{"id":5117,"date":"2011-10-16T16:49:51","date_gmt":"2011-10-16T05:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=5117"},"modified":"2011-10-16T16:49:51","modified_gmt":"2011-10-16T05:49:51","slug":"houghs-sonatas-challenge-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/houghs-sonatas-challenge-convention\/","title":{"rendered":"hough’s sonatas challenge convention"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Music Viva presents pianist and savant\u00a0<\/em>Stephen Hough\u00a0in two\u00a0Sydney recitals this week.<\/p>\n

Featuring the\u00a0sonatas of\u00a0 Beethoven, Scriabin and Liszt, all of which challenged convention at the time,\u00a0the most curiosity\u00a0may be aroused by the Australian premiere of Hough’s own composition, broken branches<\/em>,\u00a0commissioned by Wigmore Hall and Musica Viva Australia. Composed in 2010, Hough premiered\u00a0the piece in London at the Wigmore Hall in June this year.<\/p>\n

Hough has described broken branches <\/em>as a sonata for piano. Breaking the mould, he has constructed 16 movements int his work, each with a title that describes its mood:<\/p>\n

Prelude (Autumn) \u2013 desolato \u2013 fragile \u2013 inquieto \u2013 piangendo \u2013 immenso \u2013 sentimento \u2013 malancolico \u2013 passionato \u2013 freddo \u2013 volando \u2013 ritmico \u2013 non credo \u2013 morendo \u2013 crux fidelis \u2013 Postlude (Spring).<\/em><\/p>\n

So why the title ‘sonata’. In his blog posted on the eve of\u00a0 the\u00a0Wigmore Hall premiere, he says ”\u00a0I wanted a title which would pull these fragments together.\u00a0 The work is not a collection of \u00a0albumleaves \u2013 of saplings existing comfortably in their own space \u2013 but branches from a single tree”.<\/p>\n

\u00a0He adds: “The climax of this Sonata is a section called \u2018non credo\u2019, based on material from the Credo of my \u2018Missa Mirabilis<\/em>\u2019 which explores issues of doubt and despair in the context of the concrete affirmations of the Nicene Creed.\u00a0 The penultimate section, a wordless but metrically exact setting of the 6th<\/sup> century text \u2018Crux Fidelis<\/em>\u2019, reveals another \u2018branch\u2019 \u2013 the wood of the Cross…..Branches begin their lives anew in the Spring, and nothing is so broken that it cannot be healed”.<\/p>\n

Surprised at Hough’s compositional activities? He has also written a\u00a0Mass for Westminster Abbey, a Trio for members of the Berlin Philharmonic, and a set of Other Love Songs.<\/p>\n

broken branches <\/em>will be released on CD in November, and the music has been published by Joseph Weinberger.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

Interview with The Telegraph prior to the world premiere of broken branches<\/em>at the Wigmore Hall:<\/p>\n

\u00a0http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/culture\/music\/classicalmusic\/8566039\/Stephen-Hough-Its-a-great-time-to-be-a-composer.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Review of the Wigmore Hall premiere: http:\/\/www.musicomh.com\/classical\/wigmore-hough_0611.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

Review of Hough’s Perth concert: http:\/\/au.news.yahoo.com\/thewest\/entertainment\/a\/-\/entertainment\/10420651\/review-stephen-hough-piano\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Program<\/strong>
\nBEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor, Op.27 No.2, (“Moonlight”) (c1801)\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0
\nHOUGH (born 1961) Sonata for piano (broken branches) (2010)*\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0
\nSCRIABIN (1872-1915) Sonata No.4 in F sharp major (c1903)\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0
\nSCRIABIN Sonata No.5 in F sharp major (c1907)\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0
\nLISZT (1811-1886) Sonata in B minor, S178 (c1852-3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

To book online: www.cityrecitalhall.com<\/a>\u00a0 call 8256 2222 or in person at The City Recital Hall, 2, Angel Place, Sydney.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Music Viva presents pianist and savant\u00a0Stephen Hough\u00a0in two\u00a0Sydney recitals this week. Featuring the\u00a0sonatas of\u00a0 Beethoven, Scriabin and Liszt, all of which challenged…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"sls_format":[],"class_list":["post-5117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shows"],"acf":{"deck":"","is_featured":false,"media_type":"standard","audio_embed":"","video_url":""},"yoast_head":"\nhough's sonatas challenge convention - Sounds Like Sydney<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/houghs-sonatas-challenge-convention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"hough's sonatas challenge convention - Sounds Like Sydney\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Music Viva presents pianist and savant\u00a0Stephen Hough\u00a0in two\u00a0Sydney recitals this week. 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