Program Notes
Sonata for Piano No. 2, “Preludes and Fugues”
Richard Burke writes:
Sonata for Piano No. 2, completed in 2012, is subtitled “Preludes and Fugues.” As the two titles suggest, the work is a musical hybrid, bringing together the highly varied textures usually explored in sets of preludes and fugues with the development and build of a sonata.
The first movement opens with a virtually complete prelude in C major. The simple rising scale that recurs in the prelude eventually becomes a fugue subject and a fugal exposition begins (both parts also functioning as the introduction and opening theme of a sonata). Other preludes and fugues interrupt the progress of the fugue, leading to series of ideas that act as a development. Nothing returns, however, and the movement ends quietly in B major.
The second movement opens with a passacaglia built on a short sequence of chords. This is abruptly brought to an end by a tumultuous fugue in A minor, which is itself disrupted by glimpses of other fugal fragments, some merely a measure long, and a few bringing to mind fugues of the Baroque period. Near the end of the movement, after a long cadenza-like passage in which a descending pattern (a sequence) loses a note on each repetition, an echo of the passacaglia is heard and a new idea brings the movement to a quiet close.
The third movement attempts to unify the disparate elements of the other two movements by gradually winding its way to a pedal point, traditionally the final section of a classic fugue. Over this extended pedal, many of the themes of the work are recalled, now all in C, climaxing in a return to the prelude that opened the work.
The sonata was written with the special talents of Geoffrey Burleson in mind, in particular his ability to clarify complex textures and his remarkable intuitive grasp of a composer’s intentions, both essential to the success of a long, technically challenging work like this one.
Equally active as a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician, and jazz performer, Geoffrey Burleson, pianist, has performed to wide acclaim throughout Europe and North America. Current recording projects include Camille Saint-Saëns: Complete Piano Works, on 5 CDs, for the new Naxos Grand Piano label. Volumes 1 (Complete Piano Études), 2 and 3 have been released to high acclaim from Gramophone, International Record Review, Diapason (France) and elsewhere, and have garnered International Piano Choice Awards from International Piano Magazine. Other recent recordings include Vincent Persichetti: Complete Piano Sonatas (New World Records), which received a BBC Music Choice award from the BBC Music Magazine. Mr. Burleson’s concerto appearances include the Buffalo Philharmonic, New England Philharmonic, Boston Musica Viva and the Holland Symfonia in the Netherlands. He teaches piano at Princeton University, and is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Piano Studies at Hunter College-City University of New York.
