Roy Agnew: 'Sonata 1929' [unpublished]

Abstract

"The first of these is simply titled Sonata on the manuscript; lower down the page is written April, 1929. For the sake of uniformity, I suggest calling this work Sonata 1929. It is often the case that a composers unpublished works are inferior, and are forced into the public arena by scholars and performers for reasons more sentimental than musical. Naturally I feared this, but am now quite convinced that the progressive language of the work prevented its publication. Rich in changes of texture and tempo, with a wide sweeping use of the keyboard, it could also be labelled a sonata rondo, because the little five-note theme that is heard at the very beginning of the work is reiterated throughout. Like all the other sonatas, this one is in one movement, with a massively climactic coda just before the quiet ending." -- Larry Sitksy