horowitz piano series Boris Berman, artistic director
Boris Berman
Wednesday, October 24, 2018 | 7:30 pm Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall
Robert Blocker, Dean
Program late sonatas by haydn and prokofiev Franz Joseph Haydn 1732–1809
Three “London” Sonatas Keyboard Sonata No. 50 in C major, Hob XVI:50 I. Allegro II. Adagio III. Allegro molto
Keyboard Sonata No. 51 in D major, Hob XVI:51 I. Andante II. Finale. Presto
Keyboard Sonata No. 52 in E-flat major, Hob XVI:52 I. Allegro II. Adagio e cantabile III. Finale. Tempo di menuet
intermission
Sergei Prokofiev 1891–1953
Piano Sonata No. 9 in C major, Op. 103 I. Allegretto II. Allegro strepitoso III. Andante tranquillo IV. Allegro con brio, ma non troppo presto
Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83 I. Allegro inquieto II. Andante caloroso III. Precipitato
As a courtesy to others, please silence all devices. Photography and recording of any kind is strictly prohibited. Please do not leave the hall during musical selections. Thank you.
Artist Profiles Boris Berman, piano Boris Berman has performed in more than fifty countries on six continents with leading orchestras, on major recital series, and at important festivals. Born in Moscow, he studied at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Lev Oborin. In 1973, he left a flourishing career in the Soviet Union to immigrate to Israel. Berman is Professor of Piano and Coordinator of the Piano Department at the Yale School of Music and conducts master classes throughout the world. He has been named an Honorary Professor of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, and the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He is frequently invited to join the juries of international competitions. A Grammy nominee, Berman has recorded all the solo piano works of Prokofiev and Schnittke, the complete sonatas of Scriabin, and works by Mozart, Weber, Schumann, Brahms, Franck, Shostakovich, Debussy, Cage, Berio, and Joplin. Berman is the author of two books, Notes from the Pianist’s Bench and Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas: A Guide for the Listener and the Performer, and is an editor of Shanghai Music Publishing House’s critical edition of Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas. » borisberman.com
Horowitz Piano Series 2018–2019 Season nov 7
Wei-Yi Yang An all-Schumann program featuring the exquisite Kinderszenen, and more
nov 28
Melvin Chen An arrangement of Brahms’ Third Symphony and music by Ravel and Sibelius
jan 16
Peter Serkin A performance of Bach’s enduring “Goldberg” Variations, and works by Mozart
feb 13
Roberto Prosseda A pianist who commands “a fiery and fluent technique” – Gramophone
Mar 6
Robert Blocker An artist of “great skill and accomplishment” – Los Angeles Times
Program Notes Haydn London Piano Sonatas Patrick Campbell Jankowski As with any composer with an immense body of work, it can be difficult to wrap your mind around all of Haydn’s compositions. Luckily, the pieces attributed to his two London residencies, where he traveled after earning some entrepreneurial freedom from the Esterhazy family late in life, are decidedly different. In total, Haydn composed about 250 works for his London audiences, his residency setting him ablaze with creativity. Several of his last piano sonatas were composed specifically for the young pianist Therese Jansen Bartolozzi, who was wellknown as the star pupil of Muzio Clementi. Johann Peter Salomon, the London impresario who organized Haydn’s visits, took an interest in Jansen’s playing and connected her with the composer. The London sonatas are distinctive for their technical virtuosity and uniquely sonorous quality. Jansen proved an inspiration for Haydn’s acrobatic writing, and the new Broadwood fortepianos that the composer discovered in London provided him with a new range of depth in sound. Though still brighter in tone than many of our modern pianos, these keyboard instruments were, for Haydn, revelatory in their warmth, carrying quality, and weight.
Keyboard Sonata No. 50 in C major Haydn Patrick Campbell Jankowski The isolated, almost uncomfortably austere notes that start the first movement act as a sort of anchor for the remainder of the work: one of Haydn’s most inventive movements based on a single theme. Around these pitches, Haydn cleverly circles through playful passages and lyrical melodies, plunging into the low register and forming rich chords in the high. In the development, these anchor pitches serve as the subject material for a fugal passage. The central movement resembles an expressive aria with significant ornamentation, as though Bach’s Goldberg arietta had been somehow infused with Haydn’s theatricality. The finale is characteristically humorous, but also exceptionally economical – a sort of synthesis between rondo and variation form, providing but another example of Haydn’s ability to craft an expanse of sound from relatively sparce material. Keyboard Sonata No. 51 in D major Haydn Patrick Campbell Jankowski A seemingly more modest companion to its predecessor, this sonata in two movements showcases Haydn’s elegance, economy, and grace. Here, the composer eschews virtuosity in favor of clarity and timbral richness. As demonstrated in the opening andante, Haydn’s layering of melody atop churning arpeggios thickens the texture with amply cushioned sonorities. Such lush textures seem only natural, given the composer’s enthusiasm for the new fortepianos
of the English Broadwood firm. In this contrasting pair of movements, listeners are provided with a remarkable cohesion of thematic ideas. Much of the music in the playfully dancing presto seems to have been harvested from the arpeggiated figures in the opening andante. This, in addition to its brevity, makes the second movement feel more like a variation than a standalone structure. Though unassuming, this sonata is exceptionally strange. Keyboard Sonata No. 52 in E-flat major Haydn Laura Usiskin Composed in 1794, Haydn dedicated his final composition to Therese Jansen Bartolozzi, one of the finest pianists of her day. Its popularity is often attributed to its thrilling, virtuosic demands, which were likely inspired by Bartolozzi’s technical bravura. It is further distinguished by its powerful, dramatic character, stemming from Haydn’s decision to use the fortepiano as his instrumental medium as opposed to the harpsichord, the instrument for which his early keyboard works were composed. The fortepiano, which had recently appeared on the musical scene, allowed Haydn a greater palette of dynamics and timbral sonorities, both of which he exploited to their fullest in this sonata. Sonata No. 52 has since become one of his most popular and widely-performed piano sonatas. The first movement opens with a dotted rhythm motive that is bold in its grandiose, declamatory nature. The movement is not always serious; the playful dotted rhythms of the upper register provide intermittent
