Piano Sonata by Gideon Klein - Klein’s piano sonata consists of three movements. The form of Klein’s Sonata for the most part remains traditional while the harmonic language is much more innovative.

 

Based on the research, Klein sketched a fourth movement, which was never finished. Interestingly, the sonata was composed backwards; the first movement was composed last while the last movement was composed first. The first movement is the heaviest, most chromatic, and most complex of the sonata. Its tempo marking is Allegro con fuoco, which means ‘quite fast with fire. It is the longest movement out of the three and has the darkest mood.

 

The second movement, Adagio, is a short movement that begins slowly before giving way to drastic tempo changes and outbursts of loud extreme dynamics. The last movement is similar to a dance. Marked Allegro Vivace, it is a quick and short movement, but bears little resemblance to the ‘happy’ familiar dance-like mood of the traditional third movement. Instead, it consists of contrasting sections and contrasting dynamics rising up to fortissimo.

 

 

Gideon Klein - Gideon Klein was born in Prerov, Moravia, on December 6th 1919 to a Jewish family. He began his piano lessons at age 6 and by 11 was traveling for private lessons to Prague. In 1938 he was admitted into Prague Conservatory, where he continued his musical studies. At the same time he attended Charles University, taking classes in philosophy and musicology. During his first semester Klein wrote an impressive study of voice-leading on Mozart’s string quartets.

 

In March 1939, Klein’s studies were interrupted by the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. While out of school, Klein began to perform widely and was praised for his musicality, accuracy and maturity. In 1940 he was offered a full scholarship to the Royal Academy in London but was unable to leave Czechoslovakia due to the Nazis’ racial laws.

 

In 1941 Gideon Klein was deported to Terezin concentration camp, where he immediately became involved in the camp’s cultural life. As a pianist, Klein performed pieces from the top traditional piano repertoire such as Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann; in addition, he performed less popular pieces by Schoenberg, Scriabin, Busoni, and Janacek.

 

Viktor Ullman wrote about Klein’s performances: “Gideon Klein is, without doubt, a very remarkable talent. With his cool, matter-of-fact style of the new youth, one has to marvel at his strangely early stylistic maturity.” In 1944, Gideon Klein was deported to Auschwitz where under unknown circumstances he was killed. The music that Klein composed in Terezin was saved by his last girlfriend and was accidentally rediscovered in 1990 in a locked suitcase in Prague.