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Richard Goode, piano8 pm Friday, February 19

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 27 in E Minor, Op. 90 Mit Lefhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen

BEETHOVEN Six Bagatelles, Op. 126 No. 1 in G Major No. 2 in G Minor No. 3 in E-flat Major No. 4 in B Minor No. 5 in G major No. 6 in E-flat Major

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110 Moderato cantabile molto espressivo Allegro molto - Adagio ma non troppo - Fuga: Allegro ma non troppo

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SCHUBERT Piano Sonata in A Major D. 959 Allegro Andantino Scherzo: Allegro vivace; Trio: Un poco più lento Rondo: Allegretto

The Folly Theater

This concert is underwritten, in part, by The Sanders & Blanche Sosland Music Fund

The Master Pianists Series is underwritten, in part, by the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation

t h e m u r i e l m c b r i e n k a u f f m a n m a s t e r p i a n i s t s s e r i e s

Additional support is also provided by:

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Richard Goode’s all-Beethoven first half illustrates the striking diversity of Beethoven’s evolving style. He begins with the rarely performed E Minor Sonata, Op. 90, a gateway work that bridges the gap between the noble Les Adieux, Op. 81a, and the late sonatas that are a focal point of this season. Then Mr. Goode performs the equally-rarely-heard Bagatelles, Op. 126: miniatures in size, but filled with outsized ideas and marvelous ingenuity. The Beethoven works are completed by the sublime A-flat Major Sonata, Op. 110, one of Beethoven’s final trilogy of solo sonatas. Following intermission, we hear Franz Schubert’s grand A Major Sonata, D. 959, the centerpiece of another final trilogy – and spacious enough to command the second half of the program on its own. Sonata No. 27 in E Minor, Op. 90 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Over the course of his career, Beethoven published 32 numbered piano sonatas. (Three additional early works appeared in Speyer, Germany in 1783.) Even more than the string quartets and the symphonies, the keyboard sonatas follow the steady trajectory as Beethoven mastered the art of composition. In terms of form, harmony, and developmental technique, the sonatas provide a summary overview of his oeuvre. The E Minor Sonata is singular in that four years elapsed between his completion of the Sonata No. 26 and this next sonata. Beethoven was hardly relaxing. After composing Les Adieux in 1810, his Sonata No. 26, Op. 81(a), he busied himself with multiple projects, including the incidental music for Egmont, King Stephen, and The Ruins of Athens, the String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95, the Archduke Piano Trio, and the Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 96. When the Duke of Wellington prevailed over Napoleon’s forces at Vittoria in June 1813, Beethoven’s celebratory response was Wellington’s Victory in celebration. He then got caught up in revisions to his opera Fidelio in anticipation of a revival in May 1814. Work on the E Minor Sonata appears to have provided a change of pace for him during intensive work readying the opera for a new production.

During the months immediately following Napoleon’s defeat and exile, Vienna was preparing for the great congress that would determine the course of post-Napoleonic Europe. This was the larger historical context in which Beethoven composed his first Op. 90, the first piano sonata he had written in several years. At only two movements taking less than fourteen minutes, the Sonata No. 27 in E Minor is one of Beethoven’s shortest. Brevity is not to be confused with lack of substance. The Austrian pianist and author Alfred Brendel has called Op. 90 “at once a throwback and a forerunner.” He classifies this work as the first of the late style sonatas. What does this mean? The ‘forerunner’ part comes first. Op. 90 is the first sonata in which Beethoven used German interpretive indicators and descriptive language throughout, rather than the more conventional Italian movement titles. He would continue to favor German for the rest of his life. The first movement, in particular, is prophetic in other ways. Contrasts of forte and piano in the opening statement establish tension, which builds in hushed mystery until the first outburst: two forte chords and a descending scale. The gesture repeats, then retreats, leading us up the next anxious ascent toward climactic tension. This is all vintage late Beethoven – except it’s late Beethoven, however oxymoronic that sounds. The high/low register switches and the scale swoop are harbingers of his late style. So is the movement’s compression; there is no repetition of the exposition, and the first movement is remarkably concise. Canons in the development section presage Beethoven’s preoccupation with counterpoint in his late works. In both the late classical and early romantic periods, it is highly unusual to have a major mode finale after a minor mode first movement. Only one previous instance occurs in Beethoven’s music, but it is an important one: the Fifth Symphony. Something about the transformation appealed to him, because he did so again not only in Op. 90, but also in the last Piano Sonata, No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111, and in the Ninth Symphony.

