NEW ALBUM: Bacewicz Piano Sonata No. 2 (Live in Concert)
I’m thrilled to announce the release of my second album, featuring the enigmatic Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz’s Piano Sonata No. 2 Live in Concert. It’s available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and many other streaming platforms. Take a moment to listen and let me know what you think!
When I first heard this sonata, it blew me away with its unapologetic power, passion, and force. Dark and stormy in character, the first movement requires vivid imagination and virtuosity. The second movement is a moment of introspection and poetry, though it never ceases in intensity even in the most lyrical passages. The toccata seals the work with an exciting tour-de-force conclusion.
For most audiences, it is their first time hearing this work, but it has become a show-stopper to end my recitals that I am sure is bound to become a more widely performed crowd favorite.
The recording is from my Philadelphia recital debut at the American Philosophical Society, presented by Astral (2019). When I was planning the program, I wanted to include this work, showcasing it in a major venue because great works by women are still largely missing from big stages. I have a special affinity for large-scale compositions, so discovering a truly great multi-movement work written by a woman was very exciting. I’ve written about why women have historically shied away from major compositions. It is my mission to continue programming works like this Bacewicz Sonata until they become part of the popular, often-performed repertoire.
This sonata adheres to the general rule of the fast-slow-fast sequence of three movements, where the first movement—also in three parts—introduces the main themes in the exposition, expands them in the development, and brings them back in the recapitulation, all while traveling through different areas of the movement’s key.
I was less interested in how strictly it follows traditional rules of the sonata form. Rather, I wanted to learn how it made musical ideas come together on a larger canvas. I feel like I discovered a gold mine of skill and creativity with her Sonata No. 2, but my search for more great sonatas by women certainly continues!
While anyone can simply Google the main biographical details of Ms. Bacewicz, it is fascinating to note her influences in post-war Europe. Influenced by French music and later Bartók, identifying as an Eastern European composer herself, she never quite received the public profile she should have. Lutoslawski led the charge in those days and her own career was cut short from dying of cancer at only 59 years old.
Stream my recording, add it to your playlist, and let me know what you think! I’m inspired from hearing your stories of how music moves you. In these times, it gives us purpose, grit, and courage to create a better world informed by empathy.
