Felix Werder: Sonata No 3 (1986)

Abstract

"This work was completed in February, 1986, and, like much of Werders output from around this time, suggests the influence of Schoenbergs expressionist style. A further influence is perhaps the music of C.P.E. Bach: Werder has often expressed to me his intense admiration for that composer, and Bachs influence may be discerned in the way Werder fully exploits the technical and expressive resources of both instruments. Bachs influence is also apparent in the structure of the work: Werders use of the title, Sonata, does not imply the classical form of the eighteenth century, but rather a structure in which recurring thematic motives constantly jostle for attention, and in the process undergo continuous metamorphosis. Although the work is through-composed, an underlying four-movement structure can be discerned, in which each movement is interrupted by a recollection or anticipation of previous or subsequent movements." -- Daniel Hersovitch