Fišer: Piano Sonata No. 1

Description

Luboš Fišer (1935-1999) was one of the most talented Czech composers of his generation. Born in Prague, he studied at the Prague Conservatoire from 1952-1956 and then at the Academy of Music. He was known to the public for his many film scores but it was his other compositions, many of them written under difficult political conditions, which mark him out as a composer of significance.

Fišer's eight piano sonatas have a special place in his œuvre. Fišer subsequently eliminated his second sonata (1956) from his compositional repertoire. From the third sonata onwards (1960), subtitled Fantasia, the composer wrote a two-movement composition, in which he continued to incorporate as his fundamental musical device the confrontation of-sharp contrasts in tempo and mood. Beginning with his fourth sonata (1962–1964), Fišer created a single-movement work in an expressive, formally focused composition which betrays a progression towards greater compactness of musical shape in a concise yet effective musical testimony. The fifth sonata was written in 1974, the sixth sonata in 1978. The seventh sonata from 1985 was dedicated to František Maxián, the eighth sonata was written in 1995.

Piano Sonata No. 1 was written in 1955. Fiser worked on it during his last year at the Prague Conservatoire under the supervision of Emil Hlobil. The piece is one of Fiser's early works which still respect a traditional compositional approach. Unlike his Major and late piano sonatas, this sonata has three movements, each representing the traditional Classical-Romantic form. The sonata was premiered by Fiser's fellow-student and friend Antonin Jemelik in Theatre D34 on 30 January 1956.

The setting for this piece is based on the single edition to date (SNKLHU, 1957); only with regard to a few inconsistencies in the score was it necessary to consult the composer's manuscript (kept at the National Museum - Czech Museum of Music, acquisition number 297/2006).