Tonight's concert begins with the music of Franz Schubert and the Sonata in C minor, D. 958. The piece dates to the final months of Schubert's life, when he experienced an incredible stream of inspiration leading to several of his most profound works. Numbered among these masterpieces are the last three piano sonatas, D.958, D.959, and D.960. Each is an undeniable gem in its own right, yet there is evidence to suggest that Schubert conceived of them as a monumental trilogy. Formal, harmonic, and melodic elements link not only the movements within each sonata but the three sonatas as a whole.

The genius of the sonatas was not fully appreciated in the years immediately following Schubert's death. They were unfairly and unflatteringly compared to the works of Beethoven, and lay unpublished in the hands of Anton Diabelli for a full decade before seeing the light of day. Today, these sonatas rank among the most intense, expressive and finely crafted works to be heard on the concert stage.

The Sonata in C minor opens with an Allegro in sonata–allegro form. The first section, the exposition, moves from major to minor tonality with beautifully arching themes. In comparison, the development section is more chromatic, with the themes manipulted to expose a variety of melodic ideas and textures. The last section, the recapitulation, allows the main themes to be restated before the coda concludes the movement. The Adagio movement is in an A—B—A—B—A form and again employs chromaticism, although this time in the harmonic structure rather than in the melodic lines. The B section has a darker atmosphere with dramatic colours and modulations. The Menuetto: Allegro – Trio has a slightly subdued character, avoiding the dance–like atmosphere often found in this middle movement. Both the Allegro and Trio are in an A—B—A ternary form. The last movement is relentless in its pace and full of exciting rhythms. Schubert returns to the sonata-allegro form, but this time there are three themes in the exposition instead of the usual two. The work ends with a restatement of the first theme before building to the final fortissimo passage.

The life and work of Olivier Messiaen were profoundly influenced by his spiritual beliefs. He came by his faith honestly and with open eyes, as his father's devote Catholic views were balanced against his mother's criticisms of structured religion. For his part, Messiaen never faltered in his Catholic faith, and he developed a rather progressive view of spirituality. To him the Church was a large, global community following the word and deeds of God and Christ; he was less interested in strict doctrine or myopic thought.

Messiaen had several favoured sources for musical inspiration. These included the gospel of John, the letters of Paul, and a variety of contemporary Christian writers, as well as the pictorial stained-glass windows of Notre Dame. He complemented these creative stimulants with established musical symbols, and even translated Christian terms into numerology in the form of rhythm and meter. Messiaen also created his Seven Modes (or Scales) of Limited Transposition, each with its own title and symbolic meaning. Four of these modes are used in the Vingt Regards (Twenty Contemplations): Mode 2–God's Love, Mode 3–Child in the Manger, Mode 4–Word Incarnate, and Mode 7–The Star and the Cross.

Vingt Regards is a substantial work which takes approximately two hours to play in full. Written in 1944, it was directly influenced by a Belgian priest who wrote contemplations upon the infant Jesus in 1919. The work is cyclical, with many musical and intellectual concepts linking the various movements. Themes in the Regards address God, the Virgin, angels, prophets, the star, and the Cross, as well as the more abstract concepts of God's power and the relationship of the Divine to the human.

Regard de l'glise d'amour XX (Contemplation of the Church of Love) is built on Messiaen's Mode 2–God's Love. As the final movement in the collection, the piece references several ideas from other selections, theoretically and musically underlining the religious complexities of the human experience. The work ends as it began with the main theme from Regards du P￨re I (The Father's Contemplation), heard again in the final moments.

Schubert took on the role of tourist for the first time in his life in the summer of 1819, the year of his Sonata in A major, D. 664. His destination was Steyr, a town some hundred miles to the west of Vienna. The composer could not have afforded the holiday himself but his traveling companion, Heinrich Vogl, certainly could, and was most generous not only with his purse but also with his introductions once they reached Steyr.

Schubert was accommodated in the home of an acquaintance, and much to his delight found himself surrounded by the eight daughters of his hosts. As he wrote to his brother Ferdinand, “. . . nearly all [are] pretty. Plenty to do, you see.” In addition to these lovely companions, Schubert also made the acquaintance of Josefine von Koller, a young woman who played the piano fairly well. The composer completed the Piano Sonata D.664 in her honour and presented her with the original manuscript. When he returned to Steyr several years later, he requested the return of the score (he more than likely had only made the one copy). Thus the Sonata resurfaced in 1825, giving rise to an erroneous belief that it had been composed six years after his first visit.

The Sonata in A major is a three-movement work of delightful proportion. The opening Allegro moderato is leisurely in style, with a gentle second theme. Schubert was a great fan of Beethoven and paid his respects here with a rhythmic reference to the Allegretto of the composer's Seventh Symphony. There is also an unusual use of repetition, with the entire development and recapitulation heard twice. The second movement is dominated by a tender rhythmic motive, although in the latter half the voices are heard in canon before returning to the melody and accompaniment pattern. The Allegro finale is playful, with the opening material heard several times in various forms.

Maurice Ravel was a somewhat controversial composer in his time. On the one hand, he understood and appreciated the elements and structures of previous eras; on the other, he was drawn to all manner of new techniques and unusual harmonies. This duality of interests led him to borrow from the past but update the concepts to make them relevant to modern audiences, in the process creating unique, thought-provoking compositions.

Gaspard de la Nuit is an excellent example of Ravel's ability to meld the avant-garde with the Romantic. Written in 1908, the piece is based on a book of poetry by Aloysi's Bertrand, a precursor of the French Symbolists. The original text comprised six chapters, each containing a selection of poems on all manner of Gothic-style themes. The name Gaspard came from Persia and was said to mean “the man in charge of the royal treasures.” Gaspard of the Night might thus indicate the treasurer of all that is dark and mysterious. Bertrand mischievously suggested that it was actually Satan he was referring to in the title, and that the Dark Lord had in fact written the texts himself. In his settings of the three poems, Ravel remained faithful to Bertrand's work and extracted quotes from the poems to head each of his pieces.

The first in Ravel's Gaspard collection is Ondine, a piece based on the tale of a mermaid in love with a mortal, who refuses to join her in her watery world. Ravel focuses on melodic contours in this work, evoking a liquid imagery of water droplets, waves, and undercurrents. Next is Le Gibet, a macabre setting centred on the image of a corpse hanging from a scaffold. Here Ravel uses an ominous repetition of the pitch Bb to reinforce the tolling of the death knell; it is repeated over 150 times. Finally there is the devilishly difficult Scarbo, a musical illustration of an impish goblin who emerges at night to play nasty pranks. Some say the name Scarbo is a reference to the scarab beetle, an symbol in ancient Egypt of renewal and resurrection in funerary art. Whatever the etymology of the piece, it is an exciting conclusion to a well-rounded concert experience.

—Barbara Siemens