CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Concerto and Recital Works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, Sergey Prokofiev, and Robert Schumann A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music in Music, Piano Performance By Knarik Petrosyan May 2018 The graduate project of Knarik Petrosyan is approved: _____________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Lorenz Gamma Date _____________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Gayle Kowalchyk Date _____________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Dmitry Rachmanov, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii Table of Contents Signature Page ii Abstract iv Toccata in E minor, BWV 914 by Johann Sebastian Bach 1 Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 by Ludwig van Beethoven 4 Variations Sériuses in D minor, Op. 54 by Felix Mendelssohn 7 Valée d’Obermann in E minor by Franz Liszt 11 Sonata No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 29 by Sergey Prokofiev 15 Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 by Robert Schumann 19 Bibliography 23 Appendix A: Program I (Solo Recital) 25 Appendix B: Program II (Concerto) 27 iii Abstract CONCERTO AND RECITAL WORKS BY JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, FELIX MENDELSSOHN, FRANZ LISZT, SERGEY PROKOFIEV, AND ROBERT SHUMANN By Knarik Petrosyan Master of Music in Music, Piano Performance This project is a survey of compositions spanning from the Baroque Period to the 20th century that were performed on my Master’s Degree solo and concerto recitals. The survey provides history and analysis of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, Sergei Prokofiev, and Robert Schumann. iv Toccata in E minor, BWV 914 by Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685-1750) compositions represent the high point of baroque music. Bach produced masterpieces in almost all genres and forms of the Baroque period combining technical mastery with emotional depth. One of the common forms used by the Baroque composers that Bach largely explored throughout the early period of his life was the toccata. Originating in northern Italy during the late sixteenth century, the toccata was a popular Renaissance form for keyboard and lute that became of significant importance for keyboard and harpsichord throughout the Baroque period.1 Similar to preludes, toccatas usually have an improvisatory quality which is reinforced through rhythmic flexibility and elaborate embellishment of the melodic lines. Often through the use of complex polyphonic textures and speedy passages, the toccata form gives an ability to the performer to display his/her virtuosity and technical brilliance: “…the Toccata seems always to have implied a certain amount of brilliance and bravura, and to have made considerable demands on the player’s technique.”2 Bach’s seven keyboard toccatas were written during his Weimar (1708-17) and early Cöthen (1717-23) periods: “Recent chronology would suggest that the earliest of these works, BWV 913-5, date from before 1708, the latest, BWV 916, from around 1719.”3 Probably because these pieces are among Bach’s earliest compositions, his seven toccatas have been quite underrated in comparison to his other works for keyboard and often neglected by eminent performers. As Maitland states, “If I were asked why these beautiful Toccatas are so sedulously ignored by 1 Jean Ferris, Music: The Art of Listening, 7th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), p.140. 2 J. A Fuller Maitland, “The Toccatas of Bach,” Sammelbände der Internationalen Musikgesellschaft, 14. Jahrg. H. 4 (1913): 578-582; see p. 579. 3Richard Abrman, “Toccatas in C minor (BWV 911), D Minor (913), E minor (914), G Minor (915) and G Major (916) by Johann Sebastian Bach and Trevor Pinnock,” Early Music 8 No. 2, Keboard Issue 2 (1980): 261-262; see p. 262. 1 pianists, I should be obliged that I have no idea at all. They are grateful, and in their way very showy, but for years together no pianist inserted even one in his programme, though nearly all the eminent performers play and delight in transcriptions of the organ Toccatas.”4 The Toccata in E minor, BWV 914, is probably the earliest among Bach’s keyboard toccatas. The exact date of the composition is unknown, but according to Bach’s biographer Phillip Spitta, it was composed during the Weimar period when Bach was in his 20s, at around 1708.5 The E minor Toccata is a great example that displays the development of Bach’s compositional style. This toccata consists of four movements. The opening movement is a brief prelude-like introduction with an improvisatory quality that is reminiscent of some of Bach’s later organ works, such as Toccata and Fugue in D, BWV 565. In contrast to the opening sections of the other six keyboard toccatas, all of which start with rapid bravura passages to display the performer’s technical abilities, this section is comparatively understated. It starts