Sonatina for piano (1949)

There is very little information about the piece. It was written in August 1949 and was dedicated to Alina Górska, whose performance was recorded by the Polish Radio in 1974. The score was not published until 1997. These reasons as well as the musical features of Sonatina have determined the work’s limited presence on the concert platform.

The piece consists of three movements: I. Vivo e scherzando, II. Andantino, III. Con molto con moto (quasi presto).

In the macroscale, the Sonatina is in the form of a sonata allegro, in which the exposition corresponds to the first movement, the development to the second movement and the recapitulation to the third movement. Such an interpretation is made possible by the motivic uniformity of the entire composition as well as its brevity (4’50’’). The work is written for young performers, which explains its formal, textural, rhythmic, melodic and harmonic simplicity. The way notes are organised points unequivocally to folk stylisation.The Sonatina is one of few optimistic works by Baird, a fact noted by the composer in the score:

Sonatina can be played only by people in a very good mood.