11 variations
Johannes Brahms wrote his Variations on an original theme as the no. 1 of his Op. 21. The work was finished in 1857, written in the key of D major and consisting of 12 sections. It was first performed in 1865 by Clara Schumann. The theme is a beautiful melody in D major, presented in a rich contrapuntal setting that leaves it almost over-supplied with possibilities. However, Brahms concentrates on the theme’s harmonic structure to provide a framework for fresh invention—though paradoxically the harmonic structure is itself dominated and somewhat restricted at each end of the theme by a pedal bass, whose implications are sometimes accepted and sometimes ignored. There are eleven variations, and all except the last are confined to the theme’s unusual dimensions: two nine-bar halves, each half repeated.
No. 8 Pour les agréments", No. 9 "Pour les notes répétées"
No. 8 - For ornaments - Debussy said it "borrows the form of a barcarolle on a somewhat Italian sea". No. 9 - For repeated notes - has dissonant intervals of seconds, minor or major, and augmented fourths, dominate, but Debussy also extensively uses the whole-tone scale.
Játékok is an ongoing collection of "pedagogical performance pieces" by György Kurtág. He has been writing them since 1973. This year the composer is 100. Kurtág began the composition of Játékok to try to recapture something of the spirit of a child's play. You will hear a selection of pieces.
Luca Zucchi is a London-based singer and composer currently studying for a master’s in composition at the Royal Academy of Music.
i Vivace ma non troppo — Adagio espressivo, ii Prestissimo, iii Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo
With regard to Beethoven's late work, and especially to his late piano sonatas, Op. 109 is particularly noteworthy for its divergence from the norms of sonata form and for its harmonic and structural innovations. Its focus is the third movement, a set of variations that interpret its theme in a wide variety of individual ways.
Daniel Liu - Piano
Daniel has just began his postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music, where he learns piano with Tessa Nicholson. During his undergraduate studies at the University of Cambridge, he performed frequently as a soloist and chamber musician, and held an Instrumental Award. A graduate of Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, he took lessons with Murray McLachlan, and won the school
concerto prize following a performance of Britten’s Piano concerto. Also active as a composer, his piece Fanfares was premiered by the BBC Concert Orchestra in 2019, after winning the previous year’s BBC Young Composer.
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