Beethoven: Piano Sonata 29 - 31
This eighth volume in my Works Series series
follows Beethoven's piano sonatas from pianist Stephen Kovacevich. This
post will cover CD8 in Warner's 2017 set, which includes Piano Sonatas 29 - 31.
Because Volumes 7 and 8 took Beethoven's sonatas out of order, the covers above and below will be different than what I cover, missing Piano Sonata no. 30. Check out Volume 7 (BLOG) to see how Warner fit in Op. 109 over there.
With these three piano sonatas, we are firmly within Beethoven's late compositional period. While Piano Sonata no. 28 is also contained in this period, it is Op. 106 which is the piano-sonata monster of the composer's late period.
For those looking for my generalized thoughts, skip to the bottom. Otherwise, I will do a movement-by-movement breakdown of each sonata for those who wish to listen along. I provided a YouTube playlist at the very bottom of this blog post of Stephen Kovacevich's recorded performances in order to make it easier to follow along with my thoughts.
Because Volumes 7 and 8 took Beethoven's sonatas out of order, the covers above and below will be different than what I cover, missing Piano Sonata no. 30. Check out Volume 7 (BLOG) to see how Warner fit in Op. 109 over there.
With these three piano sonatas, we are firmly within Beethoven's late compositional period. While Piano Sonata no. 28 is also contained in this period, it is Op. 106 which is the piano-sonata monster of the composer's late period.
For those looking for my generalized thoughts, skip to the bottom. Otherwise, I will do a movement-by-movement breakdown of each sonata for those who wish to listen along. I provided a YouTube playlist at the very bottom of this blog post of Stephen Kovacevich's recorded performances in order to make it easier to follow along with my thoughts.
Piano Sonata 29, op. 106
Movement 1
Key: B-flat Major
Meter: Cut time
Tempo: Allegro
BPM: 𝅗𝅥 = 108 - 112
In these areas, the chromatic motion, the widely-spaces left and right hands, the differing textures and rhythms, not to mention the octave work thrown in, as well as an awkward shift back to B-flat Major, are all simply baffling to my mind. And this is all contained within the exposition, where the listener hasn't even reached a development section yet.
The development continues the G Major from the exposition for a small bit, only to move on to E-flat Major. It is here Beethoven takes on a Baroque fugal area, one greatly unexpected, as it is more of an episode than a development. No worries, for when Beethoven concludes his fugue, he wends his way through both D Major and B Major before reaching the recapitulation in the home key of B-flat Major, all with key signature changes.
While the recapitulation is familiar, Beethoven oddly moves towards G-flat Major in order to make a key signature change to B minor, and a much shorter visit at that, calmly moving back to the home key after only a handful of measures. After throwing in even more octave work for the pianist, Beethoven inserts a trill in both hands, where the player still has to maneuver outer moving parts occurring at the same time. The final moments sound like a glitzy showstopper, perhaps Beethoven's real purpose here.
I focused a lot on keys in my descriptions, but Beethoven makes the music sound fairly natural with a few exceptions. The virtuosity level is certainly high, and I sense Stephen Kovacevich taking a breakneck pace in the face of such pianistic difficulty.
Movement 2
Key: B-flat Major
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Scherzo - Assai vivace
BPM: 𝅗𝅥. = 62
After such a lively movement, I am surprised by the placement of a Scherzo in the following second movement. The listener almost needs a rest at this point. Luckily, the music is lighter, although Beethoven again uses a quasi-fanfare melody to link this short movement.
The 'Trio' is set in B-flat minor, first played with arpeggiated triplets opposite an octave melody. This though becomes fleeting, as Beethoven shifts to a duple Presto to link back to the opening theme and key. There are no structural repeats in this movement, thus I put Trio in quotes.
At the end of the movement, Beethoven plays around with the half step between 'B' and 'B-flat', even cancelling out the key signature shortly to really drive the 'B-natural' pitch as a lead-in to a 'B-flat'. Once the composer's digression is played out, the music merrily skips out on the dotted fanfare idea.
