Anderszewski / A Life Shaped by the Sound of Piano - NOSPR

Schubert’s final three sonatas constitute an autonomous musical world. Written in the closing months of his life, they attest to his genius, leading from a Beethovenian aesthetic towards a hitherto unknown realm of intimacy. They form a bridge between the Classical era and the nascent Romanticism. Sonata in C minor is closest in spirit to Beethoven, beginning with a dramatic key akin to the Fifth Symphony or the PathétiqueSonata. Here one hears most clearly the interplay so characteristic of Schubert: the gentle, radiant lyricism set against a backdrop of emotional darkness.

In his youth Johannes Brahms composed three piano sonatas, but later he only occasionally allowed his first instrument to be heard unaccompanied. Much later in life, he returned to the piano as a solo medium, discovering his most personal voice in the miniature form. These works constitute a moving narrative of life, captured with all its complexity in intimate snapshots.

Adam Suprynowicz