Pressler Menahem: In Recital

""I have devoted my life to the piano and to music-making. Whether you acquire public fame or not, devoting one"'s existence to serving art provides a rich life and the healthiest form of fulfillment. I feel music is my religion, the hall is my temple and the composer is my God whose works I preach. It is no exaggeration to say that music saved my life. Beethoven"'s Sonata Op. 110 illustrates idealism in the first movement, hedonism in the second and regret and pain in the last movement from which two fugues emerge triumphantly, as if saying, "'Yes, life is worth living"' - and this is what I feel. This is to be considered alongside Schubert"'s last sonata D. 960, which explores the emotions of a man who knows he has a limited time to live, and in which the slow movement resonates like a funeral march whilst also showing happiness and peace of mind."" Menahem Pressler REPERTOIRE: Beethoven: Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110; Chopin: Mazurkas Op. 7 No.1, Op. 7 No. 3, Op. 17 No. 4: Debussy: Estampes; Schubert: Sonata in B flat major D. 960; Chopin: Nocturne No. 20 in C sharp minor, Op. posth.