Beethoven 250: Piano Sonata No. 6 (Stephen Kovacevich, 1998)

CD cover art to Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 4–7. Edmund von Wörndle  (1827–1906): Romantische Landschaft im Abendlicht, 1859. Öl auf Leinwand. 63,5 x 95,5 cm. Source: Dorotheum. From: Wikipedia. Please click on the image to enlarge it!

Beethoven: The Complete Works (80 CD). Warner Classics / © 2019 Parlophone Records Limited. Also available on Spotify etc. I bought my box set from Fuga at Helsinki Music Centre.
    Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827.
    Beethoven 250 / corona lockdown listening.

From: CD 18/80  Piano Sonatas Nos. 4–7
Opus 10 – Der Gräfin Anna Margarete von Browne gewidmet.
Stephen Kovacevich, 1998.

Opus 10 Nr. 2: Klaviersonate Nr. 6 in F-Dur (1798)
Erster Satz: Allegro, F-Dur, 2/4 Takt, 203 Takte
Zweiter Satz: Allegretto, f-Moll, 3/4 Takt, 170 Takte
Dritter Satz: Presto, F-Dur, 2/4 Takt, 150 Takte

AA: A brilliant, luminous and magical sonata. At times it sounds like a spring fairytale.

At other times it evokes a two-reeler from the golden age of film comedy. The first movement is full of joy, wit and fun. The second movement is eerie, brooding and mysterious but not slow: there is no slow movement. The third movement is like a chase sequence: inspired by Bach's inventions, a virtuoso showcase with a dancing feeling.

One of Beethoven's warmest and funniest pieces, it is not superficial in the same way that Mozart is not superficial. The surface matters, but we sense deep seas beneath.

I listened to several interpretations, and my absolute favourite far above all others is the Guardian lecture by András Schiff. Played by him, it is like a different composition. Schiff remarks that F major is Beethoven's "spring tonality", also on display in the Spring Sonata and the Pastoral Symphony. He analyzes the vertical and the horizontal developments.

Schiff reports that Haydn taught Beethoven about humour in music, based on expectation and surprise. It was all based on the fact that the audience, the composer and the musicians shared the same language. Schiff compares certain passages with Laurel and Hardy: the thick and the thin. The Presto is for Schiff a tour de force, one of Beethoven's most remarkable passages.

I am not capable of commenting that, but this sonata, at 12 minutes, is miraculous in its variety. It has to be played very precisely, and you need to understand the composer's sense of humour. Many interpreters don't seem to be able to make sense of it. In András Schiff's playing and lecturing I sense a Hungarian touch of humour beloved by Lubitsch and Wilder.