Written when Weisgarber was twenty-five years old, his first Piano Sonata was a product of his first year on the music faculty of the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina. It’s youthful energy reveals him already as a contrapuntist at heart. Chromaticism and its resulting shifts of tonal centre are characteristic of Weisgarber’s work at this early period and show the influence of such composers as Paul Hindemith. His lyrical nature comes through in the second movement with the central section’s bi-tonal “folk” melody, seasoned with the flavour of Ravel’s Tombeau de Couperin.

Karen Suzanne Smithson, daughter and editor
February, 2025