Igor Lipinski plays Igor Stravinsky Piano Sonata (1924) I. Quarter Note = 112 | Live at Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music (April 29, 2011)

Igor Stravinsky Piano Sonata (1924) 1st Movement

This piece originates from Robert Schumann's 'Album für die Jugend' - a collection of 43 short works that were composed for his three daughters. The opus 68 'Album für die Jugend' is, unlike 'Kinderszenen', meant to be played by children, although the collection is divided in two parts - and the second is marked 'Für Erwachsenere', from no. 19, 'Kleine Romanze', onwards. 

'Wilder Reiter', or - as it is more commonly referred to, 'The Wild Horseman', is the eight piece of the collection. It is a short and easy, albeit wonderful piece due to its evocative, enthralling composition. It is essentially a lesson in staccato phrasing (one can really imagine the horseman trotting about), and teaches the pianist how to lead the cantabile with both hands, while accompanying with the other. The first section, where the melody is led by the right hand, is repeated. What follows is an intermezzo, if you will, where the left hand leads the melody - an inverse variation on the first section. The piece concludes with a third repetition of the first section. 

I am fascinated by the images that the piece conjures. Is the horseman clad in medieval armour, riding past you in a jousting roundabout? In measures 5 through 8 I deliberately retained some intensity in favour of conveying how the horseman has galloped past the listener (who is of course, stationary), and is making another pass. The second section, measures 9 through 16, seem to indicate the 'wild' in the horseman. Is he perhaps struggling to contain the horse, who has run amok? But then the first section is repeated, and the controlled, frivolous atmosphere reassures and consoles the listener. 

illustration: Géricault - 'Head of White Horse', ca. 1810, Musée du Louvre, Paris

R. Schumann - Wilder Reiter (The Wild Horseman) op. 68 no. 8 in A minor

Recordings of Philharmonia Fall 2014 Concert

Dvorak - Slavonic Dances, Op. 72 - Starodavny: Allegretto grazioso

Claude Debussy - Suite Bergamasque (I. Prelude, II. Menuet, III. Clair de Lune, IV. Passapied)

Rachmaninov Concerto n°2 para piano e orquestra - Solista: Sofya Gulyak

Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No.2 - 1o movimento - Sofya Gulyak

Nocturne No. 21 in C minor, Op. posth / Frédéric Chopin

* Performance:
Kiyotsugu Arai, Sep. 24, 2017

About Nocturne No.21: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturne_in_C_minor,_Op._posth._%28Chopin%29

Nocturne No. 21 in C minor, Op. posth / Frédéric Chopin

Debussy, Claude - Beau Soir (violin Heifetz & piano)

Liszt - Mephisto Waltz

Versus

This is Rachel's interpretation of a well-known and much loved classic, showing her roots in classical music.

This is Track 3 of The 52, a project in which Rachel LaFond is releasing a new single every week for a year.

Nocturne No. 21 in C minor, Op. posth / Frédéric Chopin

allisone