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Piano Sonatas, Ops 10 & 13. Deux-Elles DXL1161. Louis Lortie. Even Beethoven’s Op.2, his first acknowledged sonatas, which are explicitly Haydnesque sonatas, are filled with wonderful new things. Listen to the slow movement of Op.2, No.3, which at first is reminiscent of Bach: Beethoven gives you a simple chorale but then mixes in strange ...
Sep 25, 2023 · The “Hammerklavier Sonata”, officially titled “Piano Sonata No. 29 in B♭ major, Op. 106”, is one of Ludwig van Beethoven’s most ambitious and monumental works. It is often considered the pinnacle of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Written during the late period of his piano sonatas (1817-1818), it’s one of his most important works.
Jul 3, 2020 · In an essay for The Guardian, he wrote of Beethoven as a composer who “lives his freedom and achieves it in ever-new ways.”. But, he concluded, “I never know what ‘he’ wants and what ...
- Anthony Tommasini
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- Pathétique
- The Moonlight
- Waldstein
- Appassionata
- Hammerklavier
- Piano Sonatas, Opp.109, 110, 111
To single out just a few. The most important of the early Sonatas is the Pathétique. For the first time Beethoven uses a slow introduction, and an introduction of such weight you know something truly significant is going on. The opening chord breaks once and for all with Haydn and Mozart. You are in Beethoven’s world now. Among Beethoven’s few clos...
The most famous movement of any of the 32 Piano Sonatas is the opening movement of The Moonlight – the Sonata he composed for the woman he wanted to marry, Giulietta Guicciardi [see Chapter 6, Beethoven’s Women]. For the first time he put the slow movement first (something neither Haydn or Mozart ever did). Just like the opening bars of the Fifth S...
We already know the origin of the Waldstein from Chapter 3, The Spaniard. The gloriously spacious theme of the final movement is prefaced by a mysterious, fragmented middle movement, which presages it perfectly. That was not Beethoven’s original intention. The middle movement was a long complete piece with an instantly catchy tune. He realised it w...
Wagner’s favourite was the Appassionata. He loved playing it, and marvelled at the theme of the first movement rising from the depths. Once again, as with the Pathétique, the middle movement is simplicity itself, almost a theme on a single note. The entire work has such nobility and passion it is small wonder the publisher gave it the name by which...
We come to the most monumental of all the Piano Sonatas, the Hammerklavier. This was the work that Beethoven composed at the height of the traumatic court case, when he was composing little else. What spurred him to do it? More than likely the thoroughly prosaic fact that at the beginning of the year he had received a remarkable gift. The famous Lo...
The Hammerklavier is often taken to signify the start of Beethoven’s Late Period. Certainly everything that now follows – Missa Solemnis, Ninth Symphony, Piano Sonatas, String Quartets– are on an entirely different plane to what has gone before. Profoundly deaf, deeply miserable, failing health – and the greatest works of all. The final set of Pian...
Dec 17, 2023 · Beethoven’s late piano sonatas. After that, there was a gap of around four years, to 1814, before the first of Beethoven’s “late” piano sonatas, ‘Op. 90 ‘– in two concise movements ...
- Jessica Duchen
In this article, we delve into seven reasons why the “Pathétique” Sonata remains an everlasting gem in the realm of classical music. 1. Innovative Structure. Beethoven broke new ground with the “Pathétique” Sonata, particularly in its structure. The sonata departs from the traditional sonata form, introducing a slow, grave ...
Mar 20, 2020 · To pick two extreme examples, the compact Sonata in F-sharp Major, Op. 78, clocks in at a mere 10 minutes or so, compared to 45 minutes for the mighty “Hammerklavier.” For Igor Levit, Beethoven’s genius manifests in his determination to banish all extraneous content regardless of length: “Beethoven is uncompromisingly truthful.
