Piotr Anderszewski

Wednesday 11 April 2018 7.30pm, Hall

J S Bach The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2: Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV870 Prelude and Fugue in A flat major, BWV886 Prelude and Fugue in D sharp minor, BWV877 J S Bach English Suite No 3 in G minor, BWV808 interval 20 minutes Beethoven Diabelli Variations

Piotr Anderszewski piano

MG de Saint Venant Part of Barbican Presents 2017–18

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If anything limits your enjoyment please let us know The City of London during your visit. Additional feedback can be given Corporation is the founder and online, as well as via feedback forms or the pods principal funder of located around the foyers. the Barbican Centre 2 have somethingvery specialindeed. the mostcomplex fugaltextures andyou Add to thatanabilityto elucidate even the profundity of theslow movements. physical thrillof thekeyboard writingand create abalancebetween thesheer to hisheart.HisBach interpretations performs thisevening are both very close The two composerswhosemusicPiotr Piotr Anderszewski. the Barbicaninimitable Polish We’re delighted to welcome to Welcome

Available on iTunes, Soundcloud and the Barbican website Barbican the and Soundcloud iTunes, on Available Evgeny Kissin, andNicoMuhly. Iestyn Davies, Joyce DiDonato, SirHarrisonBirtwistle, Sir JamesMacMillan, George Benjamin,Andrew Norman, artists from around theworld. Recent artists include for exclusive interviews andcontent from thebestclassical Stream ordownload ourBarbican ClassicalMusicpodcasts Barbican Classical MusicPodcasts Huw Humphreys, Head of Music,Barbican I hopeyou enjoy theconcert. something transcendental. but alsoultimately transforming itinto banal themeandnot onlysending itup for Beethoven’s geniusintaking Diabelli’s work thatisendlesslyfascinating, not least appeal isnot hard to understand, for it’sa which hehasreturned timeandagain. Its many prestigious prizes anditisawork to – his2001 recording of thepiecewon Diabelli Variations Piotr’s relationship withBeethoven’s

iscertainly longstanding Anderszwski follows thiswiththeAflat major Fugue thatmakes avirtueof itsbusyness. Piotr confidence, contrasting withabustlingthree-part the Second(BWV870) strutsitsstuffwithimmense Prelude of theFirstBook,one thatlaunches Unlike theunderstated simplicityof theCmajor engaged by it. can puttheirown glossonitandfeel personally wide variety of mannersandstylesthatanyone alike – hismusiccanbepersonalisedinsucha appeal of Bach for performers andlisteners that wealth perhapshelpsto explain theenduring as thesethree preludes andfuguesshow. And begin to hintattherichesandsheervariety within, of thosealready skilledinthis study’.Thatdoesn’t desirous of learningandespeciallyfor thepastime used ‘for theprofit anduseof musicalyouth understated, recommending thecollectionbe on apedestal. Bach’s own aimswere typically solemnify musicthatdoesn’tneedto beput sonatas astheNew Testament). Butthatisto of keyboard music(withBeethoven’s piano Clavier For some,thetwo books of Bach’s 6 Gigue 5 Gavottes I&II 4 Sarabande Courante 3 2 Allemande Prelude 1 Gminor, 3 in BWV808 No Suite English Prelude Prelude Cmajor, BWV870 in Fugue and Prelude (compiled Well-TemperedThe Clavier, 2 Book Bach Sebastian Johann (or 48 and and ) represent akindof OldTestament Fugue in D sharp minor, BWV877 Dsharp in Fugue major, BWV886 Aflat in Fugue c 1742) 1742) – Well-Tempered

featuring demisemiquavers andBach proceeds semiquavers whichlead to richpatterning The openingphrases are answered by eloquent against asturdy dotted rhythm in thelefthand. syncopation inthemidstof theright-handtexture Prelude andFugue,BWV886. ThePrelude sets countersubject that plays a prominent role. Bach a mournfulsolemnity;thisiscombined witha Fugue isbasedonasighingmotif thatgives it plangent harmonictwists.Thegrand four-part the introduction of smallernote values, aswell as of movement increased inthesecondhalfwith – Bach retreats into murmuringmode,thesense sharps, not theeasiestof key signatures to play For thePrelude in Dsharpminor–withitssix even ading afifth voice nearitsclose. around 1720 whichBach extends anddevelops, 48 written specifically for theSecondBook of the decades earlier. For whereas thePrelude was natural pairingbutwas infact written sometwo Prelude’s close.TheFuguesoundslike anentirely harmonic sleightsof hand,not leastatthe to develop theseideas,withsomevery effective , thefour-part Fugueisbasedonawork from (1685–1750)