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Beethoven’s E major rondo finale, marked Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutragen ("Not too fast," and with a very vocal style of playing) is arguably the most Schubertian movement he ever wrote. This is Alfred Brendel’s ‘throwback.’ The cantabile theme remains virtually unchanged through all its recurrent statements. Its songful quality clearly links it to the Lied tradition. While the episodes point the way toward the new style, there is little angst in this finale. Beethoven’s pianissimo finale is the tenderest imaginable.

Six Bagatelles, Op. 126 Ludwig van Beethoven

The 32 Beethoven piano sonatas are a cornerstone of the solo piano repertoire. Representing every stage of his career, their uniformly high quality has overshadowed his smaller piano works. The variations, particularly the "Diabelli" set, Op. 120, are frequently performed, but only connoisseurs and pianists are acquainted with the three sets of miniatures Beethoven called Bagatelles: Op. 33 (1803), Op. 119 (1823), and Op. 126 (1823).

"Bagatelle" means trifle; in music, it generally denotes a short, incidental piece. Beethoven made few concessions to society, however, and his Bagatelles are not salon pieces. The two late groups in particular, are on the same artistic level as the final sonatas. Indeed, the set on this evening's program was Beethoven's farewell to the piano, and he thought they were the best miniatures that he had written. Composed in 1823 and 1824, they were his respite from work on the Missa Solemnis and the Ninth Symphony.

Op. 126 is a cycle, organized by key, tempo, and musical character. The Bagatelles begin with one each in G major and G minor, then move down sequentially by thirds. Thus the key pattern is G major, G minor, E-flat major, B minor, G major, and E-flat major. Beethoven generally shifts broadly between slow and fast tempi, and between agitated and calm sections. As Maynard Solomon has observed, with these pieces he "became a master miniaturist, capable of sketching a variety of emotional states in a few quick tone strokes." The Bagatelles are a fascinating glimpse of Beethoven's volatile personality in his mid-50s, often swinging wildly between extremes even within one brief movement.

Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110 Ludwig van Beethoven Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas are a Mount Everest for pianists, the ne plus ultra of nobility, technique, craft, depth, and emotion fused into three great compositions. Yet he wrote them for the most mundane of reasons: the Berlin publisher Adolph Martin Schlesinger offered him the commission, and Beethoven saw it as a chance to make some money. He worked on the sonatas – Op. 109 in E Major, Op. 110 in A-flat Major, and Op. 111 in C Minor – concurrently with the Ninth Symphony and the Missa Solemnis. The autograph score of Op. 110 is dated December 25, 1821. Beethoven sent it to Schlesinger in February 1822 with the manuscript to Op. 111. Although he would return to solo piano for the Diabelli Variations and the late Bagatelles, these works were his farewell to the solo sonata.