Kovacevich really feels the need to press at times, most notable in the Presto to Prestissimo section, which I suppose is apt. One gets a sense the piece could fall apart at anytime during this moment in particular.
Movement 3
Key: F-sharp minor
Meter: 6/8
Tempo: Adagio sostenuto, Appassionato e con molto sentimento
BPM: ♪ = 68
The opening section of the third-movement Adagio is largely chordal, set in a pensive F-sharp minor. Only a minor divergence into a brief, yet songful G Major, breaks up the light melancholy. I say melancholy, but this is not oppressive music. Rather Beethoven has the listener rapt with attention and anticipation.
Broken chords over a higher treble melody, one somewhat Italianate in character, lead into the next portion of the movement. This area also meanders into D Major, where Beethoven wanders chromatically in order to arrive in this new key. The D-Major portion is noted for its triplet semiquaver motion.
When the chordal textures of the opening return, it is done so in the new D-Major key. A brief return to F-sharp minor, actually leads curiously into E-flat Major, followed by a cancellation of all keys, and eventually a more rhythmically active F-sharp minor.
The return of the broken chord idea from earlier, now in B minor, is a warning flag for the composer to move on to a new section in F-sharp Major. Yet another return, this time of the songful G Major moment, cues Beethoven to whirl through D Major as a pivot to the chordal opening motive in F-sharp minor, bringing the work to its subdued conclusion.
My apologies for labeling these sections with so many key names instead of musical ideas. I realized a little too late that was the path my mind was traveling as I was following along with the music. Essentially, what this translates to is a rather episodic slow movement, although the music flows rather ingeniously from one section to the next, without the herky-jerky word descriptions I blathered above.
In the end, I feel what really needs to happen is to sit back and experience this very long movement from Beethoven, rather than analyze it. Something is lost in the attempt to do so, as I have done here, I think. I can't say I am emotionally drained by this movement, but rather eager to see where Beethoven goes during the runtime. In this way, it is hard to nail down the third movement, as the composer moves all over the place, albeit contained at a relatively slow tempo. I would imagine this is a difficult movement to get right as a pianist.
Movement 4
Key: B-flat Major
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Allegro risoluto
BPM:
= 148
A lengthy preamble opens the last movement. This one features a number of tempo changes, from Largo to Prestissimo, plus no fewer than four key changes, including major and minor, across its two pages of music. I suppose, this comes across as a linking cadenza rather than as a main course. For ease, I have focused my movement information above to reflect the Allegro proper only.
When the listener finally arrives in the home-key of B-flat Major, Beethoven strikes up a fugue, where the subject is announced with a trill. Once the fugue is fully realized, baffling harmonies transition to a G-flat Major area, one which is as pert and Baroque as the fugue. Such personality is wrung through E-flat minor and A-flat Major, as well as D Major, G Major, and E-flat Major before deciding to land on the home key. In all of these moments, Baroque fugue and textures are on Beethoven's mind, even if the harmonies and transitions are often confounding. Only a brief cantabile interrupts Beethoven's furious, head-long musical purpose here.
Despite being composed in the Classical Era, this is music which is beyond me. I can only imagine what audiences of Beethoven's day thought of it, for the music plays with my comprehension of music, here in the 21st Century. I guess that is why the Hammerklavier Sonata remains important and relevant to audiences and pianists even today.
Kovacevich is at his most vocal here, although his utterances do not distract me. Others might be bothered by it, but if I have heard anything from the pianist before now, it has been the occasional breathing and minor murmurings at emotional points of his playing.
Key: B-flat Major
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Scherzo - Assai vivace
BPM: 𝅗𝅥. = 62
After such a lively movement, I am surprised by the placement of a Scherzo in the following second movement. The listener almost needs a rest at this point. Luckily, the music is lighter, although Beethoven again uses a quasi-fanfare melody to link this short movement.
The 'Trio' is set in B-flat minor, first played with arpeggiated triplets opposite an octave melody. This though becomes fleeting, as Beethoven shifts to a duple Presto to link back to the opening theme and key. There are no structural repeats in this movement, thus I put Trio in quotes.
