Program Notes LR

Domenico Scarlatti (1685 – 1757)

Keyboard Sonata in G Major, K424
Keyboard Sonata in G Major, K425
Born in Naples, Italy, Domenico Scarlatti wrote a staggering total of 555 keyboard sonatas.
Scarlatti left Italy in 1719 to enter into the service of the king of Portugal. Scarlatti then
followed his pupil Princess Maria Barbara to Madrid when she was married to Prince
Ferdinand of Spain in 1729, and he remained in her employment for the rest of his life. Most
of Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas were written after he moved to Spain, in the period between
1752 -1757.

Scarlatti did not “progress” in the way that many revered classical composers did, and had no
early, middle or late period. As such, the compositional style and material seems
homogeneous throughout his wide array of Sonatas, while managing to stay musically fresh
and distinct. The exact order of composition of his Sonatas remains to be known, instead,
cataloguing has been done based on the tonality of the Sonatas. Harpsichordist Ralph
Kirkpatrick prepared the catalog and established a numbering system around 1950 that is still
in use today and is reflected by the K numbers, based on Alessandro Longo’s edition (1906-
1908) of the sonatas.

Scarlatti’s sonatas follow the binary form, and most serve as one movement sonatas, this also
applies to the two sonatas, K424 and K425 in G major. Like many of his sonatas, sequences
and imitation are used throughout these two works. Scarlatti typically divided each sonata
into half with the use of a fermata. This allowed him to develop his thematic ideas and
modulate away from the home key after the pause. K424 and K425 are spirited pieces, with
the ending of the first section modulating to the dominant key of D major for both sonatas.
This is reversed in the second half, where the piece finally returns to the tonic key after brief
exploration in relative minor tonalities. K424 features more lyrical two-part interplay
between the initial theme stated, while K425 with triple-meter has a more dance-like
vibrancy, using sudden shifts to a minor tonality to build suspense before ending with a lively
flourish.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)
Sonata in D Major, K576
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Allegretto

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific Classical composer with a body of work that
consisted of 40 symphonies, 22 operas, and also a large quantity of chamber music. Mozart
was also a great piano virtuoso, and he wrote a total of 18 piano sonatas, which serve as a
collective body of work from different periods of Mozart’s life. Unfortunately, these sonatas
are still overshadowed by Mozart’s operas and concertos.

The Sonata in D Major, K576, was composed in 1789, and was Mozart’s final and arguably
most challenging Sonata. It was written shortly after the composer's return from an
unsuccessful concert tour of Potsdam, Leipzig, and Berlin. The sonata was completed
together with the first Prussian String Quartet, K575. Influences from Johann Sebastian
Bach’s style can be heard in this Sonata as Mozart was re-exposed to Bach’s works in 1782
when Baron von Swieten, Imperial Viennese Court librarian, had lent the composer scores
from his collection of music by the Cantor of Leipzig.

The sonata comprises three movements, with conventional titles and progression: Allegro-
Adagio-Allegretto. The first movement, an Allegro in a lively 6/8 time, has many imitative
sequences which could easily come from Bach‘s inventions, but resolve themselves into
melodic scale passages, keeping true to the clean Classical idiom. This sonata, owing to its
horn-call opening, has sometimes been given the nicknames of "Trumpet" or "Hunt.” The
work's contrapuntal lines are scattered throughout the piece, utilising the introductory theme
in new and inverted manners to keep the audience and the performer on their toes. The
second movement, Adagio, begins in A major, and features a lyrical melody that develops a
melancholy sensibility through chromatic runs as well as a shift into F-sharp minor mid-
movement. Slowly rising scalar passages and tense diminished chords add further unease
before the A-major opening is reprised, with brief references to F-sharp minor leading to a
calm closure to the movement. The Allegretto finale features playful passing of the simple
motif introduced in the beginning between the left and right hands, with triplet passages as
exciting and challenging as the Allegro movement. The motif appears in an inverted form
above the main theme, creating an example of double counterpoint, a technique borrowed
from Baroque era polyphony. The excitement of the movement gives way to a playful ending
in an understated manner.

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Deux légendes: II St. François de Paule marchant sur les flots, S175/2
Franz Liszt was a composer whose musical style and motivations changed and evolved
drastically over the course of his life. Beginning his career as a virtuosic pianist, he was
adored by the public to the point that the term ‘Lisztomania’ was coined for the public’s
obsession over him and his music. After years of performing and following the death of his
son in 1859 and daughter in 1862, he eventually took up minor orders in the catholic church
and became an abbé.

The two Franciscan légendes were written in 1863, and serve as a testament to the dramatic
change of purpose and lifestyle of Liszt, as great works of musical and spiritual gravity. Liszt
was almost exclusively interested in religious themes during his years in Rome (1861-1864);
the legends are regarded as some of the finest among his works from that period. The
légendes are best known as piano pieces as the orchestral editions were not published until
after Liszt’s death.

Liszt had a reverence for his patron saints since the days of his childhood, but the saint who
was Liszt’s namesake was St. Francis of Paola (1426–1507). Francis of Paola’s motto was
“Charitas” : the charitable and selfless love which Liszt sought to embody.

