Thursday 6 February 2025 at 8.00pmSchubert: Sonata in G major, D. 894
Interval
Bartók: 15 Hungarian Peasant Songs, Sz. 71
Reger: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Bach, Op. 81
I have long been fascinated with Max Reger's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Bach. It is a colossal work, where the piano transcends its own dimensions and strives towards the proportions and sound world of the organ. Multiple threads of narrative run throughout this work, all coming together in the closing fugue, perhaps one of the most towering endings in the piano repertoire. I am enormously excited to play it here, in anticipation of the release of my recording, Organ Reflections, which will include the Bach Variations, alongside other piano works inspired by the organ.
Whereas Reger looked outwards in the Bach Variations, Schubert looked inwards in the pristine G major sonata, which has the perfect balance of movement and stasis.
Bartók has acquired a reputation as a composer of "percussive" music, but he was also an essentially lyrical composer, something clearly heard in the 15 Hungarian Peasant Songs. These songs, which he recorded while traveling across the countryside, are transformed and reharmonised, giving them an incredible sense of poignancy, while still retaining their original simplicity.
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