Spring Recital Program

Santa Clara University
Department of Music

Spring 2021

Overview

This recital of solo works for classical piano celebrates the culmination of my junior year
at Santa Clara University. I have to admit that it feels anticlimactic to put these pieces away
without a live performance after months of hard work. However, given the limitations this year
due to COVID, I’m extremely grateful to have this opportunity to present my work and passion.
With support from SCU Presents, Katie Williams, Carolyn Guggemos, and my piano instructor
Hans Boepple, I was able to pre-record my performance in the recital hall on an amazing piano. I
am deeply grateful for the entire music department and their commitment to encouraging and
supporting student recitals despite a pandemic.

My relationship with classical piano has always been largely private and personal, even
within the music department at SCU. The pandemic increased this separation by making it harder
for me to access pianos and practice spaces and to meet with my instructor. Thus, working on
these two sonatas has been a uniquely solitary experience for me, especially as I navigated
virtual education and mental health struggles over the last year. Despite these challenges, this
year has made it clear to me that classical piano is my number one passion, and I am excited to
pursue further education and a career in music after graduating.

For this recital, I chose to prepare two contrasting sonatas by Beethoven and
Rachmaninoff. I stumbled upon Beethoven’s eighteenth piano sonata when the opening bird calls
of its first movement caught my ear. Given that Rachmaninoff is my favorite composer, I’ve
known and loved his second sonata for much longer, though I was always too daunted by its
difficulty. I’m very excited to be sharing these sonatas which have come to be two of my favorite
pieces by these composers.

Program

Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31 No. 3 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
I. Allegro Sergei Rachmaninoff (1874-1943)
II. Scherzo

III. Menuetto
IV. Allegro con fuoco
Sonata No. 2, Op. 36 (1931 revised version)

I. Allegro agitato
II. Non allegro
III. Allegro molto

Program Notes

Beethoven’s eighteenth sonata for solo piano was written in 1802 and is one of the earlier
sonatas of his “middle period.” The “Tempest” sonata immediately precedes and overshadows
this one, “The Hunt,” which is much more carefree and upbeat in contrast. The first movement is
what sparked my love for this sonata from the very first chord: a unique harmony for
Beethoven’s time that doesn’t resolve to the tonic key of E-flat major until several measures into
the piece. The second movement is even more fun to play: an unusual scherzo, light and playful
but in duple instead of triple meter. It’s full of surprises and humor! The third movement is a
more lyrical minuet and trio—slower, but still moving along happily. Finally, the fourth
movement ends this hunt story with a galloping finale. As a whole, this sonata is unique in
several ways: it has four movements, none of them are slow, and three of them are in full sonata
form. It’s a deceptively difficult piece despite its sunny material.

I’ve always loved Rachmaninoff and his second piano sonata, particularly its middle
movement. Though he composed the sonata in 1913, Rachmaninoff revised it thoroughly in
1931. I distinctly remember Professor Boepple noting that good composers only ever revise their
works for a good reason. Personally, I prefer the revised version anyways. Though Rachmaninoff
simplified some of the technical challenges in the piece’s original version, it’s still one of the
most difficult works I’ve tackled to date. Listen for bells and choral textures throughout the
sonata—two of Rachmaninoff’s signature sounds. Also, see if you hear the falling third
Kukushka or “cuckoo” calling early in the second movement. Pianist Olga Kern describes how
in Russia, hearing this bird’s call is a prompt to ask “How many years do I have left to live?”
You may notice this sonata’s bird only calls three times.