FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN Two Nocturnes, Op. 27
In the 1830s and '40s, Chopin
revolutionized piano writing in a large body of nocturnes, waltzes,
mazurkas, and other solo pieces that imbued the brilliance of the
salon style with unprecedented poetic depth. Schumann, himself a
master of character pieces, extolled Chopin's accomplishment, in
which, he wrote, "imagination and technique share dominion side by
side." Schumann likened Chopin's playing to the sound of an Aeolian
harp, as illustrated by the two Op. 27 Nocturnes of 1835.
JOHANNES BRAHMS Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5
Written when the composer was only
20, the third and last of Brahms's solo piano sonatas is
characterized by a compelling blend of muscular majesty and tender
lyricism. Although Brahms was no match for Chopin in terms of
keyboard technique, his performances of his early sonatas
mesmerized Schumann, who referred to them as "veiled
symphonies."
STEPHEN HOUGH Piano Sonata No. 2, "Notturno
Luminoso"
As its subtitle implies, Stephen
Hough's newest work suggests the brightness of a brash city in the
hours of darkness. Also suggested, however, are nighttime's
heightened emotions: its mysticism, magic, and imaginative
possibilities.
ROBERT SCHUMANN Carnaval, Op. 9
Like most of Schumann's solo piano
works of the 1830s, Carnaval was in part a musical
valentine to his future bride, Clara Wieck. But it also
memorializes his first love, a young pianist named Ernestine von
Fricken, to whom the composer was briefly betrothed. Underlying the
score are the contrasting personalities of Schumann's fictitious
alter egos: the stormy, impulsive Florestan and the dreamy,
ruminative Eusebius.