Yi Wu M.M. '24 Graduate Student Recital

Sonata No Sonata No.17 in D minor, Op.31 No.2

Sonata no.17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2 "The Tempest" is a mid-period work by Beethoven.

Beethoven inherited the style of the classical period and looked for new creative directions. We call it "The Tempest" because when Schindler, Beethoven's secretary and biographer, asked Beethoven what he thought of this sonata, he supposedly had said, “read Shakespeare's Tempest.” This piece of music is not an expression of Shakespeare's "The Tempest", but Beethoven's personal inner feelings. On the first page of the score, Beethoven uses three different tempo markings. This is unprecedented. It is like Beethoven switching back and forth between a beautiful dream and the harsh reality. Beethoven used different keys to depict a beautiful dream, and pulls us back to reality again and again. The first movement ends like a gentle sigh.

In the second movement, "Adagio," Beethoven expresses more positive thoughts. The chords are like beautiful sounds from a viola and cello. The voices sound like different instruments in the orchestra, and if you listen carefully, you will also find many elements from the first movement.

The third movement is in 3/8. It is moody and dramatic and gives one the sense of being caught in a storm at sea. The whole third movement uses a similar dynamic as a counterweight to the whole sonata. The three movements are like a huge scale, with the first and third movements on either end and the second movement in the middle.

Clair de Lune

After a brief moment of silence, let us pull away from a trace of sadness and despair and cast our sights on the sparkling Lake Michigan. If we could sit in a small boat and float on the lake under the moonlight, What would that feel like? Please enjoy the imagination brought by Clair de Lune.

French Suite No.4 in E flat Major, BWV815

Bach's French Suites include several different types of dances. There are four core movements, however, that all of the French Suites have in common: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue. The Allemande comes from a German dance and the Courante from a French dance. The Sarabande is a slow dance in triple meter originating from Spain, and is the centerpiece of the entire suite. The gigue is derived from the dances of Scotland and Ireland. All movements are in the same key, and each one expresses different dance styles.

Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op.23

After feeling the surge of the storm, the tranquility of the moonlight, and the variety of dances, let us continue our journey and enjoy Chopin's Ballade No. 1. Chopin's music is always pleasant to the ears, but it also hides profound meanings. A ballade is like a story. This Ballade begins with an introduction which is very beautiful, but sad, as if someone is searching for something. The emotions of the middle section gradually accumulate and develop. Towards the end, these emotions burst forth and become very tragic. The contrast in the whole piece is very strong, and you can imagine many things happening. Just as this recital is coming to an end, let us continue our journey together to a different country.

My Motherland

The last song is a song from China called "My Motherland". When my teacher asked me which composers from the 20th century I was interested in, I wanted to choose a composer from China.

China has a history of five thousand years. This piece of music was composed by Liu Chi, a 20th-century Chinese composer, and adapted by the famous pianist Liu Shikun. Liu Shikun once won the Tchaikovsky Competition and is a pianist I like very much. "My Motherland" expresses love for the motherland and is a song familiar to every Chinese person. When listening to this piece, you can hear Chinese pentatonic scales and instruments such as the zheng. Thank you for coming to listen to my performance today, I love you all.