DESCRIPTION:
Piano Sonata in B minor, S. 178 (1854)

This is the sonata for solo piano by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886). He composed it between 1852 and 1853 while traveling across Europe as a performing virtuoso, publishing it one year later with a dedication to Robert Schumann in return for dedicating his 1836 Fantasie in C, Op. 17 , to Liszt. Although the sonata is played as one continuous movement, it has three distinct sections: following a solemn invocation based of one of the principle themes, there is a stormy opening section marked Allegro energico, which introduces four other main motifs; next, there is a slow, meditative though emotionally fraught Recitativo section corresponding roughly to the development; then, the brisk Allegro energico tempo is resumed in a grand fugato that weaves together a few of the principle motifs, leading into a recapitulation of the first section and a more tranquil final coda.

Pianist: Ivo Pogorelich