Youth Day
Thursday, August 12 & Friday, August 13
Since August 12, 1999, the United Nations observes International Youth Day every year to amplify the voices of young people and to support young people's initiatives all over the globe. Stingray Classica commemorates International Youth Day on two consecutive days by introducing you to up-and-coming music talent from Europe. Five performances on Thursday, August 12 and Friday, August 13 showcase the admirable dedication and impressive skill of Belgian pianists between 16 and 27 years: Alexander Declercq, Aude van de Keere, Clara Strobel, Julie Noiret, and Simon Pierre Pollin.
Pianoparels: Liszt - Piano Sonata in B minor
Thursday, August 12 | 10:00
In the series “Weer-klank, Pianoparels”, ten pianists play short recitals at Quatre Mains Klaviercentrum, Ghent, recorded in November 2020. As part of the series, Alexander Declercq (*1998) performs Franz Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor, S. 178. Completed in 1853, this piece is considered one of Liszt’s greatest works, and it occupies an important place in the piano sonata genre. Unlike a traditional piano sonata, Liszt’s piece comprises just one movement, which invites various interpretations from scholars. For example, listeners might regard Liszt’s piece as a one-movement sonata that follows the traditional sonata structure of exposition, development, and recapitulation. However, one might as well discern an Allegro movement, a slow movement, a dance movement, and a finale within this one piece, which correspond to the four traditional sonata movements of yore.
Pianoparels: Chopin - Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 58
Thursday, August 12 | 14:00
In the series “Weer-klank, Pianoparels”, ten pianists play short recitals at Quatre Mains Klaviercentrum, Ghent, recorded in November 2020. As part of this series, Aude Van De Keere (*2003) performs Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58. Chopin’s extensive solo piano repertoire consists of three piano sonatas, of which Piano Sonata No. 3 (1844) is arguably the hardest to perform. It opens with a strongly stated theme, which diminishes in strength and melts away after only a few measures. An exceptionally short Scherzo, which lasts under three minutes in this performance, follows the Allegro maestoso. The slow Largo that follows has the characteristics of a nocturne, a composition inspired by the night. The middle section of this movement features a beautiful, flowing melody played in E major. The sonata ends with a fast and virtuosic finale that finishes in B major.
Pianoparels: Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 32
Thursday, August 12 | 21:00
In the series “Weer-klank, Pianoparels”, ten pianists play short recitals at Quatre Mains Klaviercentrum, Ghent, recorded in November 2020. As part of this series, Clara Strobel (*2002) performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 32, Op. 111. Written between 1821 and 1822, it is Beethoven's very last piano sonata. It is worth noting that the sonata consists of just two movements: Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato, and Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile. The first movement, in C minor, has a stormy character. Like Beethoven's other late piano sonatas, it reveals elements of a fugue, for instance in the middle section of the first movement. A set of variations on a 16-measure theme unfolds in the Arietta in C major. The third variation is characterized by a dance-like syncopation, which reminds today's listeners of early 20th-century boogie-woogie.
Pianoparels: Gaspard de la Nuit & Barcarolle No. 6
Friday, August 13 | 10:00
In the series “Weer-klank, Pianoparels”, ten pianists play short recitals at Quatre Mains Klaviercentrum, Ghent, recorded in November 2020. As part of this series, Julie Noiret (*1992) performs Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit and Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Barcarolle, Opus 65 No. 6. Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit is a three-movement piece for solo piano, based on poetry by the French poet Aloysius Bertrand. The movements are Ondine, Le Gibet, and Scarbo. The piece is technically demanding: especially the third movement, characterized by its quickly repeating notes, is known for its technical difficulty. Charles-Valentin Alkan's Barcarolle harks back to the folk songs sung by Venetian gondoliers to the rhythm of their strokes, which inspired the likes of Felix Mendelssohn and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to write pieces in this style. Alkan’s work has the typically moderate tempos and rocking rhythms of a gondola.
Pianoparels: works by Beethoven and Chopin
Friday, August 13 | 14:00
In the series “Weer-klank, Pianoparels”, ten pianists play short recitals at Quatre Mains Klaviercentrum, Ghent, recorded in November 2020. As part of this series, Simon-Pierre Pollin (*2000) performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat major, Op. 26, and Frédéric Chopin’s Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39. Unlike many traditional sonatas, the first movement of Beethoven’s piece does not adhere to the sonata form: it opens with a theme followed by five variations. The Sonata’s third movement is a funeral march, which was played at the composer’s own burial in 1827. The second piece on the program is Chopin’s Scherzo No. 3. The first part of this Scherzo presents a theme of descending quarter notes in groups of three. A calm, lyrical section in D-flat major follows the energetic opening. Afterward, the main theme in C-sharp in minor is heard again.