heard in a varied form. There is a contrasting faster section in the major. The Allegretto in E flat minor was the one piece from the set that, in later years, Rachmaninov included regularly in his recitals; in fact, he produced a revised version in 1940. The mood is energetic, restless and impassioned. The Andante cantabile in B minor has an elegiac, funereal quality; it may have been prompted by the death of the com- poser's cousin. The central part is a hymn-like song with a beautiful theme (and harmonies), totally typical of its composer. There follow a demonic scherzo in B minor and a peaceful barcarolle in D flat, before the final Maestoso in C, a demonstration of Rachmaninov the virtuoso, demanding not just considerable digital dexterity, but the ability to produce massive sonority from the instrument. Alec Macdonald 1998

TONIGHT'S ARTIST Olga Dudnik is among the most gifted young pianists in England. Born in Kharkov, Ukraine in 1973 into a family of professional musicians, her outstanding talent from an early age resulted in enrol- ment into the Special Music School for Gifted Ghildren. This led her rapidly into the heart of Soviet musical life, giving concerts in the most important musical venues across the continent. Olga grad- uated in 1990 and was awarded the Gold Medal for excellence. musas That year she continued her studies in Israel at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv. In 1992 Dudnik won a special scholarship from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, and as from 1993 she moved to London for a course in Advanced Solo Studies at the Guildhall School of Music where she was awarded the coveted 'Premier Prix'.. In competitions Olga Dudnik is especially proud of prizes at the All-Ukraine Piano Competition (1989), the Arianne Katz Piano Competition (1st Prize) (1991), the BBC Radio 3 Competition (1994) followed by their award-winners' recital for Radio 3's Young Artists Forum. Dudnik is now much in demand for the freshness of her interpretations of music from the classical period, though her spiritual identification with Bartok and Scriabin has also attracted keen attention. She has a long concert programme ahead across the UK for both piano recitals, concerto and ensem- ble work. Dudnik is also a frequent recitalist in Israel and Germany. le qui isms? Bold sot patigasmoseofberg e mons di bns tovrsim nibolem oftiongea mehed bacon och til at van stajad dhists wolle) in tertia anima i boni Teuvo m ya tapially to thank usazonto quino ad ore NEXT CONCERT Saturday, .28th March 1998 INSTRUMENTAL QUINTET OF LONDON (Flute, harp, violin, viola, 'cello) BT Studio, Waterfront Hall - 7.30 pm PPP

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