Weber: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2

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Weber's piano music, once played by most pianists, has since suffered neglect and even the famous Invitation to the Dance is now more often heard in its orchestral form. Since he was a renowned... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Catalogue No: CRD3485
Label: CRD
Length: 75 minutes

Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days

Weber: Sonata No. 1 in C major, J138 Op.24

Work length26:39

$5.00

$7.00

Hamish Milne

I. Allegro

Track length6:32

$1.00

$1.40

II. Adagio

Track length7:06

$1.50

$2.10

III. Menuetto (Allegro)

Track length8:44

$1.50

$2.10

IV. Rondo (Presto)

Track length4:17

$1.00

$1.40

Weber: Rondo Brillante in E flat major, (La Gaité), J252 Op. 52

Work length6:34

$1.00

$1.40

Hamish Milne

Weber: Sonata No. 2 in A flat major, J199 Op.39

Work length33:26

Album only

Hamish Milne

I. Allegro moderato, con spirito ed assai legato

Track length15:00

Album only

II. Andante

Track length7:49

$1.50

$2.10

III. Menuetto capriccioso (presto assai)

Track length3:57

$1.00

$1.40

IV. Rondo (moderato e molto grazioso)

Track length6:40

$1.00

$1.40

Weber: Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65

Work length9:13

$1.50

$2.10

Hamish Milne

Reviews
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Reviews

2010

Weber's piano music, once played by most pianists, has since suffered neglect and even the famous Invitation to the Dance is now more often heard in its orchestral form. Since he was a renowned pianist as well as a major composer, the neglect seems odd, particularly when other pianist composers such as Chopin and Liszt are at the centre of the concert repertory; but part of the trouble may lie in the difficulty of the music, reflecting his own huge hands and his tendency to write what the booklet-essay calls 'chords unplayable by others'. Hamish Milne makes out a real case for this music, and his playing of the two sonatas is idiomatic and resourceful, even if one can't banish the feeling that Weber all too readily used the melodic and harmonic formulae of 18thcentury galanterie and simply dressed them up in 19th-century salon virtuosity. From this point of view, a comparison with Chopin's mature sonatas or Liszt's magnificent single essay in the form reveals Weber as a lightweight. A hearing of the first movement in the First Sonata will quickly tell you if this is how you may react, while in its Presto finale you may praise a Mendelssohnian lightness but also note a pomposity foreign to that composer. Leaving aside the musical quality of these sonatas, this is stylish playing which should win them friends. The Rondo brillante and Invitation to the Dance make no claim to be other than scintillating salon music, and are captivating in Milne's shapely and skilful performances. The recording is truthful and satisfying.

Weber: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2

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