This recital comes in anticipation of Luke Welch’s third album which is set to be released in late 2018 or early 2019.  These works include two Rondos of Beethoven – which exemplify the composer’s musical and improvisational creativity – as well as his famous ‘Funeral March’ Sonata Op. 26.  This exciting programme will also include music by Frederic Chopin, the poet of the piano, with a beautiful Nocturne as well as his fiery Scherzo in B minor, Op. 26.  Finally, Robert Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien (Carnival Jest of Vienna), concludes the event which shares a connection with Beethoven’s Sonata of the same opus (also included on this programme), and was further inspired by Schumann’s stay in the vibrant city of Vienna, Austria.

I have decided to open the programme with an all-Beethoven set as these works encompass many of the facets of Beethoven’s genius.  The first Rondo is composed in C major which has a certain purity and simplicity to it, which I believe is the perfect introduction to an audience without being too long or heavy yet expressing a variety of emotions and musical content.  The G major Rondo No. 2 expands on this notion and continues as an expanded form of the first Rondo.  Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 26 has become one of my favourites, even though it does not receive the household recognition as some of the other sonatas, though it demonstrates Beethoven’s insistence on breaking the conventional rules – the first movement being a theme and variations (not a common practice), not a single movement being composed in sonata form, and the famous ‘funeral march’ third movement which served as a major source of inspiration for Chopin’s own Funeral March Sonata No. 2.  Schumann’s Carnival Jest of Vienna is a particularly special piece – during my travels around the world, I have had the pleasure of visiting Vienna on a couple of occasions, and immediately fell in love with the vibrancy of the city.  During the height of the Romantic era (Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Mendelssohn), and even before with the Viennese composers (Schubert, Beethoven, Mozart, etc), it has attracted artists, musicians, and international talents from various walks of life as a hub for success and opportunity to meet others with similar aspirations. This five-movement sonata-like work has both brilliance and intimacy.

I am very much looking forward to this/these performances as they will be my first in the Netherlands since moving on the last day of 2017.