Beethoven: Sonata No.22 in F major, Op. 54 | Boris Giltburg | Beethoven 32 project
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- Nestled between two titans - the Waldstein and the Appassionata - is an unusual, enigmatic two-movement work. Beethoven’s contemporaries and later generations of critics didn’t think much of it, and it remains seldom performed today. The Sonata was Beethoven’s first serious look at the possibilities of a two-movement form (if we disregard the two ‘for the drawer’ Sonatas, Op. 49), which he went on to explore in the increasingly poetic Opp. 78, 90 and finally 111.
Here, the first movement itself (0:06) seems to contain, if not two separate movements, then certainly a clash of two very different worlds. On one hand a stately minuet, its dotted rhythm opening motif repeated in several registers over the keyboard, rich and warm in the bass, pure and crystalline in the soprano. On the other hand, an explosive cascade of double octave triplets, insistent almost to a point of parody or ridicule (1:01). The two elements alternate, shifting the balance of power throughout the movement. At first, the thunderous octave passage is almost double the length of the opening Menuetto, seemingly overpowering it, but as the movement progresses, it is the minuet element that is developed and varied, acquiring elaborate ornamentation, while the octave passage becomes shorter and finally disappears completely until the very final bars. The incongruous mismatch of the two elements strongly suggests an extra-musical narrative - but without any indication from Beethoven as to what it may be, it would have to remain open to our imaginations.
The second and final movement (6:12) is a perpetuum mobile in calmly flowing semiquavers. In this core idea, it is surprisingly similar to the finale of the Appassionata; also in the unexpected repeat of the second half of both movements. The mood of course couldn’t be farther apart - allegretto and dolce in Op. 54, contrasted with the highly tense, most on-the-brink-of-disaster movement Beethoven has ever written in the later Op. 57. Like the opening Menuetto, this movement, too, seems to follow its own somewhat unpredictable logic. The (very prosaic!) image I have in the beginning is of two dogs happily chasing each other’s tails, but the dolce marking and the innocent delight of the opening bars do belie a fair share of drama in the development, with several chains of surprising modulations (at 8:00 particularly, the left hand, if played on its own, could have well been composed by Bartók or Ligeti). In a last similarity to the Appassionata both movements end with a fast coda (11:40), though here too, the similarity is outweighed by the contrast: Op. 57’s is a desperate ‘rush deathwards’ (in D.F. Tovey’s words), while Op. 54 ends with an exuberant celebration in F major, joyful and triumphant.
***
Beethoven 32 - Over the course of 2020, I have learned and filmed all 32 Beethoven sonatas. Subscribe to this channel or visit beethoven32.com to follow the project.
Boris Giltburg, piano
Filmed by Stewart French
© 2020 Fly On The Wall, London (fotw.london)
@FazioliPianos
The more I listen to the Op. 54 sonata, the more it grows on me.
I really believe the last movement is one of THE best movements Beethoven ever composed.
You play this piece EXTREMELY well, especially with making something of that rather strange first movement.
A composition with full understeanding.....what he composer try us to tell......I think the composer would have played him itself.....I don't think with such an effect.......Bravo.....Boris.....
Wonderful Boris! Can hear your greats interpretations makes me very happy! Thanks you very much! Until our next appointment, l'Appassionata!!!
Wonderful Sonata from beginning to end.♥️♥️♥️♥️💓♥️♥️♥️♥️Bravo 👏🌻
A unique sonata with some weird technical challenges in both movements. Your interpretation is really good!
I love this weird and willful sonata 🥰
Thanks you're wonderful !😍
I. In tempo d'un menuetto - 0:06
II. Allegretto - Più allegro - 6:12
Brillant and excellently played ! It is such an underrated sonata. The 2nd movement on its own could well be played as an 'encore' in a live session.
Bravo!!! What a wonderful performance!👏👏👏
Eduardo Poblete de Chile, fabuloso, extraordinario, espero con ansias la continuación de las sonatas de Beethoven, eternas gracias querido Boris , Dios te bendiga....un gran abrazo desde Chile....
I absolutely love the Beethoven Project! Thank you for bringing your detailed, nuanced and so personal interpretations to us. The only thing I am not enjoying is the anxiety-inducing camera work lol. I wish they would switch it up a bit and have it stable for some of the videos.
Wonderful! Thank you so much!
Thank you!!! It's beautiful!
Wonderful!!? Bravoooo!♥️
Descubriendo a este gran pianista. Técnica limpia y gran sentimiento.
Brilliant. Tahnk you, master.
Grazie caro ragazzo, la tua meravigliosa musica accompagna le mie giornate 💗
Очень !!!
What a pleasure starting the day to this! When will you release the cds?
At least in digital form (I listen through Idagio), the first seven volumes are already out (covering all sonatas up 'til No 26).
I haven't searched to se if the actual records are out yet though... so that I wouldn't know.
Thank you!
Regarding the CDs, David's reply is correct - the first seven volumes are already out in digital form. But we will also have a physical box, currently slated for release in September this year.
really lovely, Boris. by the way, . i've decided to learn the Pathetique - surely the greatest piece for the piano ever written... although some would argue he should also have kept that one to just the first 2 movements, instead of perhaps spoiling it with a less than 'unsurpassable' 3rd movement. he gets it right in this gem of a sonata!