One of the last of Haydn’s piano sonatas (1789), the Sonata in C major is among a handful written in 2 mvmts. Furthermore, it begins with an Andante con espressione and 6 variations, starting with a noble two-measure idea that permeates the mvmt, soaring up thru an octave. Alternating between sections in C major and A minor, each builds on that melodic kernel, presenting it in varied forms and with ever more intricate accompaniments and ornamentation. A fitting balance to the Andante is the lighthearted rondo finale. Its simple, principal melody is the perfect consequent to the noble and refined character of the previous mvmt. Proceeding onward, energetically but never hurried, the finale shapes an eloquent sonata-rondo with a 2nd theme developing naturally out of the 1st. The 2nd episode turns once again to C minor, presenting a new but related idea. A return to C major and the rondo’s principal melody conclude one of Haydn’s most charming two-mvmt sonatas.

Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Corelli (1931) is his last original work for piano solo. The theme derives from a folk tune of Portugal, La Folia that Italian composer Corelli used in a violin sonata. R invents 20 variations and a coda, each with growing technical and structural complexity, making huge demands upon the performer. The first 13 constitute their own sonata-movement. A cadenza leads to D-flat and the next two variations, a slow mvmt that presents the La Folia tune. The remaining 5 variations form the work’s finale, returning abruptly to the tonic key and building the theme through increasing energetic and vigorous treatments. Solemnly and mysteriously, the work fades from the fortissimo of the final variation to close softly in D minor.

Liszt dedicated his 1838 Etudes d’execution transcendante d’apres Paganini to Clara Schumann, basing them on Op. 1 Caprices for solo violin by the Italian violinist Niccolo Paganini. No. 1 (‘Tremolo’) based on Caprices Nos 5 and 6: the Sixth Caprice imitates two violinists at once, one playing a constant tremolo, the other a slow lyrical melody. Following Paganini, Liszt prefaces and concludes with the opening and closing passages of the Caprice No 5. No. 2 (‘Octave’) follows Caprice No 17: for the violinist, an exercise in stunning mobility and, in the central section, octaves; for the pianist, the challenge is in the chromatic sixths for alternating hands, scales in tenths and double octave passages. No. 3 (‘La Campanella’) based on the Rondo (3rd movement) of Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2 is in G# minor, a different tonality to the original. The conception’s delicacy conflicts with the tricky jumps, dazzling effects (mostly at the keyboard’s upper end) and demanding repeated-note sections. No. 4 (‘Arpeggio’), based on Caprice No. 1, adds a melodic counterpoint to the left hand arpeggios. The broken chords divide between alternate hands. No. 5. (‘La Chasse’), based on Caprice No. 9, is the easiest of the set in technical terms. ‘La Chasse’ translates the violinist’s double-stopping into pianistic terms. The opening phrase, which both Paganini and Liszt mark imitando il Flauto, is answered by a similar phrase in thirds and sixths marked imitando il Corno. The violin’s upward swoops in the central0 section are replicated by double glissandi. No 6. (‘Theme and variations’) is based on Caprice No. 24. Paganini wrote 11 variations and a coda, a pattern L follows.