Beethoven by Moonlight – Stories of the Night【Prison Yard Festival 2024】Tai Kwun

What better way to conclude the last full moon before the Winter Solstice than with Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata? Pianist Aristo Sham opens the evening with that famous work's companion piece, Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.13 (both sonatas in that opus subtitled "Quasi una fantasia" for their free-flowing form). In between, Sham offers further glimpses at the moon through "night pieces" by Chopin and Ireland, as well as Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit (in part inspired by a Nocturne by Debussy).

After the interval, Sham delves into more clear-cut musical storytelling in a series of Ballades spanning more than 150 years, from Chopin's introspective outpouring that essentially established the genre to Brahms' youthful narrative-driven continuation of the form to Kaija Saariaho's dreamy, multi-layered miniature from 2005.

Programme

Piano: Aristo Sham

Beethoven │ Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat Major Quasi una fantasia, Op. 27 No. 1
Ireland │ Ballade of London Nights
Ravel │ Gaspard de la nuit
- interval – (20’)
Chopin │ Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1
Chopin │ Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23
Brahms │ Ballade No. 4 in B major, Op. 10 No. 4
Saariaho │ Ballade (2005)
Beethoven │ Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor Quasi una fantasia (Moonlight), Op. 27 No. 2

Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes including a 20-minute interval

Remarks
• For wheelchair user, please purchase tickets via URBTIX www.urbtix.hk
• Latecomers will only be admitted at a suitable time
• Recommended for ages 6 and above