Prokofiev's second sonata, composed in 1912, has endlessly fascinated pianists: a paradoxical series of superimposed ideas, where Romanticism, parody, brutality, tender lyricism, and infinite changes of texture compete; indeed, one musicologist has described it as an example of 'polypersonalia'. Its large-scale architecture, arresting complexity, brilliance, dreamy narratives and toccata-like finale make it one of the composer's greatest works.
This concert sets Prokofiev's masterpiece in the wider context of 20th-century Russian piano music with Kabalevsky's witty and poised piano miniatures, his delightful children's pieces and his first sonatina. Two meditative and poetic works by Fauré provide a starkly contrasting contemporary context to the rest of this programme
more about David Christophersen
Oslo-born David Christophersen, Artistic Director of the Cambridge Concert Artists series at West Road Concert Hall, has performed throughout the UK, including the Woburn Abbey Festival, Bristol's St. George's, Edinburgh's Reid Hall, Oxford's Holywell Music Room, London's St John's Smith Square and broadcast for BBC Radio 3. Recent projects have included premiering new solo and chamber music by Jeremy Thurlow, Maria Ptaszynska and Robin Holloway; performances with Marie-Noelle Kendall of Robin Holloway's monumental two-piano classic 'Gilded Goldbergs' and a tour with Prokofiev's War Sonatas, described by the Scotsman as 'exactly right'.