Description
This is a nine and a half minute sonata for solo piano, there are some devilishy difficult moments and some lovely soft melodies, This sonata is actually a bringing together of seven different elements, (nine if you count the variations)
I. Volcanic: Full of darkness and movement and lots of marcati.
II. Romance: Soft and melodic, a few cute arpeggios in there as well.
III. La Ronde: Possibly the shortest, a rythmic and dry dance.
IV. The Rush: At 120 bpm, it's the fastest section, also a couple of instances where the hands have to cross.
V. Eerie: As the title suggests, a strage landscape could be evoked in the imagination with this section.
VI. Volcanic Variations: One of the two 'variation sections' taking the themes and ideas from the first section and developing them a little further, the ABC and GABC chords should be a challenge keeping a steady rhythm once the melody kicks in.
VII. Lamenting Birdsong: A totally beautiful melodic section, a couple of trills, nothing much in the way of technique, but getting the soft birdsong feeling whilst playing it is a skill in itself.
VIII. Hell March: If this one doesn't wake you up nothing will, this is fiedishly difficult, especially when your alternating the triplets between hands AND accelerating at the same time.
IX: Romantic Variations: The second of the 'variation sections' and the final section of the piece. a nice soft piece to end with... but nonetheless difficult as in the first few bars of the repeated section, the melody switches between hands (left plays the first bar, right plays the second and so on)
This piece is both challenging and enjoyable, and will both lull audiences to fantasy worlds and shock them at the same time.