Recital of Classical and Impressionistic Piano Music

This recital combines infrequently played, but beautiful piano music with well known pieces.

During his lifetime, Domenico Cimarosa was a popular opera composer, more popular than Mozart. He was also a dedicated composer of keyboard music. Thirty-one of his lovely Piano Sonatas have been published.

Joseph Haydn invented the form of the “classical” sonata as an efficient composing tool. Mozart, like other composers of his day, wrote variations (written improvisations) on popular themes like „Ah, vous dirai-je, maman“ (which is the same tune as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”). Why? Because these works were popular, and they sold well.

In this early work, Beethoven reflects on his idol Haydn yet shows clearly his dramatic perspectives and his musical humour.

During the time of Debussy and Ravel, there

Debussy: From Images I "Mouvement"

Haydn Sonata in Bb Major

Program

Domenico Cimarosa: Sonata in Bb Major

Joseph Haydn: Sonata in Bb Major

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Variations on
„Ah, vous dirai-je, maman“

Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata in C Minor
Op. 10, No. 1

Maurice Ravel: Jeux d’eau

Claude Debussy: Images I Reflets dans l’eau - Hommage à Rameau – Mouvement

Modest Moussorgsky : Pictures at an Exbition

was the beginning of a cultural globalization that impacted both composers. Each was influenced by music from other cultures—from Gamelan to Jazz—and both developed new approaches how to piano composition.

One of the most challenging pieces in the piano repertoire is Moussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” a musical homage to the paintings of composer’s deceased friend, Victor Hartmann.