MacMillan, James: Piano Sonata (1985) 14'

for piano

World Premiere
2/26/1989
Purcell Room, London
Rolf Hind, piano /


Composer's Notes  
1. Adagio
2. Grandioso ed affretando
3. Adagio



I wrote my Piano Sonata during a bitter Ayrshire winter and recall the barren trees and hard frozen ground of a landscape that was empty and silent but for the harsh, hollow cry from the rookeries. This is reflected in the Sonata’s tolling, mournful chords, with its bursts of violent, or delicate and icy, figuration. Throughout the three movements the music conveys a mood of elegy, of despair and desolation.

James MacMillan

Reproduction Rights
This programme note can be reproduced free of charge in concert programmes with a credit to the composer

Press Quotes  
"...intense lonely landscapes, wild gestures and beautifully-spaced harmonies."
Musical Times

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