Lecture programme
Lectures take place on Fridays, from 11am-12.15pm.
Friday 24 January 2025
Mozart: Sonata in C, K 545, 1st movement
In this late work Mozart shows himself at his subtlest, achieving that Holy Grail for all creative artists, beauty with simplicity.
Friday 31 January 2025
Beethoven: 'Moonlight' Sonata, Op. 27, no. 2, 1st movement
The poet Rellstab compared the first movement of this iconic work with the play of moonlight on the waters of a lake. Concealed beneath the dreamy surface of this movement, however, is a structure every bit as tight as anything Beethoven ever wrote.
Friday 7 February 2025
Mendelssohn: Variations sérieuses, Op. 54
Reacting against the empty display of variations by the virtuosi of his day, Mendelssohn wrote his Variations sérieuses as a homage to Beethoven. Basing them on a poignant theme, Mendelssohn explores a wide range of moods, ending in a jubilant finale.
Friday 14 February 2025
Chopin: Nocturne in D-flat, Op. 27, no. 2
In this famous Nocturne, Chopin combines the dreamy with the dramatic in an apparently improvisatory stream of consciousness that belies the time he devoted to its composition.
Friday 21 February 2025
Rachmaninoff: Prelude in D, Op. 23, no. 4
In his D major Prelude, Rachmaninoff weaves one of his characteristic extended melodies and builds towards a climax of shattering intensity.
Friday 28 February 2025
Scriabin: Sonata no. 5, Op. 53
Described by Horowitz as the most difficult piano piece ever written, legend has it that this sonata came to Scriabin in a dream. There certainly is a dream-like quality to the way in which the music flips between moments of dance and moments of mysticism.
Registration takes place from 10.30am before each lecture. Tea and coffee are provided in the Common Room before each lecture, from 10.30am.
