As part of the NWU’s virtual concert series, Tinus Botha presents a piano recital that will be available on YouTube according to the dates and time indicated. The programme, entitled Schubertiade 1, consists of some of the most loved works by Austrian composer Franz Schubert. The sonata in B-flat major, Schubert’s last sonata for piano, is considered by many to be a monument in the literature for solo piano. Its four movements accompany the listener through a vast world of moods, colours, and characters.
Together, these movements constitute one of the finest sonatas in Romantic literature. The four Impromptus (opus 90) is a popular and relatable set of the early 19th century. In the first of the series, Schubert demonstrates his harmonic ingenuity in a set of variations on two themes. The second reveals the composer’s ability to transfigure simple scale patterns into a work of great elegance and beauty. In the third Impromptu, Schubert’s incomparable lyrical facility comes to the fore, and cascading arpeggios and choral responses are expressively transformed into sonic poetry in the fourth. Lovers of piano music (and of Schubert) are invited to share in this homage to the great Austrian master.
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