Caricatures of Ludwig van Beethoven by Johann Theodor Lyser, 1815

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While sonata form is certainly recognizable in Op.110, the A-flat Major Sonata shows how freely Beethoven was now interpreting the conventional multi-movement structure. Indeed, pianists and musical scholars argue whether this work has three or four movements. The debate reflects the sonata’s unusual structure. Gentleness of spirit pervades the opening Moderato cantabile. Delicate, arpeggiated passage work alternates with chords to fill out the harmonies of Beethoven’s limpid themes. Beethoven instructs the pianist to play con amabilità – with lovableness, with amiability. His directive characterizes almost the entire sonata. The exception to the prevailing serenity is the fiery scherzo, as terse and abrupt as the first movement was serene. Beethoven uses antiphonal dynamics, answering a pithy piano statement at the start with a forte bark in response. He punctuates the march-like music with unexpected accents, which creates rhythmic displacement that adds to the precipitous sense of instability. The trio section has wide leaps across the breadth of the keyboard, rapid eighth notes, and crossed hands, compounding its difficulty. Musical scholars have identified two popular Austrian songs that Beethoven paraphrases in the scherzo: “Unsa Kätz häd Katzln ghabt” (Our cat has had kittens) and “Ich bin lüderlich, du bist lüderlich” (I’m a slob, you’re a slob). (If you speak the German titles aloud, you’ll recognize the initial rhythmic figure and another motive in the scherzo.) Beethoven’s incorporation of these common street tunes is quite remarkable in a work that dwells at the opposite end of the aesthetic extreme. The remainder of the sonata has a singular structure: pieced together in sections that alternate from chordal introduction to recitative, to a spectral arioso dolente ('a doleful arioso'). They constitute an intensely expressive prelude to the mighty fugue that concludes the sonata – but midway through the fugue, the Arioso music returns, leading to the discussion as to whether this finale comprises one or two movements. The form could be summarized as recitative – arioso dolente – fugue – second arioso – second fugue. Fused and commingled thus, they become codependent and inseparable. Collectively they give enormous weight to the finale, which comprises more than half the complete sonata. Beethoven composed fugues or compositions employing fugal technics his entire life. In the late works,

they surface in the Op. 102, No. 2 cello sonata, the Op. 106 Hammerklavier Sonata, and the Op. 133 Grosse Fuge for string quartet; there is also the substantial fugato in the finale to the Ninth Symphony. The Op.110 Sonata fugue is unusual in that its subject derives from the opening measures of the sonata’s first movement, lending a subtle tonal and intervallic unity. After the interruption of the second arioso (and its conclusion in an astounding crescendo of repeated G major chords), the second fugue inverts the subject. Beethoven proceeds with even more dense counterpoint. His compositional technique is impeccable, but what we hear is neither augmentation or diminution, nor a reintroduction of the fugue subject in the high register, though all those are present. Rather, we travel with the pianist on the swirl of Beethoven’s notes as he propels us toward what is now inevitable: the satisfaction and fulfillment of arrival. Our destination is preordained and celestial.

Sonata in A Major, D.959 Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) Schubert’s three pianos sonatas of 1828 are triple colosses towering over the entire balance of his solo keyboard works. They were part of an astounding group of masterpieces from his last two years, including the song cycles Die Winterreise and Schwanengesang; the F Minor Fantasy and Lebenssstürme, both for piano, four hands; the two Piano Trios Opp. 99 and 100; the C Major String Quintet; and Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (“The Shepherd on the Rock”) for soprano, clarinet, and piano. This outpouring is noteworthy for Schubert’s complete mastery of instrumental music. Schubert had established his reputation as a writer of songs. During his teenage years and early twenties, he was less secure writing for instruments and managing large forms. In the last year of his life, Schubert was to create some of music’s most monumental works. Several factors prompted the renewed interest in keyboard and chamber music. One was his declining health. Schubert’s syphilis had been diagnosed in 1823 and by 1827 his bouts of disease were increasingly prolonged and severe. He sensed he would not live long and composed in a near frenzy. Another catalyst for his intense productivity was Beethoven’s death in March 1827. The passing of this great titan, whom Schubert idolized, somehow seems to have freed him to explore genres he had previously regarded as Beethoven’s domain.

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The Czech-born composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel traveled from Weimar in March 1827 to pay last respects to Beethoven. He was accompanied by a gifted student, Ferdinand Hiller, who was then 15. Hummel and Hiller met Schubert at the Viennese home of Katharina von Lászny, a retired opera singer who maintained one of the city’s liveliest musical salons. After dinner, Schubert and his friend Johann Michael Vogt performed a number of Schubert’s songs. Hummel and Hiller were enchanted.

