Liszt: Piano Sonata; Dante Sonata; Petrarch Sonnets

Featuring

Angela Hewitt
Franz Liszt

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Composer Biography

Franz Liszt was incredibly generous, never charging his approximately 400 pupils for lessons and masterclasses, and giving all his performances after his mid-thirties for charity.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, between May 19-22, 2014, and features Angela Hewitt performing on a FAZIOLI piano.

Compositional Technique

Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor is a piece of 'absolute' music, meaning it has no story attached, despite many attempts by others to find narratives within it.

Compositional Technique

The 'Dante Sonata' is inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy, using a descending octave tritone motif to portray hell and transforming themes to bring deliverance.

Performer Biography

Angela Hewitt, a leading pianist, is especially renowned for her award-winning recordings of all the major keyboard works of Bach, described as 'one of the record glories of our age'.

Composition History

Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor was written amidst both success and disappointments in his life, and is dedicated to Robert Schumann.

Composer Biography

At the age of 35, Liszt retired from his career as a concert pianist to dedicate more time to composing, settling in Weimar as Kapellmeister extraordinaire.