Franciszek Lessel — Two Piano Sonatas — Maciej Skrzeczkowski, fortepiano скачать в хорошем качестве

Franciszek Lessel — Two Piano Sonatas — Maciej Skrzeczkowski, fortepiano

Franciszek Lessel (c. 1780-1838) Sonata in A major op. 2 no 3 I. Allegro moderato (0:00) II. Larghetto espressivo (7:29) III. Allegro do molto (12:14) Grande Sonate in C major op. 6 I. Allegro con spirito (17:32) II. Adagio con gran espressione (26:36) III. Presto (31:07) The artistry, finesse and brilliance of the piano sonatas of Franciszek Lessel (c. 1780-1838) are an undoubted contrast to the difficulties of the Polish composer's life and work, shrouded in the mists of forgottenness. Between 1799 and 1809, Lessel stayed in Vienna, where he was known as Joseph Haydn's favourite and most gifted pupil. At the time, the young artist also took composition lessons from Cherubini and Salieri, and his works were published in the most important Austrian and German publishing offices. In a blaze of fame, the composer returned to his homeland 1809, where he continued to give concerts for several years (we know about his piano performances in Krakow, Warsaw and Kiev), after which he began to gradually withdraw from Polish and European musical life. What made Lessel abandon his promising career? Probable reasons were the composer's insecure material situation and the anxiety of life in the Republic occupied by Russia, Prussia and Austria. The fading international popularity of Franciszek Lessel was echoed by the exceptionally extensive and flattering reviews of his concert and solo piano works published in 1811-1813 in the "Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung". From then on,the composer presented new works to the public only sporadically, abandoned their publication, and in his oeuvre tended mainly towards chamber and vocal-instrumental music. Among the community of Warsaw and the surrounding area, he became known for his other manifold skills, in which, like composition and piano playing, he also achieved mastery: he was a noted architect, botanist, agronomist, builder and herbalist, and as a hobby, also a painter and jeweller. After Lessel's death in 1838, his rich compositional output was briefly remembered. The German Neue Zeitschrift für Musik and the Polish music press mentioned the artist and appealedto potential publishers to undertake the task of publishing his legacy left in manuscripts - unfortunately without success. Consequently, none of his six symphonies, only one of his many string quartets and almost none of his concert and chamber works with wind instruments have survived to the present day. Along with Lessel's lost oeuvre, the memory of the composer himself and his importance in the history of early 19th century music has also been extinguished. The first three sonatas (C major, F major, A major) are included in Op. 2, dedicated to Haydn and published in 1803, while the last - Grande Sonate in C major, Op. 6 with a dedication to Anne Cécile Cherubini (Luigi's wife) - was published in 1806. In all of them, Lessel follows the three-part arrangement of the cycle, using the classical formal pattern known, among others, from the works of the composer's master. The form of the individual movements of the sonatas is also faithful to tradition: the cycle opens with a sonata form, followed by a slow middle movement in a key other than the dominant (in op. 2 additionally in variation form), and the whole is concluded with a rondo. Noteworthy in the material of each of the works, especially the Sonata in C major, Op. 6, is the rich use of contrapuntal technique. Extensive polyphonisation occurs even in the first movement of the cycle, which distinguishes Lessel's works from those of other composers of the period. One of the factors determining the variety of Lessel's sonatas is the skilful and frequent use of the minor mode, indicating an individualisation of the harmonic language (for example completely minor development of the first movement of Sonata in F major from Op. 2 or the reprise of the second subject in the minor parallel in the first movement of Sonata in C major, Op. 6). Lessel's sonatas are also attractive for their rich harmonic language, which consists of non-standard tonal transitions and rich chromaticism, also found in the thematic material. In Lessel's sonatas, cantilena plays an important role, as does the composer's undoubted ability to develop non-schematic and brilliant themes and motifs that contribute to non-thematic sections. In the Sonata in C major, Op. 6, this is enhanced by the artfully executed integration of musical material, demonstrated by the analogous ending figures of exposition, development and recapitulation, as well as the characteristic figure of three notes present in every theme and motif of the Allegro. All this goes along with elaborate thematic work that is evident in the other sections of the sonata form and sonata movements. The above-mentioned measures of compositional technique confirm a proficient mastery of the compositional technique and allow these works to be regarded as the most outstanding Polish piano sonatas of the pre-Chopin era.