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| Paul Leyendecker (engraver) (1842–1891): An Anecdote about Beethoven. Publisher: Goupil & Co. Beethoven composing in nature with procession in background ; Printed on the Hess press printed on lower right of image ; Image covered with tissue paper of same dimensions, title and statement of responsibility printed in center. 22 x 29 cm. Rights: This work is in the public domain and therefore the digital images attached to this catalog record may be used without permission. From the collections of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, San José State University. Digital access sponsored by Jeff Anderson. From: SJSU King Library Digital Collections: Beethoven Collections. 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 19/80 Piano Sonatas Nos. 8–11
Op. 14
Der Baronin Josefa von Braun gewidmet.
Stephen Kovacevich, 1997.
Opus 14 Nr. 2: Klaviersonate Nr. 10 in G-Dur (1799)
Der 1. Satz – Allegro, 2/4 – beginnt mit einem anmutigen und heiter-versonnenen Sechzehntelmotiv. Zweistimmige Terzen bringen das Seitenthema.
Der 2. Satz – Andante, Allabreve – steht in C-Dur, der Subdominante von G-Dur. Feine und durchsichtige Variationen machen ihn mit kurzgestoßenen Akkorden zu einem kleinen Marsch.
Der 3. Satz – Scherzo, Allegro assai, 3/8 – ist eine Mischung aus Rondo und Scherzo, bezeichnenderweise Beethovens einzigem am Ende einer Sonate.
"Donald Francis Tovey bezeichnet sie als „exquisites kleines Werk“. Im selben Jahr wie die Pathétique entstanden, ist die G-Dur-Sonate von ganz anderem Charakter. Das Lyrische und Spielerische erinnert an das Rokoko und tritt noch stärker hervor als in der unter derselben Opuszahl veröffentlichten und zeitgleich entstandenen E-Dur-Sonate." (Wikipedia)
AA: The piano sonata 10 is, like its Opus 14 companion, piano sonata 9, a joyful piece, bursting forward like a bright spring brook. It is a playful piece whose wit is based on rhythmic complexity. The first movement is singing, the second movement is marching, and the third movement is dancing. Anton Schindler reports that in Beethoven's time audiences sensed in the composition a struggle between two principles, as if between man and woman. Like the 6th piano sonata, this is a comedy number, particularly in the march of the tin soldiers in the andante, allabreve movement.
András Schiff recognizes in the first movement anticipations of Schumann's "inner voices", in the staccato passages of the second movement affinities with Seurat's pointillistic paintings and in the third movement spices and flavours from Lydian modes. Schiff finds in the Andante Beethoven's first variation movement.
I read in the weekend's The New York Times Anthony Tommasini's essay on Beethoven's piano sonatas, including a praise of a recent complete edition (9-cd, Sony Classical, fall 2019) interpreted by Igor Levit, also available in Spotify and other platforms. I immediately started to listen to Levit's performances. They are brilliant and sparkling but there is a little bit of a taste of a race there. A race against time? I prefer the other extreme, the utter slowness of Sokolov, for instance.
My main listening menu is Stephen Kovacevich, and he has a fine touch in this sonata. András Schiff's masterclass is a joy to listen to. Schiff's Hungarian-Lubitschean sense of humour serves him well in this piece, including in the finishing scherzo which he knows to season with oil and pepper.
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| Igor Levit: Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas (Sony Classical, 2019). |
BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: FURTHER DISCUSSIONS OF BEETHOVEN'S PIANO SONATA NO. 10:
BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: FURTHER DISCUSSIONS OF BEETHOVEN'S PIANO SONATA NO. 10:
Per Tengstrand's essay with video and audio samples on Beethoven's tenth piano sonata
https://worldofbeethoven.com/op-14-no-2-with-video/
AllMusic Featured Composition
1799
Avg Duration 15:38
Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2
Description by Robert Cummings:
This work has an unusual structure in its three movements: Allegro, Andante, and Scherzo (Allegro assai). A Scherzo, of course, is usually an inner movement, but Beethoven was never one to follow convention. He makes the pattern work well here and the piece sounds perfectly logical even at first hearing.
The sonata begins with an invigorating burst of fresh air -- springtime country air, in this case. It should be mentioned here that the composer may have started this work in late 1798, even though its mood would suggest at least late winter, if not spring, of the following year as its gestating point.
