It was a case of better late than never, when acclaimed concert pianist Daniel Herscovitch announced he was going to perform Beethoven’s epic Hammerklavier Sonata at Central Coast Conservatorium’s Robert Knox Hall on Sunday 8 September.
More than a year in the making, the ‘Hammerklavier’ (German for ‘piano’) is regarded as the hardest – and by some degree the longest – piano sonata Beethoven ever composed. Described as ‘gargantuan’ and Olympian in scale by some and ‘poignant, complicated, crazy and monumental’ by others it’s not a piece any pianist would take on lightly.
“I have been fascinated by the Hammerklavier Sonata for most of my life, but it was only this year, when I was asked to perform it that I seriously began to work on it. Most pianists who play it learned it in their teens or 20s so I am only about half a century late,” said Daniel, Associate Professor of Piano at Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
He will be playing the Hammerklavier as part of a Beethoven concert at Central Coast Conservatorium’s Robert Knox Hall on Sunday 8 September.
The ‘Everest’ in Beethoven’s sonata output, the Hammerklavier Sonata includes his most expansive and profound slow movement, which is followed by a blistering fugal finale. Regarded in Beethoven’s day as unplayable, this sonata still posits unique challenges to all who attempt a performance of this masterpiece.
The program also features some of Beethoven’s most unusual works: his Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 81a – known as Les Adieux or ‘The Farewell’ – was written between 1809 and 1810 and is one of the composer’s most challenging sonatas due to the mature emotions that must be conveyed as well as the technical difficulties involved. This will be followed by Five Variations on Rule Britannia, and finally his collection of exquisite miniatures, the 11 Bagatelles, Op.119.
Daniel said the program shows the huge range of Beethoven’s musical appeal.
“We all think of Beethoven as a supremely dramatic composer which he undoubtedly is. But there is also the lyrical Beethoven (Pastoral Symphony!) the humorous Beethoven (the 8th Symphony) and much more besides. It is the all-encompassing universality of his music which never ceases to fascinate me.”
Program
Sonata in E flat major Op.81a (“Les adieux”)
- Das Lebewohl: Adagio – Allegro
- Abwesenheit: Andante espressivo
- Das Wiedersehen: Vivacissimamente
Five Variations on “Rule Britannia” WoO 79
Eleven Bagatelles Op.119
Interval
Sonata in B flat major Op.106 (“Hammerklavier”)
- Allegro
- Scherzo: Assai vivace
- Adagio sostenuto
- Largo – Allegro risoluto
About Daniel Herscovitch
Daniel Herscovitch studied with Alexander Sverjensky at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Rosl Schmid in Munich. While based in Germany he performed extensively on the continent and in England and toured Australia three times. He also appeared at several international festivals including the Berlin Festival, the Zagreb Biennale and the Saarbrücken Tage der Neuen Musik.
Since returning to Australia he has been active in solo and chamber music, and has appeared at the Adelaide Festival of the Arts, the Mostly Mozart Festival, the New Directions Festival and the Festivals of Melbourne and Sydney. He was a regular guest artist at Roger Woodward’s Sydney Spring Festival and toured for Musica Viva and in New Zealand. He has appeared with Synergy, Flederman, the Song Company and the Australia Ensemble and has toured with The Seymour Group. He was a soloist in the first Australian performance of the Bartók Concerto for Two Pianos. He has appeared in concert with Jane Manning, Wanda Wilkomirska, Clemens Leske, Geoffrey Gartner, Vivian Choi, Carl Vine and Ole Böhn.
He has toured the USA four times, most recently performing Bach’s Art of Fugue. He visits Indonesia annually and his fifth European tour in 2019 took him to Singapore, the UK, Norway and Germany where he performed Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis and included a residency at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
His solo repertoire ranges from Purcell to Carter and beyond, and includes contemporary Australian, Asian, European and American works, several of which he commissioned and premiered, including works by Peter Dart and Brad Gill.
His recordings of repertoire from the 17th to the 21st centuries have been released on Tall Poppies, Toccata Classics, CSM, Continuum, Biodiversity, Heritage Records and ABC Classics labels. His recent CD on the Toccata Classics label of music by Roger Smalley was Editor’s Choice in the 2019 Awards issue of Gramophone. His recent CD of music by Peter Dart was praised in the US journal Fanfare as being “stunning” and “brilliant”. Two further CDs of music by Don Banks and Kate Moore have recently been released in the UK to critical acclaim. He is currently Associate Professor of Piano at The University of Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Concert Details
- What: Daniel Herscovitch | Beethoven
- When: Sunday 8 September 2.30pm
- Where: Robert Knox Hall, Central Coast Conservatorium, 45 Mann Street, Gosford
- Tickets: $35
- Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/daniel-herscovitch-beethoven-piano-recital
