Récital Piano Bruce Liu by Haydn, Chopin, Rameau, pet. 26 jul. 2024, Od (2024/2024), Eglise de Verbier, Bagnes, Switzerland

Published in 1776, Haydn’s Keyboard Sonata No 47 in B minor rarely slips away from anxious, clipped phrasing and minor tonality; even its central B major Menuet has a more troubled central trio. Jagged turbulence is also a defining feature of the first two technically-ferocious movements of Chopin’s 1839 Piano Sonata No 2, albeit punctuated by warmer, nocturne-like sections. Next comes the famous Marche funèbre, which began life in 1837 as a stand-alone piece, before a brief, étude-like presto Finale takes the virtuosity up a further notch, with a swirling bleakness that’s entirely different to the sunny cantabile lyricism heard in the early (1827) theme and variations on ‘Là Cidarem la Mano’ from Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Equally awash with lyric poeticism, sophisticatedly embellished melodic lines and high virtuosity is Rameau’s keyboard music, penned across the first half of the 1720s.