Viv McLean

Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)

Sonata in D Minor K. 213 (Scarlatti)

Doménico Scarlatti (1685 – 1757), was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style. Like his renowned father Alessandro Scarlatti, he composed in a variety of musical forms, although today he is known mainly for his 555 keyboard sonatas. He spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families.

Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)

Sonata in E K. 380 (Scarlatti)

Sonata in E Major, K.380 is, perhaps, one of Scarlatti’s most famous sonatas. With its march-like rhythm to the emerging beautiful lyrical lines, Scarlatti’s boundless imagination sparkles.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Sonata No 14 Op. 27 No.2 “Moonlight Sonata” (Beethoven)

i Adagio sostenuto, ii Allegretto, iii Presto agitato

The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, marked Quasi una fantasia, Op. 27, No. 2, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven, completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil Countess Julie “Giulietta” Guicciardi. Although known throughout the world as the Moonlight Sonata, it was not Beethoven who named it so. The name grew popular later, likely long after Beethoven’s death.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Sonata No. 23 in F Minor Op. 57 “Appassionata” (Beethoven)

i Allegro assai
ii Andante con moto
iii Allegro ma non troppo

Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (colloquially known as the Appassionata, meaning “passionate” in Italian) is among the three famous piano sonatas of his middle period (the others being the Waldstein, Op. 53 and Les Adieux, Op. 81a); it was composed during 1804 and 1805, and perhaps 1806, and was dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick.

Performers

Viv McLean - Piano

Described by Le Monde as “possessing the genius one finds in those who know how to forget themselves“, since winning First Prize at the Maria Canals Piano Competition in Barcelona, British pianist Viv McLean has performed in all the major venues in the UK as well as throughout Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA. Viv’s concerto work includes appearances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Sinfonia Viva, Orchestra of the Swan, Orchestra of St John’s, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Concert Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of such conductors as Daniel Harding, John Wilson, Wayne Marshall, John Lubbock, Christopher Warren-Green, Anthony Inglis, Owain Arwell Hughes, Philip Hesketh, David Charles Abell, Stephen Bell, Carl Davis, Rebecca Miller, Chloe Van Soederstede and Marvin Hamlisch. Recent concerto highlights include Mozart K467 with the ECO at the Royal Festival Hall, Grieg with the LPO at the Barbican, Rachmaninov’s 3rd Concerto with the RPO in Cambridge, Gershwin, Bernstein, de Falla and Ravel with the Hallé at the Bridgewater Hall, The Sage Gateshead and other venues in the North of England, and Beethoven’s 5th Concerto with the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall.