Prokofiev's arresting single-movement first sonata was written when the composer was fifteen. Although its brilliance is firmly in the late romantic Russian tradition, with echoes of Skryabin and Medtner, it anticipates features of his later piano-writing: widely spaced lines, bell-like textures, rich percussive and orchestral effects and above all, its rigorously skilful use of sonata form.
From the same period, three delicate and gripping Rachmaninov preludes and the searching poetry of Fauré's turn-of-the-century compositions set the youthful Prokofiev in his contemporary context and help to demonstrate the maturity and effectiveness of his first sonata.
The recital is introduced by Grieg's delightful 'Holberg Suite' in its original piano version; the work's dedication to the memory of the great 18th-century Dano-Norwegian dramatist is appropriately underlined by its construction as a Baroque keyboard suite. The suite's melodious brilliance never fails to charm audiences.
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'.