In this vast, single-movement composition, Franz Liszt achieved a synthesis of symphonic and sonata forms that has never been surpassed for its cogency, scope and imagination. He managed this in a ...

Even as he struggled with the onset of deafness, Beethoven took the piano sonata into new realms of expressive power and beauty. Beethoven composed his Moonlight Sonata in 1801, the same year that — A ...

When a chipping sparrow trills, it could be that spring has arrived. When women’s voices ululate, they do so, in different regions of the world, to celebrate, to mourn, to pray, to warn, to seduce.

Live at the BBC Proms, Sir András Schiff plays Beethoven's final three piano sonatas, works of Olympian virtuosity and transcendent, spiritual beauty. Presented by Katie Derham, live from the Royal ...

Note to Readers: This column is switching gears to review the complete Andras Schiff and Idil Biret Beethoven Sonata cycles. One sonata will be addressed at a time. This will be more orderly than ...

Performances in N.Y.C. Advertisement Supported by critic’s notebook Our chief classical critic took on the daunting Opus 110 in college, and now relishes risky recordings. By Anthony Tommasini For my ...

There is lots to admire as the quintet and pianist capture Paul Hindemith’s best known sonatas to reveal their hidden depths As well as being one of the 20th century’s leading neoclassical composers, ...

Angela Hewitt has been universally lauded for her previous recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas. Her pin-sharp and tastefully fluent approach is now applied to four further works spanning the ...

This Sonata represents one of the few cases in which the popular title came from the composer himself - its full name is 'Grande sonate pathétique' (pathetic in the sense of 'suffering', rather than ...

Clara Schumann, the wife of the great composer Robert Schumann, wrote in her diary on May 25, 1854: Liszt sent Robert today a sonata dedicated to him and several other things with a friendly letter to ...

Having made the first drafts of "Piano Sonata No. 2" in the spring of 1910, Szymanowski completed it the following summer in Tymoszówka. Having made the first drafts of Piano Sonata No. 2 Op. 21 in ...