3 Programme notes 4 Cöthen. Cöthen. a misguidedattempt to prevent his defection to he was jailedby hisemployer Duke Wilhelmin Weimar period(1708–17), attheendof which likely thatthey were written during thecomposer’s of Anhalt-Cöthen (1717–23) butnow itseemsmore when Bach was Kapellmeister to PrinceLeopold used to bethoughtthatthesixdated from thetime being composedwithanaudienceinmind.It They are essentiallyplayers’ music,rather than French Suites English Suites In fact, interms of theactual dances featured, the suites were composed‘for anEnglishnobleman’. Johann Nikolaus Forkel, whoexplained thatthe up inBach’s earliestbiography, written in1802 by about them.Thetitleseemsto have first cropped Suites The first thingto besaidaboutBach’s major chord. climax whichculminates inaradiant final builds thepieceupto apowerfully rhetorical isthatthere’s nothing intrinsicallyEnglish , which is more than a little confusing. , whichismore thanalittleconfusing. are arguably more French thanthe English English

interval coloration. the concerto genre initstexture and brillianceof which again seemsto take itsinspiration from flavour, andathrillinglyvirtuosofugalGigue, the secondof whichhasadistinctlyRameau-ish Relief comesintheform of thepairof Gavottes, harmonies. dark-hued Sarabande, withitsdaringlytwisting The gravity of Gminorisfullyexploited inthe Courante whichdelightsinitsrhythmic dexterity. appearing inthebass,isfollowed by aglorious The Allemande,itsthemeunconventionally first textures. the keyboard by thelightening orintensifying of and Bach himself.Bach achieves thiseffect on characteristic of theconcertos of Corelli, Vivaldi alternate between ‘solo’and‘tutti’passages combining fugalelementswithtextures that exhilarating example, isagrandiose prelude from alack of Englishness!),No 3providing an What iscommonto mostof thesuites (apart 20 minutes rulebook withquite suchforce asinthispiece. Nowhere doesBeethoven fling away the the joke to wear alittlethin. an hour, atime-scaleinwhichyou mightexpect a homage to it.Moreover, thissatire lastsaround it initsplace: thisismore asatire onathemethan than awaltz. WhatBeethoven doeswiththisisput what you have iscloserto anold-fangled minuet away thedynamicsand and, asAlfred Brendel haspointed out,ifyou take it’s singularlylacking inmelodicmemorability conventional sense:itstwo halves are too similar, Diabelli’s themeisnot promising inthe altered theshapeof thework itself. (Vars 1, 2,15, 23–26,28,29and31) dramatically with another 10 beingadded in1823; theselast10 variations, mostof whichwere composedin1819, under hisskin,for heproduced not one but33 dismissively as‘acobbler’spatch’. Itclearlygot somewhat crass theme,which hedescribed to suggestwhathewas aboutto doto Diabelli’s period thanthesonatas –butthere was nothing – indeedhis20setsfor pianospanalonger Beethoven was nostranger to variation form Diabelli anticipated. So didBeethoven –butnot quite inthemanner Czerny to the8-year-old Lisztdulycontributed. was thateveryone from Schubert,Hummeland getting pricelesspublicityinto thebargain. Soit publishing theresulting musicalpatchwork and 50 composerseach to contribute avariation, hit upontheideaof writingawaltz andinviting And, beingsomethingof amarketing whizz,he time soamove into publishingwas anatural step. He was already somethingof acomposerby this that hesoughtanoccupationinthewiderworld. was onlyafter beingejected from hiscloistered life Diabelli originallytrained for thepriesthoodandit have had the during awave of secularisation,we mightnot Had Bavaria not closedallitsmonasteries in1803 Anton Variations33 awaltz on by Diabelli Variations

120 120 Op Diabelli, Vivace atall.For Anton marking then markingthen and 25,whilethepredictable sequentialphrases example, comesto thefore inVars 2, 6,9,11, 12 variations. Diabelli’sinitial‘turn’idea,for constituent motifs, anditisthesethatfuelthe Beethoven picks thethemeapart,into its character assassination. Goldbergs and caress thethemeinway thatBach’s becomes apparent, thesevariations don’texalt Which bringsanother problem, for, asquickly Var 3, itseemsto have lostitssenseof direction. when thetheme to injury, retaining onlyDiabelli’s bass-line,and dangerously closeto contempt. Var 2 adds insult Diabelli’s waltz into amarch withwhatsounds the later additions to thework), Beethoven turning masterstroke of secondthoughts,thisbeingoneof Var 1. Butthat’sexactly whathappenshere (a sight of theessentialcharacter of thethemein progress. Theclassic‘whatnot to do’isto lose becoming more intricate, more fanciful asthey are supposedto develop athemegradually, Conventional wisdomstates thatvariations then Beethoven throws into the mixtheprofoundly of thetime(someof itverging ontheangry)but unpredictability; humourmay be uppermostmuch is asenseof unendingvariety, contrast and variations inCminor. Yet withinthatrootedness (Var 32), whichisinEflat major, andaclutch of of itisinCmajor, withtheexception of thefugue Another strikingaspectof thework ishow much turning suchpoormaterial into musicalgold. reference to Beethoven’s own experiences of a meagre salary –surely anot exactly subtle the servant complainsaboutworking for such Leporello’s aria‘Notte egiornofaticar’, inwhich from Mozart’s ushers inanother comicmaster withitsquotation greeted withsilenceinVar 13. Var 22, meanwhile, repeated 10 times,islampooned inVar 21 and a banalfeature as Diabelli’sCmajorchord, (in bars9–12) fuelVars 27 and28.Andsuch (1819–23) (1819–23) do;rather, we have somethingof a Don Giovanni