At the end of the movement, Beethoven plays around with the half step between 'B' and 'B-flat', even cancelling out the key signature shortly to really drive the 'B-natural' pitch as a lead-in to a 'B-flat'. Once the composer's digression is played out, the music merrily skips out on the dotted fanfare idea.
Kovacevich really feels the need to press at times, most notable in the Presto to Prestissimo section, which I suppose is apt. One gets a sense the piece could fall apart at anytime during this moment in particular.
Movement 3
Key: F-sharp minor
Meter: 6/8
Tempo: Adagio sostenuto, Appassionato e con molto sentimento
BPM: ♪ = 68
The opening section of the third-movement Adagio is largely chordal, set in a pensive F-sharp minor. Only a minor divergence into a brief, yet songful G Major, breaks up the light melancholy. I say melancholy, but this is not oppressive music. Rather Beethoven has the listener rapt with attention and anticipation.
Broken chords over a higher treble melody, one somewhat Italianate in character, lead into the next portion of the movement. This area also meanders into D Major, where Beethoven wanders chromatically in order to arrive in this new key. The D-Major portion is noted for its triplet semiquaver motion.
When the chordal textures of the opening return, it is done so in the new D-Major key. A brief return to F-sharp minor, actually leads curiously into E-flat Major, followed by a cancellation of all keys, and eventually a more rhythmically active F-sharp minor.
The return of the broken chord idea from earlier, now in B minor, is a warning flag for the composer to move on to a new section in F-sharp Major. Yet another return, this time of the songful G Major moment, cues Beethoven to whirl through D Major as a pivot to the chordal opening motive in F-sharp minor, bringing the work to its subdued conclusion.
My apologies for labeling these sections with so many key names instead of musical ideas. I realized a little too late that was the path my mind was traveling as I was following along with the music. Essentially, what this translates to is a rather episodic slow movement, although the music flows rather ingeniously from one section to the next, without the herky-jerky word descriptions I blathered above.
In the end, I feel what really needs to happen is to sit back and experience this very long movement from Beethoven, rather than analyze it. Something is lost in the attempt to do so, as I have done here, I think. I can't say I am emotionally drained by this movement, but rather eager to see where Beethoven goes during the runtime. In this way, it is hard to nail down the third movement, as the composer moves all over the place, albeit contained at a relatively slow tempo. I would imagine this is a difficult movement to get right as a pianist.
Movement 4
Key: B-flat Major
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Allegro risoluto
BPM:
= 148A lengthy preamble opens the last movement. This one features a number of tempo changes, from Largo to Prestissimo, plus no fewer than four key changes, including major and minor, across its two pages of music. I suppose, this comes across as a linking cadenza rather than as a main course. For ease, I have focused my movement information above to reflect the Allegro proper only.
When the listener finally arrives in the home-key of B-flat Major, Beethoven strikes up a fugue, where the subject is announced with a trill. Once the fugue is fully realized, baffling harmonies transition to a G-flat Major area, one which is as pert and Baroque as the fugue. Such personality is wrung through E-flat minor and A-flat Major, as well as D Major, G Major, and E-flat Major before deciding to land on the home key. In all of these moments, Baroque fugue and textures are on Beethoven's mind, even if the harmonies and transitions are often confounding. Only a brief cantabile interrupts Beethoven's furious, head-long musical purpose here.
Despite being composed in the Classical Era, this is music which is beyond me. I can only imagine what audiences of Beethoven's day thought of it, for the music plays with my comprehension of music, here in the 21st Century. I guess that is why the Hammerklavier Sonata remains important and relevant to audiences and pianists even today.
Kovacevich is at his most vocal here, although his utterances do not distract me. Others might be bothered by it, but if I have heard anything from the pianist before now, it has been the occasional breathing and minor murmurings at emotional points of his playing.
