Binary Beethoven and 'Transcriptions'

Sergey Sobolev returns 

with two great programs

16th and 18th October

Encore concert on Monday 19th

Graduate of Moscow Conservatory 
and 
Royal College of Music, London

1^st Prize Nikolai Rubinstein Competition, Moscow

2^nd Prize International Liszt Competition, Weimar
3rd Prize International Scriabin Competition, Moscow

4^th Prize Tchaikovsky Competition, Moscow

Laureate, International Santander Competition
Laureate, Queen Elisabeth Competition, Brussels

Two separate programs on Friday 16th and Sunday 18th October

Reservations: 1,200 baht for one concert. 2,000 baht for both. 
Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Friday, 16th October, 6pm

Binary Beethoven 

Four sonatas with opus numbers in zeros and ones: 10, 10, 101, 110

or.... Beethoven young and old: two early and two late sonatas

Piano Sonata no. 6 in F major, opus 10 no.2

Piano Sonata no. 7 in D major, opus 10 no. 3

Piano Sonata no. 28 in A major, opus 101

Piano Sonata no. 31 in A-flat major, opus 110

Four of Beethoven's great sonatas; two early sonatas and two late sonatas. The opus 10 sonatas were completed and published in 1798 when Beethoven was 28 years old. They are witty, lyrical and full of surprises. They also contain structural innovations that set the stage for his later works and mark a departure from the strict classical form.

Opus 101 was written eighteen years later in 1816. It is the first of the final five sonatas. Beethoven was now completely deaf. He described the sonata as "a series of impressions and reveries". 

Opus 110 was composed in 1821. Beethoven was gravely ill with jaundice, delaying the completion of the work. Like opus 101, the sonata begins with a lyrical opening theme. Then comes a scherzo based on two folk songs, "Our cat has kittens" and "I'm a slob, you're a slob". 

The third movement is a masterpiece that has inspired all sorts of nonsense from the critics. For example, Vincent d’Indy described the movement as “one of the most poignant expressions of grief conceivable to man”. Charles Rosen states that Beethoven does not "simply represent the return to life, but persuades us physically of the process." They might be right. Come and listen to the piece and decide for yourself.

Sunday 18th October, 5pm

Transcriptions - piano transcriptions by Liszt and Rachmaninov

The piano transcription was one of the most popular forms of music in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The idea of a transcription is a faithful reduction of a more complex score to the piano. The original could be an orchestral work, a song from an opera or a chamber work. The purpose could be to make the work accessible to the home, in the days before recorded music. Or it could simply be the composer's fascination with the subject matter.

The granddaddy of the transcription was Franz Liszt. He transcribed the works of 99 composers, from Kornél Ábrányi to Géza Zichy. He also transcribed all of the Beethoven symphonies. In the 20th century, Rachmaninov was one of the most prolific transcribers. 

Sergey has arranged a program focusing on the transcriptions of these two composers.

Schubert - Liszt: Songs: Die Stadt,  Litany, Aufenthalt and Fruehlingsglaube

Chopin - Liszt: The Maiden's Wish, Mes joies and The Bridegroom (from the 6 Polish songs) 

Verdi - Liszt: Reminiscences de Simone Boccanegra
                                              

J. Strauss - C. Tausig: (Liszt's pupil) Valse-caprice on the theme "One lives but once"

Verdi - Liszt: Aida Paraphrase. We heard this last year and Sergey has included it at my request.

Tchaikovsky - Rachmaninov:  Lullaby opus 16 no. 1

Bizet - Rachmaninov: Menuet from L'Arlesienne

Mussorgsky - Rachmaninov: Gopak from the opera, Sorochinsky Fair

Rachmaninov - Rachmaninov: Romances, Lilacs op. 21 no 5 and Daisies op. 38 no 3

Mendelssohn - Rachmaninov: Scherzo from "Midsummer Night's Dream"

Kreisler - Rachmaninov: Valses, Liebesleid and Liebesfreud

New: Encore Concert on Monday 19th at 6pm

Selections from the previous two concerts plus a surprise or two. Only 500 baht if you've attended either of the other concerts. Children free. No catering. Bring your own. 
All proceeds will go to the struggling artist.

Reservations: 1,200 baht for one concert. 2,000 baht for both. 2,500 baht for all three nights of 1,700 for either Friday or Sunday and Monday. Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Sergey Sobolev is a graduate of both Moscow Conservatory and the Royal College of Music in London. He has a long list of prizes and awards, including 4th prize in the 2007 Tchaikovsky Competition - only one in a hundred applicants makes it to the finals, as I just discovered last month.

Sergey visited us last year to great audience acclaim. According to at least two members of the audience his Scriabin was the best they had ever heard.

Sergey is a great pianist and a great musician. He puts a lot of thought into his programs, making them interesting and thematic and always considering the enjoyment of the audience. Please join me for these two wonderful programs.

Reservations: 1,200 baht for one concert. 2,000 baht for both. Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp: search for 'Eelswamp' on google maps. Directions can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html

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