Zofia Lissa

Sechs Klavierstucke, Op. 118 by Johannes Brahms is one of the most difficult works for an artist to perform in terms of interpretation. The mood of sadness, reflection and melancholy, which runs through almost all the links of the cycle, prompts both the performer and the listener to reflect. The Sonata for Piano and Viola in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1, coming from the late period of Brahms' works too, is also a demanding composition. The piece contains elements of the classical sonata form, but also harmonically advanced harmonic and melodic sections typical of the late Romanticism. Both works by Brahms, which you can listen to on the album of Zofia Antes and Aleksandra Batog, reveal a series of musical phenomena symptomatic only for the late works of the composer.

According to Marek Toporowski, the French composer Hyacinthe Jadin (1776–1800) was the author of ‘the greatest masterpieces of the French literature for the fortepiano from the time of the Revolution.’ Dying in poverty from tuberculosis at the age of 25, Jadin nonetheless achieved much in his brief life, composing both orchestral and chamber music with a bias towards his own instrument of the piano, such as concertos and these sonatas with optional violin accompaniment. Several published collections have not survived – or not been recovered – including a further 12 sonatas for the keyboard.

Sechs Klavierstucke, Op. 118 by Johannes Brahms is one of the most difficult works for an artist to perform in terms of interpretation. The mood of sadness, reflection and melancholy, which runs through almost all the links of the cycle, prompts both the performer and the listener to reflect. The Sonata for Piano and Viola in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1, coming from the late period of Brahms' works too, is also a demanding composition. The piece contains elements of the classical sonata form, but also harmonically advanced harmonic and melodic sections typical of the late Romanticism. Both works by Brahms, which you can listen to on the album of Zofia Antes and Aleksandra Batog, reveal a series of musical phenomena symptomatic only for the late works of the composer.