For his part, Schubert was both honored and awed to meet Hummel, who was then one of Europe’s most famous composers. Hummel’s warmth and encouragement made a great impression on Schubert, who resolved to succeed as an instrumental composer. The following year, upon completion of the three piano sonatas, Schubert planned to dedicate them to Hummel. Alas, Hummel died before the sonatas were published. When Diabelli & Co. issued the last three sonatas in 1838, they appeared with a dedication to Robert Schumann. All three sonatas are expansive, four- movement works in the classical tradition; however, they are vastly different in character. The A Major is at once stentorian and songful, turbulent and tranquil. Schubert compresses the widest imaginable spectrum of moods and textures into his music. The opening theme chimes majestically, embedded in inner voices between pedal points in the high and low registers. Schubert responds with an arpeggiated triplet figure that forms the basis for much of the move-ment. Wide leaps, double thirds, and hand-cross-ing take us on a journey that maintains its majesty and lyricism.

The slow movement starts as a barcarolle but becomes tempestuous in its chaotic middle section. John Reed calls it “probably the wildest outburst of fantasy Schubert ever committed to paper.” Chromatic scales, trills, tremolandi, and thunderous broken octaves pepper this central episode, before Schubert returns to the tragic

quietude of his opening. His Andantino is a forerunner of Chopin’s dramatic Nocturnes. The scherzo/trio provides a much-needed

emotional release. Playful triads dart around the keyboard, requiring quick shifts in hand position and a light touch. The trio section is cut from the same bolt of cloth as the analogous movement in the C Major String Quintet; no surprise since he worked on the two pieces simultaneously.

The Young Franz Schubert by Leopold Kupelwieser, 1813

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American pianist Richard Goode has been hailed for music-making of tremendous emotional power, depth and expressiveness, and has been acknowledged worldwide as

one of today’s leading interpreters of Classical and Romantic music. In regular performances with the major orchestras, recitals in the world’s music capitals, and through his extensive and acclaimed Nonesuch recordings, he has won a large and devoted following. A native of New York, Richard Goode studied with Elvira Szigeti and Claude Frank, with Nadia Reisenberg at the Mannes College of Music, and with Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute. His numerous prizes over the years include the Young Concert Artists Award, First Prize in the Clara Haskil Competition, the Avery Fisher Prize, and a Grammy award for his recording of the Brahms Sonatas with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. His first public performances of the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas at Kansas City’s Folly Theater and New York’s 92Y in 1987-88 brought him to international attention being hailed by The New York Times as “among the season’s most important and memorable events.” It was later performed with great success at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1994 and 1995. An exclusive Nonesuch recording artist, Mr. Goode has made more than two dozen recordings over the years, ranging from solo and chamber works to lieder and concertos. His latest recording of the five Beethoven concertos with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer was released in 2009 to exceptional critical acclaim, described as “a landmark recording” by the Financial Times and nominated for a Grammy award. His 10-CD set of the complete Beethoven sonatas cycle, the first-ever by an American-born pianist, was nominated for a Grammy and has been ranked among the most distinguished recordings of this repertoire. Other recording highlights include a series of Bach Partitas, a duo recording with Dawn Upshaw, and Mozart piano concertos with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. In addition to his solo career, Mr. Goode is also a consummate chamber musician. He was a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and is a frequent participant at the Spoleto Festival. He served, together with Mitsuko Uchida, as co-Artistic Director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival in Marlboro, Vermont from 1999 through 2013. Richard Goode regularly appears with all of the major American orchestras, and in recent years in Europe with the Orchestre de Paris, Berlin Radio Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, among many others. He appears regularly at the Edinburgh International Festival and BBC Proms.

For more information visit: www.franksalomon.com/richardgoode/

Richard Goode appears courtesy of Frank Salomon Associates

Richard Goode

The sonata concludes with a classically proportioned sonata-rondo in the mode of middle Beethoven on a rare sunny day. Its theme reworks a melody from the slow movement of the early A Minor Sonata, D. 537. Refined in this later iteration, the theme appears in both hands, with rippling accompaniment, mostly in triplets. At 392 bars, this is a lengthy movement, but Schubert carries us so smoothly through his episodes and modulations that we are more attuned to the glorious aural scenery than to the journey’s duration. Flowing lyricism predominates, underscoring the overriding message of this magnificent sonata.

Program Notes by Laurie Shulman ©2015Found a word or phrase that you are unfamiliar with? Check out our extensive Glossary beginning on page 118 to discover the meaning.