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Titans of the Piano

Titans of the Piano: Beethoven, Liszt and the Power of Romanticism

 An exploration of two towering figures of nineteenth century piano, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) and Franz Liszt (1811-1886), showing how they used the instrument as a medium for creative and personal expression.  This carefully curated virtuoso recital places Beethoven’s triumphant “Waldstein” Sonata (1804), regarded as one the greatest piano works of all time, alongside lesser known, but equally beautiful, pieces such as Liszt’s exquisite “Sposalizio,” dating from the 1850s, a hauntingly personal evocation of a painting by Raphael.  The recital ends with Liszt’s barnstorming arrangement of the unofficial Hungarian national anthem, the Rákóczi March.

Length: 90 minutes, including intermission (60-minute shorter recital also possible)

Two excerpts from this program:

1. The last movement of Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata, op. 53.

2. Liszt’s Valse-Impromptu.

 Program

Thirty-Two Variations on an Original Theme in C Minor, WoO 80  – Beethoven
Piano Sonata in C, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”) – Beethoven

  • Allegro con brio
  • Introduzione: Adagio molto – attacca
  • Rondo.  Allegretto moderato – prestissimo

Intermission

Sposalizio (from Années de pèlerinage, Book 2) – Liszt
Valse-Impromptu – Liszt
La Regatta Veneziana (from Soirées musicales) – Liszt/Rossini
Liebestraum No. 3 – Liszt
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 in A minor (“Rákóczi March”) – Liszt