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At the centre of this recital is the UK premiere of Jörg Widmann’s Fleurs du mal
– Sonata after Baudelaire. Widmann is one of the most celebrated of younger
composers today, with works performed at all the major concert halls of the
world and seasons devoted to his music at venues such as the Wigmore Hall, the
Royal Academy and the Salzburg Festival.
Fleurs du mal is a substantial work for piano inspired by the poetry of Charles
Baudelaire. Ranging from the visionary and mysterious to the demonic and violent
it is the perfect image in sound of Baudelaire’s poems, culminating in a
frenzied chase to the extremities of the keyboard. Its sensuality and atmosphere
make it a perfect introduction to Widmann, and this occasion should not be
missed by anyone interested in piano music, old or new.
The programme also features Schubert’s unfinished Sonata in C, D 840 – the
pianistic counterpart to the Unfinished Symphony, with its monumental first
movement and the hypnotism of the second. Following the recent release by
Meridian of his CD of Schubert’s Sonata in D, D 850, this presents an
opportunity to hear Béla Hartmann perform a closely related work, written at the
same time of Schubert’s life.
The programme is completed with a generous selection of works by Chopin,
including his Polonaise-Fantasy and Fourth Ballade.
Tickets (£15) available on the door and from tickets@belahartmann.com
Steinway Hall, 44 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2DB Tel: 020 7487 3391
Programme:
Schubert:
Sonata in C, D 840
Moderato
Andante
Jörg Widmann:
Fleurs du mal – Sonata after
Baudelaire (1996/97)
Chopin:
Polonaise-Fantasy Op. 61
Nocturne in E, Op. 62 No. 2
Waltz in A Minor, Op. 34 No. 2
Waltz in A Flat, Op. 42
Mazurka in C Sharp Minor, Op. 50 No. 3
Mazurka in B, Op. 56 No. 1
Ballade No. 4, Op. 52
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