In the late period of his life, Liszt composed in a style that predicated the impressionistic
movement, creating the suggestion of natural phenomenon through the use of musical tools
such as trills for birdcalls or chromatic lines for wind. Indeed, Liszt Scholar Alan Walker
purports that Liszt had an “unparalleled ability to draw strange sonorities from the piano.”

St.. François de Paule marchant sur les flots (St. Francis of Paola walking on the waters)
describes the miracle of St. Francis of Paola crossing the Straits of Messina on nothing more
than his cloak. Liszt was inspired partly by a painting by Eduard Von Steinle, one of the most
eminent painters of the present religious school in Germany. The piece is an exemplary work
to illustrate the cohesive blend of both the virtuosic and spiritual elements of Liszt’s
compositional style. Beginning with a low bell-like theme, first stated in the mediant minor
then in the home key of E major, the piece quickly moves into a hymn-like declaration of the
theme of St. Francis. Through Liszt’s technique of thematic transformation, the theme is
stated repeatedly with tension created by chromatic runs representing harsh winds and
currents. The dramatic scene reaches a climax as St. Francis’ theme seems to give way to a
flurry of alternating diminished and major chords as if to represent the crashing of waves and
St. Francis’ struggle to keep afloat. The challenging virtuosic passage comes to an end with a
glorious return of St. Francis’ theme, to signify his victory and his crossing of the ocean. The
music reaches a calm, as Liszt creates a recitative scene, perhaps where St. Francis delivers a
brief parting sermon upon reaching the other side, with a beautiful simplicity characteristic of
Liszt’s late works. The music then builds into a climax with grand tremolos and a rising
arpeggio in octaves emulating the heavenly brass calls often used in orchestral music,
concluding with a final grand statement of the home key across the range of the piano,
creating a brilliant resonance for a dramatic ending.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Douze Études, No. 11, Pour les arpèges composés, L136
Claude Debussy was one of the most eminent composers of the impressionist period along
with Maurice Ravel, and is perhaps currently one of the most well-known composers in
Classical music to date. In spite of this, the set of 12 etudes Debussy composed in 1915
remain relatively obscure compared to his famed Bergamasque Suite, or his Images for solo
Piano. The etudes were composed with a dedication to Chopin, following the music in spirit
rather than in material, by exploring a technical or harmonic aspect to music whilst standing
as a captivating work. The etudes were written just after Germany declared war on France,
leading Debussy strongly affected and discouraged by the thought of war. Despite the war-
time circumstances and Debussy’s deteriorating health, the etudes were composed with a
wondrous energy, full of joie de vivre and with an almost ephemeral quality, a testament to
the brilliance of Debussy and his work. The set of études are Debussy’s last significant set of
works for solo Piano, and also increasingly revered as some of his best compositions.
Pour les arpèges composés (for written arpeggios) were Debussy’s take on the technical
challenge and musical use of arpeggios. The etude begins with a gentle repetition of six notes
of the pentatonic scale of the home key, before cascading into the lower register of the piano,
evoking the characteristics of water-music, techniques used in other works such as Reflets
dans l’eau. In typical Debussy fashion, a new musical idea is quickly introduced by a limpid
melody in the lower bass followed by a glissando-like passage of arpeggiated chords. The
middle section features abrupt changes of character, with instructions by Debussy to play
brilliantly, then elegant and a bit pompous, and lastly in a playful and joking manner, all the
while using arpeggios as the base foundation for the musical whimsy. The end of the piece
brings back the gentle caressing introductory theme, concluding the piece with a silent
shimmer created by the continued vibrations of the final A flat major arpeggio.

Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915)

Vers La Flamme: Poéme, Op. 72
“I am God! I am the blossoming, I the bliss, I am the all-consuming passion, all engulfing, I
am fire enveloping the universe, reducing it to chaos!” Thus stated 33-year-old Russian
composer Alexander Scriabin in a notebook in 1905.

One of the more eccentric figures in the history of Classical music, Alexander Scriabin
evolved from a skilled imitative composer of Chopinesque piano miniatures to a completely
unique one who developed his own harmonic language towards the end of his life. Scriabin
began systematically undermining tonality by developing harmonies and synthetic scales
derived from what he called 'the mystic chord' - a dissonant chord comprising six notes built
on fourths.

Scriabin completed his Vers la Flamme for solo piano in 1914, the last year of his activity as
a composer. Intended to be his eleventh sonata, it was published early as a poem due to
financial concerns, yet it is far from lacking in musical depth or cohesiveness. Scriabin’s late
works were built on harmonic elements rather than melodic, featuring the mystic chord in
multiple variations. Vers la Flamme is through-composed, as such the form of the piece leads
in one direction, from the lower to the higher register of the piano, and from an ominous
tense atmosphere to one of intense brilliance. A two-note descending minor second line
accompanied by a series of tritone chords seems to be the focal point for the listener.
Influenced by his synesthesia, Scriabin sought to create the dynamic changes in colour to
emulate what he saw through his compositions. The increasing hectic nature of the piece with
great leaps and hand-crossing for the pianist allows one to imagine waves of colour emitting
from the piano as Scriabin would have seen it, until an overwhelming tide crosses the entire
range of the piano, bringing the piece to a dramatic conclusion.

In an interview, Vladimir Horowitz claimed that the piece was inspired by Scriabin's belief
that a constant growing wave of heat would eventually consume the world and the piece was
meant to reflect the fiery devastation of the Earth "toward the flame".