Volumes Three and Four of Jozsef Soproni's "Note Pages": A Stylistic Study.

Abstract

Jozsef Soproni, born in Hungary in 1930, composed in virtually every genre of musical composition: symphonies, other orchestral pieces, concertos, an opera, masses, cantatas, other choral pieces, songs, string quartets, sonatas, plus other chamber and instrumental pieces. His interest in solo piano music is realized in a number of compositions written before 1979 and his twelve piano sonatas written between 1996 and the first quarter of 1999. There is no comprehensive study of Soproni's music for piano; indeed all that has been published about it are brief analyses of various pieces, biographical sketches in books, and two articles in a Hungarian pedagogical journal of music. Note Pages includes eighty pieces for solo piano in four volumes, composed in 1974, 1975, 1977, and 1978. While volume 1 consists of short pieces and the consecutive volumes contain an increasing number of longer and more challenging compositions, Note Pages is a collection of performance pieces for pianists on various levels rather than being a didactic work. This monograph examines the fifteen pieces in volumes 3 and 4. Chapter 1 includes biographical information and an overview of Soproni's musical heritage and aesthetics, his works, his compositions for solo piano, and the entire collection of Note Pages. Chapters 2 and 3 examine the third and fourth volumes of the work, with emphasis on compositional techniques and pianism. The study concludes with a brief summary of stylistic features found in the last two volumes and possible difficulties encountered by the performer, as well as some advice given by the composer regarding the preparation process preceding performance as well as the main objectives of a good performance of these pieces.