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“...a five star feast...outstanding, splendidly phrased and very expressive.......effortless style...a marvellous CD”

MusicWeb International on Sarah's last release for Semaphore

December 2013 marks the 25th anniversary of the

death of the great pianist and musicologist Denis

Matthews, with whom I studied from 1980 to 1988,

and I hope that this CD will be a fitting tribute to

his memory.

Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert were at the

heart of his performing repertoire, and he was

responsible for introducing me to all three of

the featured works when I was very young. I

particularly recall a concert when he performed

Schubert’s D960 in the King’s Hall, Newcastle and

the second movement immediately touched my

heart. I had never previously been moved to tears

by a piece of music. For more than thirty years I

have treasured the memory of that introduction to

one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. As

it was also the only solo piano piece that Denis took

to his desert island when he was Roy Plomley’s

castaway in 1967, this year seemed an appropriate

one for me to commit it to disc. My greatest regret

is that Denis never recorded it: those who heard his

interpretation considered it exceptional.

For this disc, my coupling is with Mozart’s

improvisatory Fantasy in C minor K475 (following

my recording of its companion sonata two years

ago) and Beethoven’s much-loved Pathétique

Sonata in the same key, both wonderfully concise

works in contrast to the heavenly length of the

Schubert.

The C minor Fantasy was written in May 1785,

some months after the C minor Sonata, but their

joint publication and dedication to Therese von

Trattner does suggest that it was intended as a

large scale prelude to the sonata. For me, the works

stand superbly either alone or when combined. As

with the sonata, there is a degree of gravity and

pathos which one might more usually associate with

Beethoven than with Mozart. Full use is made of

the entire range of the contemporary keyboard and

Mozart uses extraordinary improvisatory skills and a

vast harmonic spectrum. While there is a pervasive

atmosphere of darkness and restlessness, there

are some settled sunnier episodes in the major

key (the lengthiest ones being in D major and B flat

respectively). But the minor key wins the day, as the

brooding opening theme returns shortly before the

end and the piece concludes with a defiant rising

C minor scale.

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From a C minor Mozart work which in certain respects appears to

foreshadow Beethoven, to a C minor work by Beethoven which has a

passing Mozartian reference. The ‘Grande Sonate Pathétique’ op. 13

(1798) was one of the few works which Beethoven named himself.

(Most of the famous sonatas were given titles by the publishers after

completion.) It was the first of his sonatas to achieve really widespread

popularity.

The first movement is orchestrally conceived from the fps in the Grave

sections to the drumroll effect which accompanies large sections of

the Allegro. In 1795 Beethoven was known to have produced some

sketches for a C major symphony which never came to fruition, and

while his First Symphony (also in C) did not appear until 1800, one

senses that symphonic writing was much in his thoughts. These

orchestral effects would have stretched the pianos of the time to their

limits. The dramatic slow opening to the first movement turns out to

be far more than an introduction. It returns twice in the succeeding

Allegro (in the development and the coda) raising significant questions

about the first movement repeat. The pause before the repeat seems

to suggest that, if repeating, one should return to the beginning of

the Grave, matching it with the second pause which leads to a return

of the Grave in G minor - convention and editorial repeat marks

have suggested otherwise. Given that I find the movement a little

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cumbersome with a repeat of the opening Grave yet cannot really

make logical sense of the conventional repeat returning to the start

of the Allegro, I have chosen to omit the repeat altogether for this

recording!

The theme of the serene Adagio Cantabile must rank amongst

Beethoven’s most beautiful melodies and the movement takes a

simple rondo form. The feel from the start is of a song without words –

the register suggesting a cello-like resonance. The opening recalls the

A flat episode of Mozart’s C minor Sonata slow movement – a happy

coincidence or perhaps Beethoven paying homage?

While the final movement has an elusive character and Beethoven

himself was said to have played it ‘humorously’, it strikes me as being

rather wistful and haunting. However, as with the Mozart Fantasy, it

ends in a mood of defiance.

Completed only two months before his death, Schubert’s Sonata in

B flat, D960 (September 1828), was not only his last piano sonata,

but arguably his finest. As the young Schumann commented: “What a

diary is to others, in which their momentary emotions and so forth are

recorded, so to Schubert was music paper, to which he entrusted all

his moods. His thoroughly musical soul wrote notes where others used

words.” What a precious gift he left the world with the ‘words’ of D960.

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It begins with a huge movement which many consider to be one of the

greatest sonata openings. Here one senses a genius song writer at work

– lyricism abounds and Schubert’s gloriously spacious melodies are as

haunting as his questioning silences. The deep mysterious trill is a feature

throughout the movement like a distant roll of thunder. Only once does the

rumble become close and overtly angry – in the passage written solely

to lead back to the repeat of the opening section (a hugely extended

‘first time bar’ lasting for nine bars!). There has been much debate about

the appropriateness of the repeat in such an extended movement. For

me, these somewhat stuttering, hesitant bars with the shuddering bass

trill played ff contain their own mini-drama and provide ample reason for

repeating the exposition, which also adds to the movement’s structural

grandeur. (Before I leave the subject of the aforementioned trill entirely, it

is perhaps worth adding that in this performance I have chosen to follow

the suggestion that the pp nine bars before the end of the movement

is actually not in Schubert’s hand, so that the final trill is slightly more

menacing than in many performances - a distant reminder of the drama of

the ‘first time bar’, but hugely tamed.)

