Guest Pianist, Hartmut Sauer
THE STELLAR College of Charleston 2009–2010 International Piano Series begins next week with a performance by Hartmut Sauer. As promised, we will be providing Lindsay Koob’s program notes for each of these concerts in advance as a way of preparing our readers for the best possible listening experience.
Hartmut has been featured in concerts throughout Europe, Russia, and the United States. His competition prizes include the Jugend Musiziert Competition in Germany, the Anton G. Rubinstein International Piano Competition, and the Johannes Brahms International Piano Competition in Austria. He has alsoappeared in the Im Agricoli Festival in Poland, the Schubertiaden and Dreiklang festivals in Germany, and Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston.
Hartmut received his Artist Certificate from the College of Charleston where he studied with Enrique Graf. He is currently a faculty member at the Conservatory of Music in Dresden, Germany.
MONDAY • OCTOBER 26
Works by Schubert, Hoiby, and Chopin
8 PM • Sottile Theater • 44 George St
Program Notes by Lindsay Koob
Franz Schubert: Moments Musicaux
Franz Schubert’s six Moments Musicaux remain among the most beloved of his many piano miniatures. Written mostly during the final two years of his tragically short life, they are full of the composer’s hallmark melodic charm and harmonic beauty. Some have characterized them as “songs without words.”
The opening piece (listen at left) is a kind of stylized minuet—one that was never meant to be danced to. Its upbeat outer sections stand in stark contrast to the wistful and lovely central section. The second is a gentle, five-section rondo of sorts, with tuneful, yet tragic interludes—and even a moment of helpless, “why-me?” outrage (he knew he didn’t have much longer to live). Next comes a delicate little eastern-flavored gem that sparkles, delights, and makes you want to dance.
The highly original fourth piece sounds almost like Bach, with staccato bass figures underlying its mesmerizing legato melodic flow—until the middle section’s placid, “rowing” theme appears. Marked contrast arrives with the fifth number: a robust, galloping piece with moments of subdued mystery. The final item—the longest of the lot—returns to the quasi-minuet form and mood of the opening number; offering soft, other-worldly appeal shot through with a desolate sense of emotional resignation.
Lee Hoiby: Toccata · Schubert’s Variations
Franz Schubert
American master Lee Hoiby has been called the “other Samuel Barber.” His Toccata, Op. 1 was written in 1951, while he was still a student—before he had found his mature voice. Its virtuosic nature reflects his ambition to become a concert pianist.
This experimental work is reminiscent of Debussy, and especially Prokofiev. It bounces back and forth between conventional harmony and atonality. Save for a chorale-like central passage, it’s a kinetic and hard-driving piece, with a tense and worried feel to it. Hartmut described it as “kind of crazy.”
Hoiby’s Schubert Variations, dating from 1979, are based on one of Franz Schubert’s many short waltzes for piano—specifically a “Ländler,” a kind of Austrian folk-dance. The piece, in somewhat altered form, also exists in a chamber version for nine strings and woodwinds. The music seems to progress ever-farther from the dark, minor-key theme, while retaining Schubert’s original bittersweet aura. The prevailing mood is subdued and lyrical, though there are some rapid and rhythmically vital passages. A gentle restatement of the opening theme brings the work to a pensive and lovely close.
Frederic Chopin: Sonata No. 3 in B minor
While the vast majority of Frederic Chopin’s output consists of shorter pieces, his final Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 is a shining example of his skill and assurance in handling the more substantial sonata form.
Its opening movement presents a brief and stormy first theme, followed by a more extended second subject. The music alternates between stunning virtuosity and quieter lyrical passages, with deft use of counterpoint in its central development section. The following scherzo movement is a delightful and fleeting romp, temporarily interrupted by a serene and poignant trio section.
The soft and songful largo movement—the sonata’s heart (listen at left)—could well have been one of Chopin’s enchanting nocturnes. It begins with an exquisite aria, leading into a quietly rhapsodic central section. The swelling chords that begin the finale quickly give way to a headlong, often violent rondo that skillfully blends elements of its opening and middle sections as it drives to a blazing finish. •
Read Lindsay’s introductory article to this series.
