The Story
Smyth wrote the three piano sonatas in 1877, yet they are stylistically diverse: Smyth raced through a kind of musico-historical evolution. Her point of departure was Haydn and Mozart, who clearly inspired her sonata in C major. It was followed by the impassionate sonata in C sharp minor, which was inspired by the actress Marie Geistinger. The two-movement fragment in D major, reflecting Ethel Smyth’s admiration for Brahms, concludes the sonatas.
Most of the other piano pieces borrow their atmosphere and titles from Baroque models (dance movements, genre pieces) and are technically undemanding. They have been arranged in this edition in order of progressive difficulty.Â
edited by Liana Gavrila-Serbescu
Description
Smyth wrote the three piano sonatas in 1877, yet they are stylistically diverse: Smyth raced through a kind of musico-historical evolution. Her point of departure was Haydn and Mozart, who clearly inspired her sonata in C major. It was followed by the impassionate sonata in C sharp minor, which was inspired by the actress Marie Geistinger. The two-movement fragment in D major, reflecting Ethel Smyth’s admiration for Brahms, concludes the sonatas.
Most of the other piano pieces borrow their atmosphere and titles from Baroque models (dance movements, genre pieces) and are technically undemanding. They have been arranged in this edition in order of progressive difficulty.Â












