YEN-PEI CHEN

London, UK

Chopin's 3rd Piano Sonata in B minor

Chopin's 3rd Piano Sonata in B minor is a colossus in piano repertoire: its rich and shifting harmonies, layers of intertwining melodies, and emotional intensity makes it formidably challenging to play. I took on the challenge naively when I started a 9-month career break in Canada in September 2019, as young people around the world took to the streets to demand urgent climate action. Immediately, the music spoke to me as encapsulating the spirit of the climate protests. Then the Sonata, with its journey between anguish and optimism, became the soundtrack to my life through the COVID-19 lockdowns. This Sonata turned out to be my Everest: since then, I have learned and re-learned its four movements, especially the first, which is the most expansive. In it, I've found everything from solace, exhilaration, escape and sometimes, nearly despair. For me, this first movement tells the story of a long-fought struggle. The tumultuous beginning sets the scene for a life-and-death battle where the outcome is entirely uncertain. To perform this piece, I have learned how important it is to remain grounded in myself, for it is extremely easy to be carried away by the emotional whirlwind of the music. Alongside the turmoil, we also find some of the most intimate, tender and hopeful music that Chopin has written, singing out of the gloom like ray of winter sunlight on a young upturned face. Ultimately, it is hope and love that triumphs: this movement - like the sonata as a whole - starts in B minor but finishes in B major. The music has a life-affirming message, reminding us not to lose hope - and to remember, in the midst of darkness, to look for the glimmer of light in all of us.