Chinese Sonata (Russell Keats)
By Brennan Keats
Regular price
$25.00
Sonata for flute, cello and piano, c.5'30. Grade 6
Composed by Russell Keats for his friend, Gordon Watson, 1936. Edited by Brennan Keats 2020.
This is the only surviving work of my brother Russell, the others lie with him at about 2000 feet in the ocean depths off Savo Island in his ship HMAS Canberra (1). At the insistence of our mother he took his music on what was to become Canberra’s final departure from Sydney Harbour.
As students of the Conservatorium of NSW (now Sydney Conservatorium of Music) both Russell and Gordon Watson fell under the spell of Raymond Hanson.
This work reflects the times in China during 1936, the date of its composition. Civil war prevailed between the government of the Republic of China and The Chinese Communist Party. To the writer there is a sense of foreboding in the music with an ostinato piano line almost unchanging throughout the entire work. There may also have been murmurings of Japan’s invasion of China in the year to follow that have crept into the work.
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ISMN 9790673410264
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