About this time last year I was finishing up a multi-week exploration of the greatest piano sonatas from each period from Classical to contemporary. This topic may not be as cosmically significant as the Spider Nebula (pictured above), but I think it's worth discussing in the piano community. I always meant to create a landing... Continue Reading →
Not every piano concerto has a significant cadenza, but we tend to remember the ones that do. They are spotlights for the performer to show their skills without any orchestral accompaniment in the way, and often composers save both their most challenging material and some important thematic development for these sections. In the Classical period... Continue Reading →
#2: Prokofiev - Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82 (1940) This is the first of Prokofiev’s “War Sonata” trilogy, and boy is it a harrowing journey through wartime emotions. For a while I thought No. 7 would be the one to represent Prokofiev in the ranking, but No. 6 just kept grabbing me.... Continue Reading →
