Program Notes: Pianist Yulianna Avdeeva

In this program of works by Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt, pianist Yulianna Avdeeva presents two different visions of the Romantic period. Chopin’s diverse and innovative portfolio is on full display among his nationalistic Mazurkas and Grand Polonaise as well as his unconventional takes on the Prelude and Scherzo, while Liszt’s enterprising piano sonata forecasted avant-garde developments in his late period works. Although Chopin and Liszt were born just one year apart, Liszt would outlive Chopin by nearly 40 years, during which he composed all three works featured on this program. 

The mazurka is a traditional Polish dance that moves in sweeping groups of three counts, similar to the waltz. In the nearly 60 mazurkas that Chopin composed throughout his career, he featured interesting accents on weak beats inspired by the dance. Each of the 4 Mazurkas, Op. 30 are united by tightly knit motivic material that is repeated, varied and highly embellished. In these works, Chopin invites the pianist to use rubato, or expressive timing, to convey the capricious nature of this material as it whirls through cycles of pattern and variation.  

Chopin’s Barcarolle in F-sharp major, Op. 60 is one of several works in the classical canon inspired by the folk songs of Venetian gondoliers. Composed in 1845–1846, just three years before his death, the work’s swaying meter and spacious writing for the left hand suggests the motion of oars, while melodies in a lyrical, bel canto style channel a dramatic character that would be right at home in the opera house. Throughout the work, Chopin develops the understated, elegant theme with increasing ornamentation and detail.   

With his 24 Preludes, Op. 28 (1839), Chopin redefined the prelude form and solidified its place in the canon for centuries to come. While preludes were historically introductory or improvisatory pieces, those composed by Chopin stand firmly on their own as fully composed glimpses into well-defined emotional worlds. Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45, composed in 1841, is one of just three preludes by Chopin outside of the Op. 28 set. It begins with a series of descending chords that organically evolve into a texture reminiscent of his Nocturnes, with ringing melodic material set over a widely spaced and resonant left-hand accompaniment. The highly chromatic nature of this work, coupled with its fragmented melodies, creates a sonic landscape shrouded in mystery. 

Chopin composed a total of four scherzos between 1833 and 1843, each a monumental work that is grandiose in conception and mature in execution. Chopin’s scherzos are often compared to his four ballades, which are similar in their broad scope and extended duration. The Italian word “scherzo” means “joke,” and typically denotes a musical work that has a lightness to it, an element of surprise and a spirit of play. Chopin’s scherzos, by contrast, are brimming with drama and power. 

In 1838, Chopin began composing his Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39 in the abandoned monastery of Valldemossa, a village on the Balearic island of Majorca, Spain, and completed it in France the following year. The work opens with menacing and splintered passagework that invokes restless forces in darkness. A pensive and noble chordal section soon follows, with brightly cascading gestures interjecting from the upper register of the instrument. Chopin leaves ample room to explore themes both sweet and menacing, before a mad rush to the finale ensues. 

The Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante, Op. 22 started its life as a work for piano and orchestra that Chopin revised and published just a few years later as a work for solo piano in 1834. In the introductory Andante spianato sequence, a wistful, nostalgic melody is supported by an arpeggiated accompaniment not unlike a murmuring brook. A fanfare-like transition heralds the arrival of the Polonaise, named after the lively traditional Polish dance. With its expansive theme and disparate characters, the grand nature of this polonaise becomes clear.  

The piano works of Liszt are celebrated for their imaginative characters, visionary use of the piano and unprecedented virtuosity. And in the last decade of his life, Liszt additionally became fascinated by dissonant harmonies — sounds that are harsh, unresolved and discordant. Though the composer had long been obsessed with death, his late period music may have taken such a turn due to a series of tragic deaths in his family, diminishing professional relationships and a period of retirement during which he began a career as a Catholic priest. Two of the works performed on this program are emblematic of Liszt’s late period, which not only jostled his contemporaries but sent shock waves into the 20th century and beyond.  

Composed in 1885, just one year before his death, Liszt’s Bagatelle sans tonalite, S. 216a is true to its name as it avoids feeling grounded in any one key due to its persistent chromaticism. Despite its flirtations with atonality, Liszt cast the work in a waltz form where its skittering melodies dance with playful ease. Also composed in 1885, Liszt unveiled a menacing and malevolent character replete with harsh and dissonant chords in Unstern! – Sinistre, S. 208, translated as “Unlucky Star! Sinister, Disaster.” He projects this ominous character with equal parts starkness and dread, even in its quieter, chorale-like moments. 

Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor, S. 178 was completed in 1853 and published the following year. Although it was composed decades ahead of his late period works, the Piano Sonata features an experimental approach to form. The work’s multiple movements are performed without pause, and the three main motivic ideas are rapidly introduced at the start. At times violent and stormy, othertimes tender and nostalgic, the Piano Sonata is chock-full of memorable themes that reflect the totality of the human condition. Although early performances of the work sparked outrage, and its fiendish difficulty repelled even the most virtuosic of performers, in time it has earned a celebrated place in the concert repertoire and is lauded as one of Liszt’s crowning achievements. 

Tristan McKay © 2024 

Tristan McKay is a pianist, educator and writer. His research on contemporary music is featured in A Semiotic Approach to Open Notations (Cambridge University Press) and The American Journal of Semiotics, among others. Tristan has premiered dozens of new works as a solo and chamber artist, and he maintains a virtual piano studio from his home in Michigan. He holds a PhD from New York University.