Details
West Road Concert Hall
11 West Road
Cambridge
Cambridgeshire
CB3 9DP
England
Programme
Joseph Haydn – Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Hob.XVI:52
Franz Schubert – Piano Sonata no.21 in B flat major, D.960
Frédéric Chopin – Mazurkas, Op.63
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata no.32 in C minor, Op.111
Performers
James Lisney – piano
Programme Note
James Lisney continues ENDGAME: a series of recitals exploring Late Style and the notion of creativity maturity through the late piano works of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin; provocative and endlessly satisfying piano music.
Beethoven and Schubert’s final sonatas exert a hold on performers and audience alike with commentators reporting all manner of maudlin or valedictory sentiments. The reality, however, presents music of extraordinary potency and authority, exploring extremes and resolving them in an ultimately positive fashion.
Wit, virtuosity and imagination are the hallmarks of Haydn’s late style and his Sonata in E flat is no exception. In such exalted company, Chopin’s mazurkas provide a masterclass in how so much can be said with so few notes.
“I have nothing but praise for James Lisney`s piano playing; he combines velvet touch and wide range of colour with complete understanding of phrasing and dynamic shading. This is someone who can really give the mechanical box of wires and wood a singing soul.” The Telegraph