ARISTO SHAM Piano Recital
Wednesday (14 October 2020)
BACH-RACHMANINOV Partita No.3 in E major, BWV.1006
BRAHMS Theme with Variations in D minor, Op.18b
BARBER Sonata in E flat minor, Op.26
CHOPIN Ballades No.1-4
Sergei Rachmaninov wrote a number of highly successful and virtuosic piano transcriptions of popular melodies, which he often performed in recitals. These were mostly of songs, dances and violin pieces, the latter being an influence of the great Austrian violinist Fritz Kreisler, who appeared regularly in concert with him. Rachmaninov transcribed three popular movements from J.S.Bach’s Partita No.3 for unaccompanied violin. The Preludio, which also features in two of Bach’s cantatas (BWV.29 and 120a), is the most complex. Like the original, it is crafted as an all-out virtuoso showstopper. The familiar Gavotte is given some delicious harmonies, while the short Gigue is a straight-forward transcription, providing a perky conclusion to this delightful set.
Johannes Brahms composed several sets of variations for the piano, some based on themes by Schumann (Op.9), Handel (Op.24) and Paganini (Op.35). Perhaps the least well-known is his own piano transcription of the Theme and Variations second movement of his First String Sextet in B flat major (Op.18), composed in 1860. The piano variations came in the same year and was dedicated to Clara Schumann, the widow of composer Robert Schumann. The subject is elegiac and reflective in feel, with the six ensuing variations building up to a climatic arc before closing quietly.
The American composer Samuel Barber’s only piano sonata ranks as one of the great piano works of the 20th century. Despite his reputation for conservatism, he crafted a work of gritty modernity that retained links with past and hallowed musical traditions. The sonata was commissioned by Irving Berlin and Richard Rodgers (both famous songwriters, the latter of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame) for the 25th anniversary of the League of Composers in 1947. It was premiered by Vladimir Horowitz who made a celebrated RCA Victor recording, and performed by Van Cliburn at the inaugural Tchaikovsky International Piano competition in 1958. It has never left the piano virtuoso repertoire ever since.
The opening movement is rugged, almost atonal to the ear but establishes itself in the key of E flat minor. A dotted rhythm is pervasive, with short fragments of melody emerging on and off while jazz-like figurations give it an edgy and jagged feel. The mercurial second movement is a brief but manic little waltz. Both hands remaining obstinately in high registers of the keyboard and seldom going above pianissimo, the scherzo-like movement is lent a mysterious and unearthly quality.
Palpable tragedy possesses the slow movement, reflecting sadness at a deeper level than even Barber’s own Adagio for Strings. A progression of sixths create a dirge-like atmosphere, over which wails and shrieks accompanying the cortege build up to an impassioned climax. The finale’s fugue is a tour de force of virtuoso piano writing. Highly rhythmic and even jazzy at times, riffs seem to fly off as the movement careens to a heady and impressive close. While Barber’s ingenious counterpoint provides a pleasing symmetry with the concert’s opening Bach, French composer Francis Poulenc hit the nail on the head by describing it as “a knockout”.
The piano music of Frédéric Chopin never ceases to amaze despite its familiarity and popularity over the centuries. His expression of human experience encompasses extremes, from sheer tenderness to outright violence and every nuance in between. His fragile health, succumbing to ravaging tuberculosis at an early age of 39, also lent an added urgency and poignancy to his music, which is sympathetic and human.
Chopin’s use of the word “ballade” is literary rather than musical, of mostly poetic inspiration and conjuring images of Romantic narratives of an epic kind. The poetry of Adam Mickiewicz, long considered by Poles as their national poet, has been cited as influences but Chopin’s music transcends mere words.
The First Ballade opens with an introductory “once upon a time” episode leading to the bittersweet main theme. The narrative soon turns agitated, before a yearning second theme is introduced. A climatic high soon dissolves into a fast waltz with a welcome return to the main themes. The coda is as tumultuous as the sweep of scales and octaves that conclude the piece. American writer-critic James Huneker famously described this ballade as the “Odyssey of Chopin’s soul”.
The Second Ballade was dedicated to German composer Robert Schumann. The music alternates between the gentle rocking siciliano rhythm of its opening and tempestuous violence in the Presto con fuoco section. It is this marked contrast that still shocks and surprises. True to form, despite a passionate and furious coda, the piece closes calmly in A minor.
The Third Ballade is the shortest and most cheerful. There are two contrasting themes, the first is heard at its outset while the second is played over a rocking rhythm. These are developed, and pace intensifies into a climax with a glorious statement of the first theme at its brilliant end.
The Fourth Ballade, a late work, is arguably Chopin’s greatest single essay in a single movement. An unsuspecting introduction soon works its way to the main theme, one of quiet unspoken tragedy. This is subject to a series of variations, each more layered and agitated than the last. The introduction is restated at one point, like some forlorn reminiscence, but this works to a feverish climax culminating with three fast chords. The brief respite is shattered with the densest of Chopin’s codas, bringing the piece to a dramatic close.
Programme notes by Chang Tou Liang
