Sonata in Bb Major (1918)
Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933)
Mafer Guglielmina, flute
Oleksii Ivanchenko, piano
DMA Recital #2
March 28th, 2023
Clarke Recital Hall
Frost School of Music
University of Miami
------
Sigfrid Karg-Elert was a German composer and organist. He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory under Carl Reinecke. He was also influenced by Debussy, Scriabin, and Schoenberg. His romantic writing evolved into more dense, richly chromatic harmonies that do not fit into any specific musical box. His Sonata in Bb is his most substantial work for the flute. The complex, interlaced lines, harmonies, and rhythms between the flute and piano make the performance of this work a difficult task for both players. At the time that this work was written, there were no other major flute works being composed besides the composers from the French School, including Philippe Gaubert. The only common element between Gaubert’s three sonatas and Karg-Elert’s is their 3-movement structure. In terms of flute German composers, this work was the only major sonata written between Reinecke’s Sonata Undine (1882) and Hindemith’s Sonata in 1936. Karg-Elert can fit as a combination between the writing styles of these two composers: the Romantic texture from Reinecke, and Hindemith’s more unique harmonic language.
