Programme change:

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Fantasia Cromatica
George Benjamin: Shadowlines
Alban Berg: Piano Sonata, Op. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106 (Grosse Sonate für das Hammerklavier)

Cast:

Pierre Laurent Aimard – piano

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was a Dutch composer, organist, and teacher whose work divides between renaissance and baroque. He was nicknamed the Orpheus from Amsterdam; the town representatives often brought important guests to the church Oude Kerk to listen to his renowned improvisations. Over 70 of his pieces for keyboard instruments prevailed, and they will appear on the JPO stages for the first time in its history. Next will be the music of the Second Viennese school member and also a student, admirer and later even a friend of Arnold Schoenberg – Alban Berg, who was the most musically welcoming author out of all members of the above-mentioned school for composers. Beethoven’s Sonata No. 29 received multiple superlatives. In its time it was the most radical and modern solo piano piece, while today it is considered one of the most difficult compositions. It was Franz Liszt who first performed it in 1836 in Paris.