András Schiff - Sonata No.22 in F, Op.54 - Beethoven Lecture-Recitals

András Schiff - Beethoven Lecture-Recitals
Wigmore Hall (London, UK), 2004-06
András Schiff last performed the complete Beethoven piano sonatas at Wigmore Hall from 2004-06 to overwhelming critical acclaim, with the editor of the Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, describing one particular performance as ‘a riveting mixture of erudition, analysis, passion, wit and memory’.
On the day before each of the eight recitals in the series, the world-renowned pianist, pedagogue and lecturer gave a lecture-recital in which he explored the works to be performed. Deeply engaging and insightful, these thought-provoking lecture-recitals, recorded live at the Hall, are available below as eight audio lecture-recitals.
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View the MP3 files on the Internet Archive:
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[@tinkerchel]

LECTURE NOTES:
--------------1st movt---------------
1. Haydn has many piano sonatas in 2 movements. Mozart has none.
2. Starts with an upbeat, in the same key and a similar mood as the Andante favori, WoO 57, in D major, the latter being the original second movement for the previous piano sonata, Op.53 "Waldstein". 4 bar phrases each ending in the tonic in a feminine cadence which is quite unusual
3. @10:23 the beast in "Beauty & the Beast": double octaves, in imitation, frequent accents sforzandi, later octaves become other inverters in 1/6's, 1/3's, 1/2's
4. @12:13 hemiolas: when you have a 3/4 meter, and the composer writes 2/4 & 4/4 phrases
5. @15:20 little gem with a shift to the minor
6. @16:21 like a cadenza in a piano concerto
7. @16:58 reminiscent of the 2nd movement of the 5th Symphony
8. attaca
--------------2nd movt: sonata---------------
9. @20:49 the proportions of this movement are extraordinary: first part is very short, 20 bars. The development and recapitulation is 7 times as long, over 140 bars. All 3 to be repeated. Then 27 bars of coda. Same "recipe" is used in the last movement of the "Appassionata"
10. @22:05 if look behind the semi-quavers you will discover hidden voices & harmonies.
11. @22:56 the jerk: a motif of 2 notes, the second has a sforzando. When this is imitated by the right hand it becomes a 3-note motif. This is a new way of writing for the piano. No one did it before Beethoven. This however was already used 4 years prior in Op.26 "Funeral March", the last movement.
12. @25:55 constant modulations and excursions making it difficult to follow
13. @26:14 a new rhythmical motif, like horns or trumpet signals.
14. @29:07 a Greek god playing with rocks😶‍🌫
15. @29:25 recapitulation: differently orchestrated since there's the timpani roll. Often in recapitulation Beethoven comes to the sub-dominant.
16. often the sforzandi is on the unaccented part of the bar. The dynamics are extreme, being a juxtaposition of fortissimo & pianissimo

[@kevinmaestroful]

Am I the only one who finds the 2nd movement on this sonata amazing?

[@martinopipino]

Actually not .. it is absolutely amazing .. I like it a lot too

[@charlottewhyte9804]

no you are not alone. I find this work amazing cause it,s different to the others.

[@MJTcompositions]

I LOVE this and all Beethoven piano sonatas. (Some more them others of cource)

[@ericrakestraw664]

The "Andante Favori" also, like this sonata's first movement, has an extended passage in octaves, so Schiff might be on to something in his comparison.

[@janbonsema5888]

no wonder it's not on video, this isn't Sir Andras Schiff playing thank God

[@MrInterestingthings]

These talks really do a lot for me . The sonatas we hear most often don't need explanation .op.90.the last GM,the 2 op.49 even the Funeral Marchop.26 I need to have a wise master tell me what is the point the music wants to make .Classical music especially absolute music has long needed these talks and 20th and 21st century music call out for it for almost every piece of music that comes out. When we hear difficult music like expressionist tomes of the Vienna dodecaphonists of the teens in a movie we get it -but when we hear it in the salon or concert hall we don't get it .I always was curious about this sonat abetween the two icons . I never knew what the little motif signified then the complete rougher , energetic almost violent contrasting triplets . Beauty and the Beast is a good idea. What was Beethoven trying to work out for himself ? What was the riddle and how is op.54 the solution.He is knowledgable about this period as well as his phenomenal Bartok recordings so it's good to hear him speak . Op.53 and op.57 seem to have very little to do with the monoliths before and after . "Experimental" one knows if Herr Beet publishes a Sonata he has something to say and he is working seriously .

[@rainerausdemspring3584]

Hemiolas were quite common in galliards in the 16th century.

[@chrisknopp1864]

What does he mean exactly by a "feminine" cadence at around 9:00? is this just poetic license, or is this an obscure theoretical term?

[@helloitismetomato]

A "feminine" cadence is a cadence that ends on an unstressed/unaccented beat

[@LRosenthal49]

What would he mean by describing the development of M2 as like"Greek gods playing with rocks"?