Of course, Beethoven's inspiration was hardly limited by the time of year or other such external factors. There are three main themes in the first movement, all heard in rapid succession and all ecstatic in their joy and sense of merriment. The exposition is repeated and a fairly elaborate development section ensues. Here, there is some tension, but the thematic transformations and subtle interlacing of the various materials are of greater significance. The recapitulation presents all the themes from the exposition once more, but with some minor changes.
The middle movement Andante begins with a proud, march-like theme, quite lively considering the slow tempo. Three variations follow, without any significant change of mood. The second variation emphasizes the rhythmic aspects of the theme, while in the third the left hand takes up the main line, the right supplying the accompaniment. The movement ends with a brief restatement of the theme given in chords by both hands.
The finale begins with a lively theme of considerable keyboard range, with direction changing and movement often hesitant. An alternate theme, a bit less colorful but warmer, appears and provides fine contrast. There is much humor in this high-spirited three-minute movement.
BBC Radio 3
PIANO SONATA NO.10 IN G, OP.14 NO.2
Wednesday 8th June 2005, 17.00-19.30
John Lill
Allegro
Andante
Scherzo: Allegro assai
The two sonatas of Beethoven's Op. 14, written within a year of the Pathétique and published in the same month of 1799, make a matching pair. Both are in three movements, both in major keys and both provide a lyrical contrast with the heady emotions of Op. 13. No. 2, indeed, finds the composer at his most playful, particularly when it comes to tricks of metre and rhythm.
The opening Allegro almost feels its way into a main theme, even fooling the listener as to where the bar line falls, as its broken figures coalesce into a more tangible melody. The movement features one of Beethoven's more elaborate development sections and, after the return of the opening music, comes to an end in a mood of contentment.
The middle movement is a set of variations on a simple, staccato theme - Beethoven at his most congenial, though he ends with an attention-grabbing joke worthy of Haydn.
The finale, unusually, is a pastoral-style scherzo, but one in rondo form rather than the more common scherzo-and-trio layout, and with a main idea that disconcertingly sounds as if it is never sure whether it has two or three beats to the bar.
Matthew Rye
...
Wikipedia em português:
Allegro: Primeiro movimento.
O primeiro movimento começa com uma figura ríitmica interessante, onde o ouvinte não sabe ao certo onde está o Downbeat da música. Beethoven, que adorava brincar com a percepção rítmica do ouvinte, inicia a sonata no segundo tempo de um compasso 2/4, deslocando todo primeio tema em "meio compasso" e criando a impressão de que o baixo entra no início de cada compasso. O pianista tem que entender essa dualidade e colocá-la em prática na interpretação. O movimento é cheio de "armadilhas rítmicas" com síncopes, polirritmia, acentos em off beats, etc. O movimento é apresentado tradicionalmente, sem muitas inovações quanto à forma. Na coda, Beethoven traz de volta o tema principal - outra "tradição" em suas sonatas.
Largo, con gran espressione: Segundo movimento.
Com o ataque seco e as pausas entre acordes, Beethoven cria uma atmosfera de uma marcha para a abertura do segundo movimento. O movimento traz várias "idéias" que são repetidas cada passagem até à passagem final, onde Beethoven explora mais uma vez seu talento em desenvolver idéias. Uma passagem em semicolcheias traz de volta o tema inicial da marcha para enfim terminar o movimento.
Allegro: Terceiro movimento.
O Scherzo final também apresenta variações rítmicas que pregam truques no ouvinte. O tema vem em fragmentos, onde o material principal é com uma escala ascendente. Essa "indecisão" dura até o compasso 70, onde a música finalmente "pega" e se desenvolve com um pouco mais de fluidez. Mas mesmo assim, Beethoven não deixa de lado a complexidade rítmica, com acentos nos tempos fracos. Essa seção funciona mais ou menos como o Trio do Scherzo. Beethoven intensifica essa complexidade até o final da peça, onde a polirritmia aparece entre o acompanhamento e a melodia. O final, surpreendente, dilui a música gradualmente até a última nota no baixo.
Mais uma sonata onde Beethoven "pratica" suas características ao compor para o piano, sendo que a complexidade rítmica é a mais evidente nesse caso.
Referências
COOPER, Barry. Beethoven: Um Compêndio. Tradução de Mauro Gama e Cláudia Martinelli Gama. Rio de Janeiro, Jorge Zahar Editor. 1996. ISBN 85-7110-349-6
http://digitalcollections.sjlibrary.org/cdm/search/searchterm/Portraits%20Beethoven%20Full%20figure/mode/exact/page/2
https://www.beethoven.de/en/archive/view/6559862288809984/Beethoven+playing
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