COMPLETE PIANO SONATAS, LIBERALLY INTERSPERSED WITH DANCES
During 2005 Béla Hartmann undertook, in a series of eight concerts, a survey of Schubert's Piano Sonatas and Dances. This series began in January and concluded in November.
The dates of the eight recitals were:
| 13/1/05 - 7.30pm: Sonatas in E D157, C D279 and A Minor D537, Ecossaises D299/421, Deutsche D128, Menuett D334 |
| 24/2/05 - 7.30pm: Sonatas in A Flat D557 and E Flat D568, Tänze D365, Ecossaises D529 |
| 14/4/05 - 7.30pm: Sonatas in E Minor D566 and E D459, Waltzes, Ländler and Ecossaises D145, Ländler D681 |
| 19/5/05 - 7.30pm: Sonatas in F Minor D625, C D613, F Sharp Minor D 570 and B D575, Ländler D 734, Dances D146, |
| 30/6/05 - 7.30pm: Sonatas in A D664 and A Minor D784, Deutsche D783, Ecossaises D781, Dances D779 |
| 22/9/05 - 7.30pm: Sonatas in C D840 and A Minor D845, Grazer Waltzes D924, Deutsche D 820/790 |
| 20/10/05 - 7.30pm: Sonatas in D D850 and G D894 |
| 17/11/05 - 7.30pm: Sonatas in C Minor D958, A D959 and B Flat D960 |
PRESS RELEASE
“ … [after breakfast] Gahy played us two wonderful sonatas by Schubert and some of his German Dances” (Franz v. Hartmann, Diary, Febuary 6th, 1827)
A series of eight full recitals, each concert consisting of two or three sonatas, the remainder of the programme being made up of assorted Waltzes, Landlers, Ecossaises, Minuets etc. The series is inspired by the quote above, describing a “Schubertiade”, a concert held in the presence of Schubert and his friends, in which the Hungarian pianist Joseph Gahy, a friend of Schubert’s, played a programme similar to the concerts in this series. The concerts will present all completed sonatas and complete movements of sonata fragments in chronological order. The sonatas will be intermingled with most of, but not all of, Schubert’s ca. 400 Dances for piano.
Schubert’s Piano Sonatas belong to the most popular area of the piano repertoire, being universally admired for their melodic wealth, drama, light heartedness and the profundity of their expression. This series offers a chance to hear some of his earlier works of this genre and follow his development from youthful but characteristic beginnings to the pinnacles of the last three sonatas, written only weeks before his early death at 31. Complete cycles are rare in any repertoire, but a complete cycle of Schubert Sonatas has only been undertaken on very few occasions in the past, since the first cycle in the 1970s. This therefore presents an opportunity unlikely to be found again for several years by any audience. To complement the Sonatas, the series includes a large selection of Schubert’s unaccountably neglected Dances, full of charm, wit and exuberance, and very rarely heard on the concert platform. It was Béla Hartmann’s performance of some of these Dances that was hailed by members of the jury as one of the highlights of the 2000 Leeds International Piano Competition.
To read excerpts from the extensive brochure accompanying the series, please click here.