The theme of the meditative C sharp minor Andante sostenuto is

reminiscent of a pair of cellos (as in the C major Quintet which Schubert

had recently completed) with a repeated accompaniment figure

spanning a range of four octaves gently crossing under and over the

melody line. The central slightly more animated section in the sunny

key of A major recalls the main theme of the first movement. The end of

the movement is other-worldly and, to me, unsurpassed in its beauty.

While the dynamic level remains almost constant, the move from near

stasis into a playful scherzo of gossamer delicacy feels as if it needs

slight preparation, so I like to make the first few bars emerge gradually

from the haze of sublimity. The syncopated minor key trio adds a

delightfully humorous interlude before the Scherzo returns – this time

crystal clear from the outset.

The slightly quirky and almost quizzical character of the finale is

governed by the fact that the Rondo returns always begin on an

octave G (the dominant of C minor rather than the home key). It is

a movement which juxtaposes flippancy, storminess, poetry and

moments of pure magic. Only on the final page does Schubert resolve

the key issue – the octave opening note descending in semitones

to F (the dominant of B flat major) before this superb masterwork is

brought to an abrupt but ecstatically happy conclusion.

© 2013 Sarah Beth Briggs

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Pianist Sarah Beth Briggs - an artist of extraordinary magnetism

(Daily Telegraph) is a leading recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician. A long-standing pupil of the late Denis Matthews, she gained a Hindemith Scholarship to study chamber music in Switzerland with celebrated violist, Bruno Giuranna, and remained in Lausanne for further studies with renowned Arrau pupil, Chilean pianist Edith Fischer.

Her professional career was launched at the age of eleven when she became (at that time) the youngest-ever finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year. Four years later she gained international recognition as joint winner of the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg.

Sarah’s classical concerto interpretations have led to appearances in many countries, including prestigious engagements with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and a series of concerts at San Francisco’s Midsummer Mozart Festival. UK orchestral collaborations include concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé, London Mozart Players, London Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra, and Northern Sinfonia. She has been the featured soloist at major British venues including Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, London’s South Bank auditoria, and the Barbican Centre.

Celebrated not only for her performances but also for engaging and informative introductions to recital programmes, Sarah is a popular

Sarah Beth Briggs

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artist at societies and festivals throughout the UK and has been acclaimed by promoters and critics. Her musical interpretations have been broadcast internationally on radio and television, while recital work has taken her to Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy and the USA.

She gave the world premiere (at the Chester Festival) of Britten’s Three Character Pieces, which feature on one of her warmly-reviewed releases for Semaphore. Her discography also includes music by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Bartok and Rawsthorne.

Sarah enjoys balancing a successful solo career with numerous chamber music engagements and has worked with many acclaimed soloists. In addition to her duo partnership of many years with clarinettist Janet Hilton, she and Janet also join forces in two highly successful trios: Clarion3 features the unusual combination of clarinet, bassoon and piano (with Laurence Perkins) while the more orthodox but well-balanced Anton Stadler Trio sees them combining with Robin Ireland (perhaps best known as violist of the Lindsay Quartet). She has also been the pianist in Trio Melzi (which now sees her joined by former Manchester Camerata leader Richard Howarth and cellist Hannah Roberts) since its formation in 2000. As a chamber musician, Sarah has featured on BBC2 and Radio 3.

A much sought-after teacher, Sarah has given masterclasses throughout the UK and in the USA, in addition to her chamber music coaching and tuition at York University. Away from the concert platform, she loves the theatre, good food and wine and walking in the countryside with her cocker spaniel.

For further information, please see www.sarahbethbriggs.co.uk

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Recorded at Potton Hall, Suffolk, England, 25/06/2013-27/06/2013Recording produced, engineered and edited by Simon Fox-Gál

With special thanks to Paul Martinez-Frias who painted the cover image. For further details of his work, please see www.spectrumgallery.co.uk

SBB

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Semaphore

In memory of the great scholar pianist, Denis Matthews 1919 - 1988

Sarah with Denis Matthews after her Newcastle City Hall concerto debut (October 1983)

Track Listing

Track 1, 13’43”

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Fantasy in C minor, K475 1 Adagio; Allegro; Andantino; Piu Allegro; Tempo primo

Tracks 2-4, 18’15”

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) Sonata in C minor, op 13 ‘Pathétique’

2 Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7’48”

3 Adagio cantabile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5’22”

4 Rondo: Allegro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5’05”

Tracks 5-8, 43’12”

Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)Sonata in B flat major, D960

5 Molto moderato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20’45”

6 Andante sostenuto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10’19”

7 Scherzo. Allegro vivace con delicatezza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3’51”

8 Allegro ma non troppo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8’17”

Total Timings: 75’44”

Design and Art Direction by Semaphore Multimedia Limited© 2013, Sarah Beth Briggs 2013, Sarah Beth Briggs

Sarah Beth Briggs photography: Portrait photograph page 2, background photograph pages 6 and 7 - Balazs Borocz/Pilvax Studio

Potton Hall Steinway maintained by Graham Cooke

Original art photographed by Glyn Jarvis 11

SML MP35Manufactured in the UK