does (1770–1827) becomemore apparent, in

, and specifically , andspecifically

5 Programme notes 6 this piece,not leastviaslyalterations of phrase Beethoven constantly destabilises thelistener in nothing didLisztcallthisvariation ‘Sphinx’). which seemto stare far, far into thefuture (not for harmonies defyanything asbanalanalysis but ‘inner sanctum’of thework –avariation whose again in20,whatAlfred Brendel hascalledthe bolshie stridingbass.We stare into theabyss chipper Var 15, andthedefiant Var 16, withits this isalmostshockinglybrushedasidewiththe effect, satire turnedto tragedy inaninstant. But stills themomentumto extraordinarily potent such afeature of Beethoven’s late pianostyle, with itsuseof theextremes of register thatwere serious Vars 14, 20and24.Thedrawn-out Var 14, Programme notes ©HarrietSmith metamorphosed into thesublime. the Op 111 Sonata. Theridiculoushas, finally, quality asluminousthatof thefinal Arietta of as thevariation develops itgainsatranscendental style, strippedof itsoriginalself-importance, but di menuetto moderato’); it’sinitiallyarchaic in variation thewaltz returns (now marked ‘Tempo major. Itendsindecisively, andfor thefinal banalities of Diabelli’sthemeinaproud Eflat A fugueof course, exploiting therepeated-note of utter pathos.After thiswhatcancomenext? minor-key variations, creating some10 minutes into each half.Thisisthefirst of three expansive part of Var 11), whileinVar 29 headds bars first halfof Var 4, for instance, orthesecond lengths, cuttingoutbarshere andthere (inthe MG de Saint-Venant/Warner Classics resumes hisplay–direct collaboration withthe the BarbicanCentre. Next monthhealso Amsterdam Concertgebouwandhere at be heard atChicago’s Symphony Center, the Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Inrecital hecan Festival Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris andSan Deutsche Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, Budapest Munich andViennaPhilharmonicorchestras, This seasonheappearswiththePhilharmonia, others. Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, among Orchestra of Europe, Sinfonia Varsovia and with theScottish ChamberOrchestra, Chamber many performances directing from thekeyboard, Orchestra. Hehasalsogiven orchestras, andRoyal orchestras, Chicago andLondonSymphony Berlin PhilharmonicandStaatskapelle orchestra have includedappearances withthe Hall inSt Petersburg. His collaborations with Carnegie HallandtheMariinskyConcert the Royal Festival Hall,ViennaKonzerthaus, In recent seasonshehasgiven recitals at outstanding musiciansof hisgeneration. Piotr Anderszewski isregarded asoneof themost Piotr Anderszewski Piotr Anderszewski About the performer piano

his interpretations, Piotr Anderszewski hasbeen Recognised for theintensity and originalityof this year. Nos 25 and27, whichwas released inJanuary recent recording isof Mozart’sPianoConcertos and anECHOKlassikaward in2015. Hismost 2014, goingonto winboth a Suites Recording of theYear. Hisdiscof Bach’s BBC MusicMagazine received anECHOKlassikaward in2011 andtwo His recording devoted to soloworks by Schumann works, whichwon a praised recording of thecomposer’ssolopiano compatriot Szymanowski iscaptured inahighly works by Chopin.Hisaffinity withthemusicof his Nos 1, 3and6acriticallyacclaimed discof a Grammy-nominated CDof Bach’s Partitas ECHO Klassikaward. Hehasalsorecorded a ChocduMondedelaMusiqueandan on to receive anumberof prizes,including Beethoven’s 2000. Hisfirst recording for thelabelwas of Classics/Erato (previously Virgin Classics)since He hasbeenanexclusive artistwithWarner European tour. Scottish ChamberOrchestra for anextensive broadcast in2010. Schumann A third film by Monsaingeon, performance andhisPolish–Hungarian roots. (2008), captures thepianist’sreflections onmusic, the second, explores hisclose relationship withthepiece,while Anderszewski plays the‘DiabelliVariations’ Monsaingeon for ARTE. Thefirst of these, winning documentaries by thefilm maker Bruno He hasalsobeenthesubjectof two award- talent. given every four years to apianistof exceptional career, includingtheprestigious Gilmore Award, selected for several high-profile awards duringhis Nos 1, 3and5was released inNovember , was made for Polish Television andfirst Piotr Anderszewski, Unquiet Traveller Diabelli Variations Gramophone awards in2012, including Gramophone Anderszewski plays , which went , whichwent Award in2006. English English Piotr Piotr award award (2001),

7 About the performer Tue 5 Jun Yuja Wang in recital

Thu 21 Jun in recital

Images: Yuja Wang Fadil Berisha Murray Perahia Felix Broede Book now at barbican.org.uk/classical

Pianists A5 Anderszewski programme mono ad.indd 1 04/04/2018 15:56