May 24th, 2018, 9:00 am DipABRSM Recital

Community School of Music and Art

230 San Antonio Circle Piano
Mountain View, CA

Words count: 1022

Prelude and Fugue #14 in F# Minor (BWV 859) J.S. Bach

Prelude (1685-1750)
Fugue

Sonata No. 9 In E Major, Op. 14 No. 1 Ludwig van Beethoven

1. Allegro in E major (1770-1827)
2. Allegretto in E minor
3. Rondo: Allegro comodo in E major

Six Piano Pieces (Klavierstücke), Op. 118 Johannes Brahms

No.1 Intermezzo in A minor (1833 – 1897)
No.2 Intermezzo in A major
No.3 Ballade in G minor

Humoresque Rodion Shchedrin

(1932-present)

Tango, for Piano Igor Stravinsky

(1882- 1971)

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 PROGRAM NOTES

Prelude and Fugue #14 in F# Minor (BWV 859) J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period.
Regarded by Beethoven as the “father of all harmony”, Bach’s instrumental contributions to
music included the Well-Tempered Clavier, a collection of 24 Preludes and 24 Fugues. This
collection of pieces was created with the intention of providing musicians with ways to
practice and hone their techniques after the completion of Inventions and Sinfonias, another
one of Bach’s works. It was written for keyboards using a well-tempered tuning system,
meaning the twelve keys of each octave are tuned to allow each major and minor scale to
sound as in tune as possible when played.
The Prelude in F# Minor is a lively two-part invention, with finely articulated energetic
sixteenth passages accompanied by syncopated eighths.
The Fugue, which is dramatically slower than the prior Prelude, has four voices. Right away,
a theme that is struggling to rise is introduced, then after a few moments, it builds up to reach
a clear resolution when the answer is combined with the countersubject.

Sonata No. 9 In E Major, Op. 14 No. 1 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Sonata No.9 was written in 1798, during the early period of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas when his
deafness was not severe. It was composed for one of his patrons, Baroness Josefa von Braun,
whose husband, Baron, allowed the premiere of Beethoven’s First Symphony in 1800. In
1801, No.9 was adapted for string quartet, the only sonata that was arranged in this manner.
This sonata has 3 movements. The 1st movement, Allegro, is in E major, with its The 2nd
movement, Allegretto, starts off in the key of e minor but later changes to C major, and
finally ends back in e minor. The dynamic contrast in the “A” sections are drastic, however,
the “B” section (C Major) is an island of tranquility in the raging sea? Not really, it’s quite
elegant, better say “more lively siciliana-like section” (if they ask: siciliana – Italian style,
Sicilian dance in 6/8 or 12/8) that is the “A” section . This gives the music a tumultuous feel
in the areas that are in e minor, while the part in C major sounds peaceful and light. The 3rd
movement, Rondo, is back in the key of E major. With a strong contrast to the previous
movement, Rondo starts off quickly, which is exaggerated by the fast triplets in the left hand.
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 The downward scale runs throughout the movement, allowing for the music to resolve from
the subdominant A to a nice tonic. Immediately after, a series of downward scales makes the
passage end up on the dominant, which gets resolved by many rapid upward scales toward a
leading tone A#, which then resolves back to a B. The middle part of the movement
comprises of many broken chords, giving the music a frantic feeling as the music scurries
along.

Six Piano Pieces (Klavierstücke), Op.118 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Brahms’ op.118 was composed in 1892 and was dedicated to Clara Schumann, with whom
he had deep and inspiring friendship with. He gave her these pieces through letters, an act
that impressed her so much that “she was delighted with Brahms’” ability to reveal such “a
wealth of sentiment in the smallest of dimensions.”
No.1 Intermezzo in A minor, is a short, powerful, extroverted, but harmonic piece. It starts
with large descending octaves from the right to left hand as well as a wide range of arpeggios
from left to right hand. While it’s intense and passionate, the ending of the piece is quiet and
soft with an A-major chord, in preparation of No.2.
No.2 Intermezzo in A major is a beautiful, profound, sentimental piece that was quoted as
“one of Brahms' most lyrical sections”. Intermezzo is in a ternary ABA form. It begins with
a smooth and serene theme, though the intensity varies throughout the piece.
No.3 Ballade in G minor has a very clear ternary ABA form. The first A section is stormy,
speedy, and full of energy, all with a syncopated rhythm? Where?Remove, we already
discussed.. The middle section is a soft and calm legato?. The main theme returns, gradually
rising in volume to full capacity, going until it comes to a quiet end, briefly quoting the “B”
section’s gently character, shadowed by the g minor key.

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Humoresque(year) Rodion Schedrin (years)
Humoresque is one of Schedrin’s most often performed piano works. In the form of little
polka dance, and it does a good job reflecting the humorous attitude with its quirky and
funny musical tone. The song is composed of highly contrasting sounds. At times, the music
procures a series of chords, very akin to a set of heavy stomps. Other times, the music is
handled with delicacy and precision in a tip-toe manner. The first few notes introduce the
moody, angry, and humorous character of the piece. The weird harmonies hold a very sneaky
melody, and series of jumps bring out even more energy in the piece. The series of naughty
tone clusters are interrupted by unexpected angry outbursts in the lower register, creating a
great sense of contrast.

Tango Igor Stravinsky(years)

Forced to seek refuge in Switzerland and France because of World War I, Russian pianist and
composer Igor Stravinsky, finally left for the United States alone on September 1st of 1939
(the beginning of World War II) after the death of his family caused by tuberculosis.
Under the influence in the middle of Argentine tango’s Golden Age of dance music (1935-
1955), Stravinsky's Tango (1940) was composed for the intention of making money, as he
had just moved to the United States. Although this piece is called Tango, it’s rhythm is
different compared to a regular Argentinian tango. This piece begins with an introduction of
the general rhythm and is followed by the melody. The middle section uses strong chords and
the rhythms become non-syncopated, after which comes a more calm and gentle melody. In
the end, the opening melodies return and bring a close to the piece.
Stravinsky also took part in three arrangements for Tango: two for ensembles, and one for the
violin and piano.

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