PROGRAMME NOTES
By Tay Le Xuan Timothy
Karol Szymanowski
Born 6 October 1882, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine
Died 28 March 1937, Lausanne, Switzerland
4 Etudes Op.4, No.3 in B flat minor
Karol Szymanowski was the son of a Polish land-owner and of a
mother of Swedish extraction. The family had a deep interest in
the arts, a fact reflected in the children, one of which was
Szymanowski. His early education was a home-education as he
had a leg injury at the age of four. In 1901, he went to Warsaw to
continue his musical studies, taking lessons in counterpoint and
composition.
The 4 Etudes Op. 4 was composed relatively early in
Szymanowski’s career, between 1902 and 1904. They were
clearly influenced by the music of Fryderyk Chopin and
Szymanowski’s contemporary, Alexander Skryabin. The bestknown work of the cycle, Etude No. 3 in B flat minor has a
beautiful, lyrical and melancholic melody, and an escalating,
tense dynamic. It maintains a slow tempo and chord texture,
distinguished by a dignified, almost funereal expression, and in
its culmination a very dramatic expression.
The opening section of the piece opens with a triple pianissimo,
and a solemn feeling to it. The middle section gives a marching
feeling, with the composer listing poco agitate, with the inclusion
of left hand broken chords and scales. The last section of the
piece goes back to the theme of the piece, and back to the solemn
feeling. The last few bars give the hint of a resolution to the
‘story’ with the bell-like sounds.
Joseph Haydn
Born 31 March 1732, Rohrau, Austria
Died 31 May 1809, Gumpendorf, Austria
Piano Sonata in C major, Hoboken XVI: 50
Haydn’s Piano Sonata in C was composed in 1794 to 1795,
during his second visit to the English capital. They were
dedicated for Therese Jansen, a leading pianist in London who
had studied with Clementi. The sonata betrays its temporal
proximity to Haydn’s unpredictable “London” Symphonies and
their frequent eccentricities.
The first Allegro is one of the most impressive monothematic
sonata-form movements in Haydn’s output. The first theme is a
sparse articulation of the tonic triad that pauses in its sixth
measure. The piece then arrives at the dominant, restating the
theme, this time in double notes and accompanied by rising
scales in the left hand. More scales and variations close the
exposition. In the development section, the material passes
through numerous harmonies while the theme is reduced to
only one of its fragments, a falling octave that changes to
different intervals. The recapitulation is highly modified and
contains some new material.
Highly expressive and technically demanding, the Adagio was
clearly written for an accomplished musician. Set in the
subdominant, F major, the movement is in sonata form with a
brief development section. The brilliant right-hand octave
passages in the second theme group contrast with the delicate
arched opening theme. Much as seen in the Rondo finale of
Haydn’s Symphony No. 88, the recurrent theme in the Allegro
finale of the C major sonata serves as variation fodder for the
intervening episodes. There are teasing moments when only
parts of the rondo theme returns while frequent pauses heighten
the listeners’ anticipation.
Frederic Chopin
Born 1 March 1810, Zelazowa Wola, Mazowsze
Died 17 Octorber 1849, Place Vendome 12, Paris
Etudes Op. 10, No. 3, E major
Etude in E major is the number 3rd out of twelve studies in
the set of Opus 10 Etudes. Etude in E major is a technical
study composed in 1832. This is a slow cantabile study for
polyphonic and legato playing. Chopin himself believed the
melody to be his most beautiful one, saying, “In all my life I
have never again been able to find such a beautiful melody.”
This etude differs from most of Chopin’s in its tempo, its
poetic character and the lingering yet powerful recitation of
its cantabile melody. Chopin originally gave the Etude the
tempo Vivace, later adding ..ma non troppo. Like other
etudes, this work is in ternary form (A-B-A). On a technical
level, the work must be played legato throughout with very
little or no use of the sustaining pedal.
The opening section introduces the basic themes and close
attention is required for the tied notes in the right hand. The
middle section expands on these cross rhythms and further
tests the ability to resolve the clashes accurately. The final
section is a restatement of the opening theme and contains
nothing new.
Etudes Op. 10, No. 9, F minor
Etude in F minor is the number 9th out of twelve studies in
the set of Opus 10 Etudes. Etude in F minor is a technical
study composed in 1829, and is widely regarded as a good
left hand etude because it promotes flexibility in the wrists
and fingers.
The first group of twelve, Etudes opus 10, was composed
between 1829 and 1832, and published in 1833, in France,
Germany and England. They were composed when Chopin
was still in his teens. Like no. 3, this work is very subtle in
what it sets out to teach any pianist. On a technical level, it is
an exercise in legato playing of arpeggios with the left hand,
with the melody remaining fully within the right hand. This
etude was also another of Chopin’s tributes to Italian opera,
as seen most clearly in the central section.
The opening section is a straightforward four bar phrases in
pairs, the latter providing an answer to the first. The central
section is a development of the opening theme and the
modulations from F minor come in rapid succession,
accompanied by quickly changing dynamics, and then
followed by quick accelerando and stretto. The final section
is a restatement of the opening theme and from bar 45
onwards the melody is doubled on the octave and must be
played con forza, but still with the left hand playing
legatissimo and sotto voce. The final bars of the work must
be played as quietly and as delicately as possible.
Claude Debussy
Born 22 August 1862, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Died 25 March 1918, Avenue Foch, Paris
Cloches A Travers Les Feuilles, Images II for Solo
Piano
Cloches a travers les feuilles, when translated to English,
gives the definition of ‘Bells sounding through the foliage’.
Composed during 1906 and 1907, in the middle part of
Debussy’s composition life, the set of pieces entitled Pour le
piano uses rich harmonies and textures. The first volume of
Images, Images I, combines harmonic innovation with poetic
suggestion, composes from 1904 to 1905. The second
volume of the Images, Images II, contains more
impressionistic feeling, as well as the usage of good rubato.
Cloches a travers les feuilles is a brilliant evocation of the
sonorities of bells and perhaps of the exotic percussion
ensemble, the Gamelan, that so enamored the composer. The
work opens with a simple theme that seems to wander up
and down alto range of the piano, an octave above the
middle C. Sonorities higher up are also heard at the top of it,
giving a dreamy feeling, yet giving a more complex feeling.
Gradually, the music accrues tension and the bell-like
sounds turn from the tinkling and mellower sonorities to a
fuller sound. The subdued manner from the opening then
returns, and the piece finally closes in a relaxing and
mesmeric haze of the fading bell sounds.