In my current piano recital program, I interpret compositions from different styles and eras. The first item on the program, the C minor Sonata Hob. XVI/20 by Joseph Haydn, is like an opera in miniature. A lyrical and thoughtful Andante con moto is heard between two congenial outer movements.
The Haydn Sonata is followed by the colorful masked ball Papillons by Robert Schumann, in which nocturnal, colorful figures cavort in brief but detailed sketches - funny, sad, wild, bizarre!
The second part of the concert takes us to Spain, more precisely to Andalusia, to the province and Mediterranean city of Almería. Isaac Albéniz transferred the calm and melancholy mood of this region onto music paper, incorporating rhythms and songs from Spanish folklore and flamenco.
The concert ends with the virtuosic and expressive sounds of pieces nos. 1, 2 and 5 from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Études-tableaux Op. 39.
