Dmitry Kabalevsky – Op.45 Piano Sonata No.2 in Eb major (1945) (Score, Analysis)

Вторая соната для фортепиано, соч.45

Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (Дми́трий Бори́сович Кабале́вский) (1904-1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist, and pedagogue. A prolific composer, he is now primarily known for his pedagogical works, which includes his Violin concerto and Third piano concerto. He mostly composed in traditional, diatonic idioms, which allowed him to enjoy fame as a composer very fit to “Socialist Realism”.

The second piano sonata of Kabalevsky is a war sonata. True to this, it is the darkest and longest out of the 3 piano sonatas of Kabalevsky. However, in my opinion, it is less profound than Prokofiev’s war sonatas. However, this piece would be a surprise to people familiar with Kabalevsky through his “youth” pieces like Op.39 or 3 student concertos.

(0:00) Mov.1 Allegro moderato. Festivamente – Some suggested that this movement is quite like Shostakovich’s Leningrad symphony in its ideas. It starts with the T1, a rather ambiguous fanfare.
(1:06) T2 is in D, but with much chromaticism.
(1:52) Transition
(2:51) Development. The development is very turbulent and aggressive.
(3:04) T1, varied.
(3:30) Change in tonality, T1
(3:55) T2, march-like
(4:23) A very aggressive section, filled with chromaticism, dissonances, and turbulence. T1
(5:31) Recap, T1. The fanfare is back, but arpeggios reminiscent of the development creates an ambiguous mood.
(6:38) T2, but darker.
(7:21) Coda, which concludes the movement in the brooding Eb minor.

(8:08) Mov.2 Andante sostenuto – The middle movement is in ABA form. The outer section is filled with hammer or bell-like sounds.
(10:40) The middle section in G minor has some Prokofiev-like passages, in a dark and ambiguous mood.
(13:45) The outer section returns in a climax, like alarum bells.
(14:27) It dissipates, and the movement concludes in a quiet ending.

(16:30) Mov.3 Presto assai – The last movement is in rondo form. The first section features toccata-like passages.
(17:12) B. Rather humorous.
(17:40) Second part of B.
(18:27) A
(19:10) C, a march-like melody – I think it sounds similar to Shostakovich’s B minor sonata’s 1st movement, 2nd theme?
(19:48) Anyway, this theme goes through some variations
(20:20) Reprise
(20:52) A
(21:52) B
(22:23) A
(22:54) Coda, which starts with the march melody (C). This concludes the piece in series of fanfares, but the tension is only resolved in the last measure, which gives the conclusion a bit of ambiguity.

Recording by Alexandre Dossin

This video is for a non-commercial purpose (I do not get any profit from this video), and I do not own the score or the music. If there is an advertisement, it is not by me; it is by Youtube. If you are the rightful owner and want this video removed, please contact me, and I will promptly remove it.

source