humor and lightness. Dynamic contrasts in this movement are extreme, as are tonal modulations, which often occur with little or no preparation. The second movement also opens with a dotted-rhythm motive, although the overall character is more introspective. Organized in A-B-A variation form (the middle section in minor), its unusually improvisatory nature generates a feeling of expressive spontaneity. The final movement is energetic, virtuosic, and dramatic. Fermatas punctuate various musical phrases throughout, as though Haydn is playfully indicating that the pianist should take a breath every so often before continuing to play. The sonata ends the way it started: strong chords declaring its triumphant finish. Piano Sonata No. 9 in C major, Op. 103 Prokofiev Boris Berman This work was composed in 1947 but not performed until 1951, and not published until after Prokofiev’s death in 1953. These delays, unusual given the performance and publication history of Prokofiev’s earlier compositions, are indicative of the composer’s changed political fortunes. In the campaign against formalism launched by Communist Party officials in 1948, Prokofiev (along with Shostakovich) was implicated as one of the principal culprits. The ninth sonata is notable for the simplicity of its style, as well as for the concision and clarity of its structure. It lacks the dramatic conflicts, complexity, and energy of the preceding group of War Sonatas. The conservative musical language may be
Program Notes cont. attributed partly to Prokofiev’s premonition of the politically repressive times. More likely, however, it reflects his general turn to greater simplicity. The dramatic deterioration of his health may also have contributed to the relative lack of sheer motoric energy so typical of his music. The strain of the war years proved to be detrimental to Prokofiev’s health. In January 1945 he had his first severe attack of hypertension, which ultimately caused his death eight years later. While this sonata’s musical language is more conservative than that of its predecessors, we do find here new traits of more intimate lyricism and introspection. Prokofiev also introduced several subtle innovations to the structure. The most prominent feature is the device of “previewing,” whereby toward the end of each movement the material of the next is introduced. Mira Mendelson-Prokofieva recorded her impressions of the ninth sonata in her diary: “This sonata is very different from the three preceding ones. It is calm and deep. When I told [Prokofiev] that my first impression was of it being both Russian and Beethovenlike, he answered that he himself found both of these qualities present in it.” A serene, meditative tone is indeed the signature mark of the Ninth. This is strongest at the end of the work, when the opening theme of the first movement reappears. The texture of this ending, its spirit, and even its key bring to mind the conclusion of Beethoven’s last piano sonata (Op. 111). Prokofiev died on March 5, 1953. His death was almost unnoticed by the public,
overwhelmed by the shattering event that occurred the same day: the death of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. — Adapted from Boris Berman’s book Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas: A Guide for the Listener and the Performer (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008) Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83 prokofiev Boris Berman The Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83 was completed in 1942. While the sixth sonata reflected the nervous anticipation of the war, the seventh projects the anguish and the struggle of the war years as they were experienced in real time. The thematic material of the first movement is rich and diverse: short melodic and rhythmic statements comprising the first group of themes evolve into each other, while the second theme consists of a single long, unfolding melody. The second movement projects the grandeur of a national tragedy, extending beyond any one person’s drama. It is conceived as a monumental symphonic movement, with many allusions to orchestral sonorities. The finale is a toccata, harking back to the famous Toccata, Op. 11. Like the earlier piece, the movement is based on perpetuum mobile, a constantly repeated short motive. The overall defiant energy of the movement is without parallel in Prokofiev’s sonatas. — Adapted from Boris Berman’s book Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas: A Guide for the Listener and the Performer
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Upcoming Events Oct 26 Jean-Marie Zeitouni, guest conductor Yale Philharmonia Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and works by Saint-Saëns and Debussy. 7:30 p.m. | Woolsey Hall Tickets start at $12, Yale faculty/ staff $8, students FREE* $3 surcharge at the door nov 4 Dark Horse Consort Collection of Musical Instruments The period-brass ensemble performs music from the early 17th century. 3 p.m. | Collection of Musical Inst. Tickets $30, Yale staff and seniors and museum associates $25, students $15 nov 7 Wei-Yi Yang, piano Horowitz Piano Series Faculty pianist Wei-Yi Yang plays an all-Schumann program that includes Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana, and the Fantasie. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $15, students $7
nov 13 Escher String Quartet Oneppo Chamber Music Series The Escher String Quartet performs music by Mozart, Korngold, and Beethoven. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $28, students $13 nov 15 Peter Oundjian, principal conductor Yale Philharmonia Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1, with Sophiko Simsive, and Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra. 7:30 p.m. | Woolsey Hall Tickets start at $12, Yale faculty/ staff $8, students $5 $3 surcharge at the door nov 28 Melvin Chen, piano Horowitz Piano Series Faculty pianist Melvin Chen performs an arrangement of Brahms’ Symphony No. 3, and works by Sibelius and Ravel. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $15, students $7
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