program

Ballade No.2 in B minor, S.171 – Franz Liszt
Chaconne in D minor for Left Hand – J.S.Bach/Johannes Brahms
Piano Sonata (1948) III. Choral et Variations – Henri Dutilleux
La Valse – Maurice Ravel

notes

Liszt Ballade

Liszt’s Ballade No. 2 in B minor is often linked to the Greek myth of Hero and Leander. Hero was a priestess who lived in a tower on one side of the Hellespont, and Leander was a young man who loved her from across the water. Every night, he swam across the strait to be with her, guided by a light she’d set in her tower. They agreed to part for the stormy winter and reunite in spring, but one day Leander saw the light on the tower, and in a fatal attempt to reach his lover, he drowned. The broken hearted priestess throws herself off the tower and joins Leander, the two bodies locked in embrace. Liszt’s rendition of the myth is likely inspired and enriched by other Romanticists’ adaptations of the myth. The Ballade also shares a similar structure to his Piano Sonata in B minor; both works were completed in 1853.

Bach Chaconne

This piece began life as the last movement of Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor for solo violin, but in this version, we hear it arranged for left hand alone by Johannes Brahms. The Chaconne has always been seen as one of Bach’s most profound works, and Brahms’s left hand version stayed true and loyal to the original. The piece was a set of variations over a repeating bass line, with 64 variations roughly split into three sections: D minor, D major, and D minor with a deceptive cadence. The result is a piece that’s both technically challenging and emotionally gripping. The left hand is pushed to its limits in terms of both dexterity and expression, as it carries the weight of the entire piece. The music shifts between dark, meditative moments and moments of great power, evoking a range of emotions from grief to triumph, reflecting the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

Dutilleux Choral et variations

Henri Dutilleux’s Piano Sonata from 1948 is one of the key works of 20th-century French piano music. The third movement, Choral et Variations, derives its entirety from a 5-note melody, playfully unfolding with intricate structure into infinite realizations of a simple idea. Dutilleux is regarded as one of the most important French composers of the 20th century, known for his rich harmonies and unique blend of traditional and modern elements. He was heavily influenced by the works of composers like Debussy and Ravel, but also absorbed ideas from contemporary Serialists and 2nd Viennese School composers. Alongside his composing, Dutilleux was also a respected teacher, serving as professor at the Paris Conservatory and influencing a new generation of French composers. He wrote the piece as a wedding gift for his wife, pianist Geneviève Joy—they married upon their return to France after the second world war.

Ravel LA VALSE

La Valse, with its literal translation as The Waltz, is a musical portrait that breaks all rules of waltz and should cause as much riot as Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Ravel composed it as a response to the waltz tradition, but it also captures the opulence and decay of a bygone era — a snapshot of a grand, swirling ballroom that’s teetering on the edge of collapse. The piece begins with a haunting, almost distant opening — as if one is arriving at the waltz from far away. The rhythm is faint, like the sound of music drifting through the air, slowly becoming more defined as one enters the party, and gets thrown in the middle of the joyful chaos. The final section erupts into a frenzied climax, as if the entire ballroom has gone out of control. It’s a striking and eerie take on the waltz tradition, capturing both its elegance and its inevitable descent into turmoil.