Maestro: Independent Classical Spotlight

This month on Maestro Independent Classical Spotlight we have a selection of four Romantic Period pieces from our classical collection. Amber Yiu Hsuan Liao"Piano Sonata No.18 in E-flat major, Op.31, No.3" (mp3) from "Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.18; Granados: Goyescas; Schumann: Humoreske" (MSR Classics) Buy at iTunes Music Store More On This AlbumThe three pieces in this recording were all written during difficult times in the lives of their composers. Beethoven composed the E-flat major sonata in the same year he wrote the Heiligenstadt Testament. Goyescas was created shortly after Granados learned about both the death of his close friend Issac Albéniz, and the Tragic Week, a bloody confrontation between the working class of Barcelona and the army. When Schumann composed Humoreske, he was an aspiring composer trying to win the approval of Clara’s father, and was staying in Vienna away from home and his beloved. It is touching to hear how the composers rose above the pain, anxiety and desperation in their li