Between 1828 and 1845, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy composed 48 piano miniatures which he called ‘Songs Without Words’. Only some of these pieces, published in eight volumes, have literary titles. Such is the case with the miniature in C major, Op. 67 No. 4, from the sixth book, which the composer called Spinnerlied [Spinner’s song]. The four-handed version was prepared by Carl Czerny.
The last, fifth Sonata for piano for four hands in C major, K. 521 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1787), written with the sister of his friend Gottfried von Jacquin in mind, was ultimately dedicated to two young amateur pianists, the Natorp sisters, the daughters of a wealthy Viennese merchant. This three-movement work is a perfect reflection of Mozart’s style, in which charm and elegance are combined with a perfection of formal architecture.
Four-handed piano playing was an integral part of every Schubertiade. Franz Schubert composed the Fantasia in F minor, D. 940 and Allegro in A minor, D. 947 (published posthumously with the evocative title Lebensstürme [Storms of life], added by the publisher) in the first half of 1828. He died in the autumn of that year, losing his battle with a terminal illness. Since then, the biographical context seems to have been permanently attached to the melancholic seriousness of both compositions.
Grzegorz Zieziula