Piano Sonata 30, op. 109
Movement 1
Key: E Major
Meter: 2/4
Tempo: Vivace, ma non troppo, sempre legato
BPM: = 100 - 108
Movement 1
Key: E Major
Meter: 2/4
Tempo: Vivace, ma non troppo, sempre legato
BPM:
= 100 - 108
A nicely buoyant Scotch snap rhythm opens the first movement. It is quickly interrupted very early on by a switch to a slow Adagio tempo, where the pianist must stranger harmonic motion and navigate fancy finger work of a completely different nature. While the E-Major snaps return to more fully sequence harmonically, one more escape into the Adagio section finds its way back before finishing off into the lovely E-Major theme.
It is almost disarming how short this opening movement is. Not only that, but this is very insular music which isn't necessarily interested in showmanship. Instead, the music forces the pianist to examine a light coyness alongside some introspective moments.
I am not sure why I find the very opening measures so familiar, especially as I rarely visit these late piano sonatas. Have we ever heard Beethoven be so light and effervescent before? And yet, this is not frivolous music either, where somehow the composer imparts meaning to the music.
Movement 2
Key: E minor
Meter: 6/8
Tempo: Prestissimo
BPM:
. = 166 - 176Here is another brief movement, although the rollicking 6/8 belies its rather serious nature. Beethoven is very efficient here, tossing off the opening motives in relative short measure. So too, the textures are very clear, often preferring simple two-part textures over anything dense or complicated.
This movement is another case where I am very familiar with the opening measures, but I am not sure from exactly where. I will once again use the term serious to describe this music, for it is not menacing nor melancholic, but rather focused and determined, all set in a minor key.
Movement 3
Key: E Major
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo
BPM:
= 48Beethoven concludes this rather short piano sonata with a third movement theme and variations form. The theme itself is rather reverent, while the first variation continues this feeling with fancier ornamentation and embellishments. I again feel a familiarity with this opening piano hymn; perhaps I studies this work at some point?
In the opening theme, I notice Kovacevich lingers just a bit over anytime a grace-note arpeggio shows up. The pianist's rubato has heretofore utilized rubato in a rather natural manner, but here, he ever so slightly shifts to focus to his choice.
The following second and third variations apply more active rhythmic qualities, even changing the tempo to a more aggressively forward-moving Allegro Vivace in the third, both a stark difference from the delicate opening. The fourth variation is set in a dreamy legato, perhaps the most beautiful in the set.
Like the third variation, the fifth is Baroque in its output. Instead of a driving motoric idea, though, I am reminded of a more imitative Bach Invention or Sinfonia, but with very curious turns of harmony at times.
Beethoven returns to his opening slow hymn-like song for the final variation, one which grows more embellished as it pushes on. His wonderful two-hand trills are a highlight, the kind where the outer fingers still have to play actively moving musical ideas while the trills are being maneuvered at the same time.
I like the intimate scale of Piano Sonata no. 30. Just like in James Bond, where I often appreciate a villain who isn't necessarily bent on total world domination, I enjoy when Beethoven looks inward with his music, as he does here. Kovacevich seems to warm to this idea as well.
Piano Sonata 31, op. 110
Movement 1
Key: A-flat Major
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
BPM:
= 50There is an unusual delicateness and propriety to this first movement, where I was often reminded of a Mozart-ian texture. A singing melodic line soars over Classical-Era accompaniment figures in a way not typical of Beethoven. While the latter composer moves further afield harmonically at times, including an escape to E Major, he generally seems to relish exploring the home key of A-flat Major.
Only in the left-hand semiquaver block chords do I hear a surging Romanticism from the composer, a moment which really doesn't last all that long, although it does return later on.
Once again, though, the intimacy is disarming for this listener. For a composer who enjoyed surprising the listener with sudden sforzando outbursts and syncopated oddities, these later sonatas are not particularly interested in such things, and Kovacevich is on board with this approach.
Movement 2
Key: F minor
Meter: 2/4
Tempo: Allegro molto
BPM: 𝅗𝅥 = 144
Beethoven doesn't attach a Scherzo name to this movement, and that is a good choice for how serious sounding this music is, a companion to the central movement of the previous Op. 109. Here, Beethoven prefers fast-moving blocky chords and octave left hand.