with rather solemn statements in the bass in contrast with the upper voices. The abundant use of dissonant harmonies and semitones expresses deep mourning and grief. The opening section leads to a double fugue for four voices with strict counterpoint, marked Un poco Allegro. In contrast to the opening section, the second movement has a dance-like character. It is highly chromatic and harmonically unstable throughout. The thoughtful double fugue is brief, but it displays “a characteristic blend of skill and expressiveness.”6 The two subjects are presented together at the beginning, and they work together throughout the movement, which creates a very alluring effect. The subject in the tenor voice in m.1 has a more leading character and feels more dominant due to its lively syncopated rhythm, thus making the other subject in the alto voice appear as a counter-subject. The third movement is a fantasia-like Adagio written over a descending bass line, which is 4Maitland, p. 581. 5 Maitland, p. 580. 6 Harvey Grace, “The Clavier Works of Bach: The Toccatas,” The Musical Times 68 No.1009 (1927): 220-223; see p.220. 2 also reminiscent of a recitative. This movement acts as a bridge between the fugato section and the last fugue movement, which creates a big contrast with the two fugues due to its meditative character. It is highly improvisatory, full of scalar passages, arpeggios, and excessive embellishments that should be performed with rhythmic flexibility. The final movement, Allegro, is a fast and brilliant three-voice fugue with an extended subject in a perpetual motion. The four-bar subject contains elements of Italian violin style that should not be played very legato. The main subject is first introduced in the alto voice in the tonic key of E minor, and then in the soprano voice in the dominant key; the third time the subject appears again in the tonic key, but this time it is an octave lower. The subsequent episodes are based on the development of the main subject. This fugue is a great representation of one of Bach’s most commonly used compositional techniques in which he elaborates a single melodic idea in a composition and creates unity through a constant rhythmic drive. 3 Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 by Ludwig van Beethoven German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is undoubtedly one of the highest musical geniuses of all time. He unfolded “new realms of musical expression and profoundly influenced composers throughout the nineteenth century.” 7 His particular ability to blend various compositional styles and methods is quite unique and remarkable. Beethoven’s most beloved instrument, the piano, inspired him to compose one of the greatest collections in music, the Thirty-Two Piano Sonatas. According to Kastner, among all of Beethoven’s compositions, “the thirty-two piano sonatas represent the most personal side of his genius. Throughout the whole of his life, Beethoven confided to the piano his most secret thoughts and made it the interpreter of his visions.” 8 Beethoven’s sonatas are divided into three groups that follow the course of Beethoven’s deafness and subsequent stylistic transformations: “the first group reflected rules established by Haydn and Mozart; the second group showed the fully developed drama of his maturity; the last exhibited the rare beauty and detachment of spiritual isolation.”9 The Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 was composed during Beethoven’s late Middle period, in August of 1814, while he was in Vienna. This was the first piano sonata Beethoven composed after a five-year break in writing sonatas for piano.10 Beethoven dedicated this sonata to his close friend and patron, Count Moritz Lichnowsky. Unlike most of Beethoven’s piano sonatas that are cast in three or four movements, this sonata is composed of two movements. Instead of the traditional Italian tempo markings, Beethoven used, for the first time, German headings for each 7 Roger, Kamien, Music Appreciation, 6th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), p. 193. 8 Rudolf Kastner, Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas (Berlin: AFA-Verlag, 1935), p. 4, quoted in Stefan L. Treber, “A Schenkerian Analysis of Beethoven’s E Minor Piano Sonata, Opus 90,” M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 2010, p. 1-2. 9 Patricia Fallows-Hamond, Three Hundred Years at the Keyboard (California: Ross Books, 1984), p. 64. 10 Beethoven’s previous Piano Sonata in E-flat Major, No. 26, Op. 81a, known as “Les Adieux,” was composed almost five years before the Op. 90. 4 movement that provide performance instructions and convey the character of each movement: the first movement is marked Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck (“With liveliness and throughout with feeling and expression”), and the second movement is marked Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen (“Not too quickly and to be performed in a very singing manner”).