November 16, 2009. Classical Sonatas

These three sonatas were composed in the span of a quarter century. Haydn’s Sonata in E Major is the oldest; it was composed in 1776 while Haydn was comfortably employed by Nikolaus Esterházy. Mozart’s Sonata in D Major (No.18) comes from 1789; as it turned out, it was the last piano sonata he ever composed. We conclude with Beethoven’s sonata No. 13 (Quasi una fantasia). It was composed in 1800, in the middle of a very active period, when Beethoven started experimenting with other musical forms and composing quartets and symphonies for the first time.

The Haydn is played by Chu-Fang Huang, a young Chinese pianist. She studied at the Curtis and the Juillard, and is the First Prize winner of the 2005 Cleveland International Piano Competition. Michael Tsalka plays the Mozart. He was born in Israel and graduated from the Rubin Academy of Music. A prolific recitalist, he also co-founded the Marzec-Tsalka Piano Duo. The Beethoven is performed by Mauro Bertoli, who graduated from the Giuseppe Verdi Academy of Music in Milan. He maintains an active career, performing recitals and playing with orchestras in Italy and other countries. To listen to the sonatas, please click here.

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