Only the D-flat Major 'Trio' section offers contrast, with filigree finger work in the right hand and single notes in the left. Taken at this tempo, it makes for a whirlwind of sound. The return of the opening is given a forceful coda, again with solidly worked-out block chords.
Kovacevich takes a bracing 1-to-a-bar headlong dash at this minor-keyed movement.
Movement 3
Key: A-flat Major
Meter: 6/8
Tempo: Allegro, ma non troppo
BPM:
. = 80An Adagio introduction bridges the previous movement to this one, with some repeated single-note flourishes which sound more incessant to my ears than ornamented. This leads into an A-flat minor Adagio-tempoed arioso, a strange break instead of diverting into the movement proper. Does this make the earlier introduction a cadenza or recitative for piano? Strange indeed! Suffice to say, Beethoven slips through many keys to make this effect happen.
This minor-keyed aria will appear again, but not before Beethoven gives the listener another fugue, finally finding his way back to his home key of A-flat Major. Kovacevich makes the first statement of the fugue build in dynamic while Beethoven builds in harmonic intensity, but this area is generally peaceful and legato with a few outbursts in the left-hand octaves.
The shorter return of the fugue, after the aria reappears, has the melodic statement falling instead of rising as it did the first time, while also changing up the order of initial voice entries. This is still another calm, legato opening fugue, one which builds, particularly in the left hand octaves. The fugue eventually gives way to a Coda, one which still uses the fugal theme, but is less imitative in its purpose. This allows Beethoven to conclude on a grand statement.
This minor-keyed aria will appear again, but not before Beethoven gives the listener another fugue, finally finding his way back to his home key of A-flat Major. Kovacevich makes the first statement of the fugue build in dynamic while Beethoven builds in harmonic intensity, but this area is generally peaceful and legato with a few outbursts in the left-hand octaves.
The shorter return of the fugue, after the aria reappears, has the melodic statement falling instead of rising as it did the first time, while also changing up the order of initial voice entries. This is still another calm, legato opening fugue, one which builds, particularly in the left hand octaves. The fugue eventually gives way to a Coda, one which still uses the fugal theme, but is less imitative in its purpose. This allows Beethoven to conclude on a grand statement.
Final Thoughts
Well, I hope there are listeners just as flummoxed by this music as I am. Obviously, since we are nearing the last of Beethoven's piano sonatas, the composer at this point must have come to grips with his hearing loss. He had given up composing piano concertos a decade earlier than these piano sonatas, yet had continued in this solo-piano genre.
What do the lack of significant musical outbursts compared to his earlier sonatas, the inward nature of the compositions, and the Baroque and Classical formal tendencies mean coming from Beethoven at this time? As the keyboard was the composer's performing instrument, he obviously knew what he was doing, but golly, what a change.
Stephen Kovacevich has to be quite different in these piano sonatas. He certainly jumps on his ability to wring out the quiet, lingering moments which pervade these late sonatas. He also has the technique to brings out the few virtuosic moments, but is he truly plumbing the depths of the emotional core of these works? Suffice to say, I enjoy his playing, where I am rapt up in Beethoven's music rather than focusing on his efforts. I suppose that Kovacevich's talent for this listener in these late sonatas for me; that is, not distracting me from the music.
Next time, I will finish this Warner set, which includes not only Beethoven's very last piano sonata, but also a passel of his Bagatelles as well.
As I always, I look forward to the next volume with you my friends!
Cheers!
Work Series
Vol. 8 from Beethoven Piano Sonatas on Warner
Works
Piano Sonata 29 in B-flat Major 'Hammerklavier', op. 106 (15.40)
Piano Sonata 30 in E Major, op. 109 (20.35)
Piano Sonata 31 in A-flat Major, op. 110 (20.34)
Soloist
Stephen Kovacevich, piano
Label: EMI / Warner
Year: 1992-2001; 2017
Find more Beethoven recordings HERE!
Comments
Post a Comment