Anna Han - Prokofiev Piano Sonata No.6, Op.82

00:00 - Allegro moderato
08:37 - Allegretto
13:36 - Tempo di valzer lentissimo
20:45 - Vivace

This video came from one continuous take.

Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82 (1940) is a sonata for solo piano, the first of the Three War Sonatas. The sonata was first performed on 8 April 1940 in Moscow.

1. Allegro moderato
The first movement introduces the main motto, where the melody is played in minor thirds and parallel major thirds. This makes the movement tonally unstable, since both A major and A minor are established. Also, the motto is accompanied by a rising and falling augmented 4th between notes A and D#, creating sharp dissonances. Thus, it already introduces the uncertainty of the work. The greater part of it is dominated by grinding dissonances and frequent modulation, further increasing the despair of the work. Throughout most of the piece, there is a lack of key signature.

2. Allegretto
The second movement has been described as having a march-like sound with staccato chords. There is also a very bouncy and jaunty character to the outer sections of the piece as well. The middle section is more melodic and a little more pensive.

3. Tempo di valzer lentissimo
The third movement is similar to a waltz, slower and romantic.

4. Vivace
The closing movement is a rondo, containing material from the opening movement.

Shot and edited by Earl Cahill

Hailed by the Washington Post as “prodigiously gifted… a display of imagination, taste and pianistic firepower far beyond her years,” ANNA HAN strives to deliver heartfelt performances through a variety of classical piano repertoire. She has given solo, concerto, and chamber performances at venues such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Alice Tully Hall, the Phillips Collection, SubCulture, the Lied Center of Kansas, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, and the Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Hall in Poland. She has soloed with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, the West Valley Symphony, the Kansas Sinfonietta, the MusicaNova Symphony Orchestra, the Downtown Sinfonietta (in White Plains, New York), the Verde Valley Sinfonietta, and the Chandler Symphony Orchestra. She has given world premieres for several works, among them Michael Brown's Suite for Piano (2013), which she recorded for the Steinway and Sons label. Winner of the 2016 Juilliard Gina Bachauer Piano Competition and 2012 New York International Piano Competition, Anna is currently studying with Robert McDonald at The Juilliard School, where she is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship.

Filmed and edited by Earl Cahill. Read generally about Earl's Music Room here