The Singing Piano: Music of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Chopin

The pieces on this program are unified, to my ear, by their lyricism. The Bach Capriccio evokes a human voice in its depiction of the brother’s friends pleading with him not to leave and weeping at his departure, but also channels other instruments in its joyful, brassy finale. Beethoven’s late sonata is marked “songfully, with deepest feeling” in its last movement. The first ballade of Chopin is by its very title a work of poetic, narrative drive. And the last work on the program, an early set of variations by Johannes Brahms, is full of soaring melodies and vocally inspired textures. PROGRAM: Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother, BWV 992 J.S. Bach (1685-1750) I. Friends gather and try to dissuade him from departing II. They picture the dangers which may befall him III. The Friends’ Lament IV. Since he cannot be dissuaded, they say farewell V. Aria of the postilion VI. Fugue in Imitation of the Post horn Piano Sonata in E Major, Op. 109 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) I. Vivace – Adagio espressivo II. Prestissimo III. Theme with Variations Ballade in G Minor, Op. 23 Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) Variations on an original theme, Op. 21, No. 1 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)