Berg piano sonata op. 1

[fnork]

A piece I´ve posted here previously - in any case, I had a gig yesterday and am posting the whole program little by little. Here´s the program:

Berg - Piano sonata op. 1
Chopin - Nocturne op 27 nr 1
Schumann - Gesänge der fruhe op. 133
Beethoven - Hammerklavier sonata op 106

[rachfan]

Hi fnork,

I enjoyed your performance of the Berg Sonata.  Years ago, the piece never made much sense to me, other than the fact that it seemed often depict a nervous agitation.  Then along the way I discovered Berg's "Seven Early Songs" with their incredible meld of expressionism and late romanticism.  Then when I'd return to the piano sonata, I could hear Berg's characteristic idiom in his phrasing, harmonies, and polyphony with the intertwining of the melody with its accompaniment.  So now as I listened to your rendition, the sonata seemed far more accessible and listener-friendly.  I attribute that too to your marvelous playing of the voicing, voice leading, strategic harmonies, and Berg's polyphony between the hands.  Excellent playing!

David

[fnork]

thanks for the comment, David. While all composers of the 2nd viennese school started out in a late-romantic style, I often feel that Berg in some ways remained the most attached to this style even later on as his own music was developing. The much later Violin concerto is to my mind a rather romantic piece, for example. My experience is that the piano sonata fares relatively well with the audience overall, perhaps thanks to that it is in essence not far from something like late Mahler, though obviously much more chromatic. Hope that makes some sense

[liszt1022]

I love the Berg sonata. There's so much music in every measure... It's definitely a piece you can rationalize studying for months, loving it while understanding that most people won't "get" it. But those who do should love what you're doing with it! Sounds great!