Monday 5 October 2009 at 7.30pm
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, London W1U 2BP
Jayson Gillham (piano)
Schubert: Sonata in A D,664
Debussy: Preludes Book II
Chopin: Three Mazurkas Op.59
Chopin: Sonata No.3 in B minor Op.58
"I've always felt a particular affinity for the Chopin B minor Sonata. I think the work almost sums up who I am as a pianist. Despite its inherent structural challenges, I've maintained faith in the greatness of the work and I hope that I can bring something fresh to my performance. Preceding the sonata with the three Mazurkas Op.59 provides an opportunity to compare the small-scale and large-scale creations of Chopin's later years.
The unique sound-world of the Debussy Etudes attracted me the very first time I heard them. One of the many reasons I love performing them is because they are not heard nearly as often as other composers' etudes, and there are so many surprising twists and turns. Schubert's "little" A major Sonata is deceptively difficult, but how can one not love it?"
Jayson Gillham
Schubert's "little" A major Sonata, written on the same summer holiday as the "Trout" Quintet in the same key, has been described as "concise in form, poetic in feeling and exquisitely pianistic". Debussy's Etudes, composed towards the end of his life, are less technical studies than brilliant concert pieces; the half-dozen which make up Book II both look back to the composer's earlier piano music and emulate the harder-edged sonorities of his younger friend Stravinsky. The Etudes are dedicated to the memory of Chopin, and the second half of the programme consists of music written by Chopin himself in the mid-1840s, when he was at the height of his powers. The three Op.59 Mazurkas are masterly examples of the dance genre to which he brought such subtlety and variety. The B minor Sonata is one of his most successful essays in large-scale form; its four movements, according to one authority, "contain some of the finest music ever written for the piano".
Tickets: £8 - £13
Box office tel: 020 7935 2141
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"A remarkably cleanly executed performance... beguiling singing tone... beautifully controlled touch" Evening Standard