Medtner - Sonata in A Minor "War Sonata" Op. 30 (Eckardstein, Milne and Tozer)

Ferocious, powerful, desperate and dramatic, what other adjectives could describe Medtner's 9th sonata, "War Sonata" so well? One of his best sonatas, just listen to the climax coming at (7:09)... Yeah, amazing. This sonata has only one movement. This masterpiece has been written during the 1st World War.


From structure analysis made by Alan Kuo (   • Medtner - Piano Sonata in A minor, Op. 30 ...  ) :
EXPOSITION
THEME GROUP 1, A MINOR
0:00 T1,1. An iambic rise and fall motive.
1:09 T1,2
THEME GROUP 2, E MINOR
The second theme group contains four consecutive melodic fragments, developed individually throughout the sonata.
1:29 T2,1
1:46 T2,2
1:55 T2,3
2:08 T2,4
CLOSING SECTION
2:38 Extensive elaboration on T1,1
3:38 Repeated cadences in E minor, concluding the exposition


DEVELOPMENT
4:08 Bare statements of T1,2
4:35 T2,1
5:09 T1,2
5:29 T2,2
5:39 T2,1 against T2,3. Tension begins to build
6:07 T1,1, with increased intervals, against T2,1
6:29 T2,3 against heavily modified T1,1 (increased intervals, compressed into triplets)
6:44 Violent outburst of T1,1 and T2,3
7:09 Quartal chords moving by tritone in the RH, T2,1 and T2,3 in the LH. Possibly the most violent, chaotic passage in all of Medtner.
7:25 fff pealing of D major. IV-I cadence to...


RECAPITULATION
THEME GROUP 1, A MAJOR
7:36 fff recap, in the parallel major!
8:45 T1,2
THEME GROUP 2, A MINOR
9:07 T2,1
9:25 T2,2
9:34 T2,3
9:52 T2,4 and T2,1
CLOSING SECTION
10:10 Lots of T1,1
11:56 marked poco tenebroso, the atmosphere turns menacing. Harmonic movement by tritone in the RH, rising octatonically in the LH.
10:43 T1,1 and T2,3. Even more violent than its counterpart at 6:44.


CODA
11:09 T2,3
12:03 An E-flat7 arpeggio brings the coda to a sudden halt. A state ment of T1,1, pianissimo, with the pedal held down.
12:22 Nothing but E-flat major and A major triads until the very end.
12:41 E-flat to A cadence.


00:05 - Eckardstein
12:50 - Milne
27:28 - Tozer