Zondagochtendmuziek - Dmitri Shostakovich. Piano Sonata No 2 in B-minor, Op.61. Daria Kovaleva...

Vandaag ben ik 75 geworden. Geboren midden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Ik keek wat rond op de Wikepedia-site 1943 in music en zag dat op 6 juni van dat jaar Dimitri Shostakovich in Moskou zijn Pianosonata nr. 2 opus 61 in première bracht. Hij was toen net in Moskou aangekomen vanuit Samara, waar hij verbleef na evacuatie uit het belegerde Leningrad en waar hij deze sonate componeerde.

Het is een minder bekend werk van Shostakovich. Gerard McBurney schrijft erover:

Given the success of his other major piano pieces like the 24 Preludes op.34 and the 24 Preludes and Fugues op.87, it is curious that this Second Sonata has not been taken up by many pianists in our time. Partly this is because, although this music is difficult to play, it is almost entirely undemonstrative, lacking in the more obviously colourful and virtuosic elements that a performer knows will make an impression on an audience. Instead, for much of its three movements it is like a study in greys, internalised, meditative and almost inscrutable. Nonetheless one or two great 20th century players have taken it up, including Maria Yudina and Emil Gilels, and in their performances the piece emerges as impressively deep and thoughtful. This is aristocratic music that contains its meaning within itself and invites the listener to the inside of the musical argument rather than to the surface rhetoric or sound effects.

Verstilde en diepzinnige muziek. Hier uitgevoerd door Daria Kovaleva.