John Joubert's Sonata in One Movement, Op.24 No.1, for piano.
Composed in 1957, duration 12 minutes. Suitable for advanced pianists.

In the notes for his recording of the Joubert sonatas, John McCabe points to Beethoven casting his shadow over the first sonata. This is meant less in the direct kind of way which manifests itself immediately, rather the architecture of this single-movement work reflects the structural integrity of the Viennese master. It is essentially a ternary form which sustains a single pulse as it pursues its argument relentlessly through the initial moderato to the central vivace where an impassioned climax is reached, and back to the final moderato con primo. The material for the whole work is derived from the two contrasting themes: an arpeggio based on intervals of the fourth, and interpolated bell-like chords, both of which are present from the start.