Ries: Complete Piano Sonatas and Sonatinas, Vol. 4

Featuring

Susan Kagan
Ferdinand Ries

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Composer Biography

Ferdinand Ries, the composer, was a family friend, piano student, and early biographer of Beethoven, maintaining a relationship with him in Bonn, Vienna, and London.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Ries's piano sonatas anticipated the style of early Romantic composers like Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Chopin, incorporating features such as poignant harmonic language, expressive melodies, and brilliant figuration.

Composer Biography

Ferdinand Ries studied piano with Beethoven in Vienna around 1803 and was likely Beethoven's closest friend during that period, assisting him with musical and secretarial tasks.

Performer Biography

Susan Kagan, the pianist on this album, is an author and educator with a Ph.D. from the City University of New York, and has received awards for her contributions to music.

Interpretation

Pianist Susan Kagan is described as an eloquent advocate and sympathetic interpreter of Ferdinand Ries's piano sonatas and sonatinas, on which she is an acknowledged authority.

Compositional Technique

Ries's compositional style includes dramatic dynamic contrasts, abrupt changes in tempo and mood, harmonic shifts, ornate figuration, wide stretches, and radical use of the sustaining pedal.