Listen & tracks
1 of 10 tracks have a preview · 4 works · 71:57
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Piano Sonata in A-flat major, Op. 26Ludwig van Beethoven 4 movements19:46
- 1 Andante con Variazioni 7:04
- 2 Scherzo and Trio 2:45
- 3 Marcia Funebre: sulla morte d’un Eroe 7:22
- 4 Allegro: Rondo 2:35
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Piano Sonata in B-flat major, D 960Franz Schubert 4 movements45:36
- 5 Molto moderato 23:53
- 6 Andante sostenuto 9:39
- 7 Allegro vivace con delicatezza 4:07
- 8 Allegro ma non troppo 7:57
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9 Waldszenen, Op. 82 Robert Schumann Abschied 3:19
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10 Prelude in B-flat major, Op. 23, No. 2 Sergei Rachmaninoff 3:16
Beethoven’s Sonata in A-flat, Op. 26, holds the first true ‘funeral march’ in the piano repertoire. It mirrors the composer facing gathering deafness and despair.
Those personal crises echo a wider grief: the overwhelming loss that AIDS brought to the international artistic community, a loss without parallel.
Schubert, in 1828, wrote his last sonata while fatally ill and aware of impending death from syphilis. Beethoven’s death the year before had struck him a monumental blow, and he mourned it deeply.
Imo Pectore also includes Schumann’s Abschied (Farewell), recalling the young composer’s inconsolable grief on hearing of Schubert’s death.
Holtham’s playing is as intimate as the music itself.
In the artist’s words
I performed these works in Melbourne in 1994 at a fundraising concert on behalf of the Continuing Care Unit of Fairfield Hospital. At that concert I also played two encores which are included in this recording. Schumann’s Abschied (‘Farewell’) was composed in 1848-49, the last piece in Waldszenen. While written some twenty years after the death of his great musical influence, Schubert, this short piece reveals Schumann’s deep sense of loss when, as a young student, he was brought news of Schubert’s death: he cried throughout the night and was inconsolable. The other piece, the prelude by Rachmaninov (Op. 23, No. 2), is a fitting conclusion to this disc as it combines the pianist’s virtuosic agility with a tremendous sense of heroic triumph.
Reviews
...featuring Dr Ian Holtham playing “music from the inner recesses of the heart” (Imo Pectore) ... recorded in Melba Hall highlights the genius of Beethoven and Schubert, with other works by Schumann and Rachmaninov.
a well-chosen and intensely personal attempt to explore the reaction of the creative mind in the face of death.
Artists
Ian Holtham
piano
Professor Ian Holtham is one of Australia’s most distinguished and highly regarded pianists and pedagogues. His performances of the great Classical and Romantic repertoire have drawn packed houses and strong critical acclaim for many years.
Ludwig van Beethoven
composer
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a German composer and pianist whose music stands at the centre of the Western classical tradition, bridging the Classical and Romantic eras.
Franz Schubert
composer
Franz Schubert (1797–1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. In only thirty-one years he left a vast body of work, including over six hundred Lieder, and remains among the most frequently performed composers.
Robert Schumann
composer
Robert Schumann (1810–1856) was a German composer and music critic of the early Romantic era. His piano works and songs remain among the most enduring of the period.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
composer
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music.
Digital booklet
Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDFPerformers
- Ian Holtham · piano
Technical credits
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Recording Engineer
Martin Wright
Vaughan McAlley
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Venue
Melba Hall
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Thanks to
John McKinlay
Stephen Duns
Details
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 71 minutes 57 seconds
- Release date
- 1995
- Categories
- Classical, Keyboard
- Musical work copyright
- © 1995 Move Records
- Sound recording copyright
- ℗ 1995 Move Records
- Catalogue
- MD 3164
- EAN
- 9314574316421
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