Béla Bartók (1881-1945) - Sonata for two pianos and percussion
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- Psappha Ensemble Live at The Stoller Hall (Manchester, UK)
27 September 2018
Psappha.com
Paul Janes & Benjamin Powell - pianos
Tim Williams & Oliver Patrick - percussion
I. Assai lento-Allegro molto II. Lento, ma non troppo III. Allegro non troppo
Having voluntarily detached himself from musical life in Germany as soon as the Nazis took over, in 1933, Bartók appreciated the opportunities he had in Switzerland, thanks to Paul Sacher, for whom he composed three works in 1936-9: the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, the Divertimento for strings and, in between, this Sonata for two pianos and percussion.
“For some years now,” he wrote at the time of the première, “I have been planning to compose a work for piano and percussion.” Indeed, he had intensified the percussive character of the piano in his 1926 solo sonata and later pieces, and had brought the instrument up close to the percussion section in the two piano concertos he had written so far. “Slowly, however,” he went on, “I have become convinced that one piano does not sufficiently balance the frequently very sharp sounds of the percussion.” So he had doubled the piano presence, and made sure that the percussionists do not overwhelm their colleagues: for the most part they provide accenting, background, punctuation and rhythmic crossfire rather than primary thematic material, the chief exception coming in the finale, whose rondo theme belongs to the xylophone.
Besides the experience of the medium he had gained through earlier works, he had a model in the work of Stravinsky’s he probably admired most of all: Les Noces, for voices accompanied by an orchestra of four pianos and percussion. Both that score and his Sonata call for xylophone and timpani, capable of connecting with the high and low registers of the piano. Both, too, ask for a similarly classical array of untuned instruments, the Sonata adding a tam tam to Stravinsky’s drums, cymbals and triangle. The main difference is that Bartók has no use for the bell and crotales that resonate through the end of Les Noces - though he certainly does emulate Stravinsky in the clarity, attack and élan of his writing for multiple keyboards.
The first movement, Bartók’s longest sonata structure, embraces a great deal of variety within an almost unchanging 9/8 time signature, which the three subjects press at different rates and in different metres. Where the first is marked by a propulsive pattern of three crotchets followed by three quavers at an allegro molto, the second is rather slower and divides the bar into irregular and changingly ordered units of 4+2+3 quavers, and the third sets out from leaping sixths to chase off in iambic short-long figures. In the recapitulation, highly varied, the second theme comes back in inversion, followed by the third in a substantial fugal passage and then the first in a short coda.
There follows a slow movement with the nocturnal atmosphere of the adagio in the Music for Strings, having a central section much occupied with staccato quintuplets and marked molto espr. la melodia - though this ‘melodia’ turns out to be little more than a chromatic scale, falling and rising. Not so the principal theme of the finale, which is in the acoustic scale on C (C-D-E-F♯-G-A-B♭-C), Bartók’s tonality of exuberance and joy.
Programme note copyright Paul Griffiths
One of the best performances ever of this master piece.
Bravissimi.❤
They really GOT the spirit of the piece.
A fine performance of a late Bartok masterpiece, that‘ s sadly neglected. It was also part of a great opening concert in Psappha’s new season.
It's not really neglected, and written in 1937, it's not a late work like the 3rd piano concerto, the concerto for orchestra, the sonata for solo violin, or the viola concerto, all written in the 40's.
Splendid playing of a wonderful piece! Thank you!
Essentially a quartet for percussion, this work of genius and passion is played with great sensitivity by 4 beautiful musicians. I kept hearing echoes of Villa Llobos' Guitar Concerto, probably with both Bach and forest murmurs as the common thread. Are Hungarian forests rain forests? Watching the connection between these 4 playing as 1 was like watching a string quartet that had played together for decades. The only other time I have seen the melodic strengths of "regular" percussion combined with the percussive strengths of the piano was watching the Chick Corea trio play a few years ago. Saw a youtube of Stephen Drury playing an Ives Concerto recently - what an amazing musician! But thanks to all 4 for sharing this much-too-short masterpiece, I wanted more!
Yes, the sound of the woods is really there, especially in the second movement. Not the rainforests, but the Central European forests, in the case of Bartók, the wilderness of the Carpathians mostly resonates.
Perhaps the most exciting music ever composed and this is a superb performance.
Are you Michael Tierra, the herbalist?
A superb performance! Much better than other performances I'd heard on UA-cam and better recorded too. BRAVO!
Such an insanely difficult piece! In light of its devilish melody, wouldn't the pianists go insane after practicing it for too long?
Thanks for uploading!
Superb rendition of this soooooo difficult piece! Bravi! Truely admirative!
22:50 (other parts are similar too, but this one is straight up identical or near-identical and very noticeable) Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (the last part of both musics are similar kind of I think)
Molto bravi,bravi anche i tecnici del suono e i registi video. Many thanks.
Bravo!!
Fantastic performance
This is simply splendid! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Genial! Das Werk ebenso wie seine Interpretation!
remek lett
Wonderful performance by dedicated players! Such a pity that online playback robs music of its dynamic subtleties - particularly evident in this piece where dynamic subtlety (and extravagance) is so important. ff, pp and ppp are lost in the translation.
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