Piano Sonatas, Sonatinas Vol.3 : S.Kagan(P)

FERDINAND RIES (1784-1838) : Piano Sonatas and Sonatinas - 3

Sonata in C major, Op. 9, No. 2
Sonata in F sharp minor, Op. 26, ‘L’infortunee’
The Dream, Op. 49

Susan Kagan (piano)

Recorded at Kaufman Astoria Studios (KAS), Astoria (Queens), New York, USA,
9 April 2007 (tracks 1.7) and 3 February 2007 (track 8)

A virtuoso pianist, Ferdinand Ries began composing piano sonatas at a time when the genre was undergoing significant changes from the models of Haydn and Mozart to new developments by Clementi, Beethoven and Hummel. Ries also pre-figures Schubert’s poignant harmonic language, Mendelssohn’s expressive sweetness and Chopin’s brilliant figurations, notably in The Dream. Opening with a stately polonaise in rondo form, Ries’s C major Sonata concludes with a thrilling perpetuum mobile finale. In his only named sonata, The Unfortunate, the influence of Beethoven’s Pathetique is apparent. ( NAXOS )