Beethoven.Qxp PH????? Booklet Gamben/Handel 17.06.19 08:51 Seite 1
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
HC19032.Booklet.16CD.Beethoven.qxp_PH?????_Booklet_Gamben/Handel 17.06.19 08:51 Seite 1 BEETHOVEN Complete Piano Works MARTINO TIRIMO 16 CDs HC19032.Booklet.16CD.Beethoven.qxp_PH?????_Booklet_Gamben/Handel 17.06.19 08:51 Seite 2 BEETHOVEN MARTINO TIRIMO BEETHOVEN Introduction perienced financial difficulties and his third Variation in the second movement of be delighted by them. I, myself, so en- Does Ludwig van Beethoven need any in- romantic relationships were often hampe- his last Sonata Op.111, are amazed at joyed ‘discovering’ the youthful Sonatas troduction? He is, after all, one of the red by the issue of class. Also, perhaps the similarity to the jazz idiom. Whether and other Sonata movements, some en- greatest of the great composers and one only a musician can appreciate fully the the founders of jazz were aware of Beet- chanting Variation sets, some delectable of the most popular. Many of his works loss of the sense of hearing. All these hoven’s astonishing expression is doubtful, Dances and Bagatelles, Preludes and are performed endlessly and audiences experiences deepened his emotional but this is surely the earliest ‘jazzy’ piece Rondos and much else. The whole journey throughout the world flock to concert halls world and sharpened his intellect. They of all! was an education and, if anything, increased to hear them. helped him in his reach for an expression my admiration for this giant of music. most musicians cannot even envisage. Elsewhere, the listener can only marvel at My question is: would he have produced the wealth of invention. Beethoven loved There are a handful of pieces, which may the remarkable number and quality of His piano output alone is enormous and to experiment and it was in his works for or may not be authentic. Nearly all these masterpieces had his life’s path been an arguably the greatest collection of all, and piano that he experimented the most. It spurious pieces are extremely short, some easier one? I do not think so. Furthermore, surely its most remarkable feature is the was, after all, his instrument and he was a of them less than 30 seconds and mostly I am convinced that his hearing problem, sheer variety of expression. Among the master of it. He sketched and re-sketched of mediocre quality and, in the end, I which must have been an almost intoler- 32 Sonatas you will not find two that are and there seemed to be no restriction in decided not to record them. Even if some able experience for him, was a blessing similar; and in the 20 sets of Variations his experimentation. Being highly self- of them are by Beethoven, my firm con- for mankind. His inner ear developed to one marvels at the range and inspiration critical, it sometimes took a long time be- viction is that he would have strongly ob- an astonishing degree and works such as of his vision and imagination. Indeed, he fore he arrived at what he regarded as jected to their presentation. the ‘Hammerklavier’ Sonata would pro- was a rebel and he defined the course of a satisfactory final version. These ‘ex- bably never have been written had he classical music probably more than any periments’ helped to develop pianistic The works are presented in chronological been able to exercise this vital sense. In other composer. He travelled fast and far, writing and musical expression to a re- order, but there are many instances where short, his inner vision of sound far exceeded from the influence of Haydn and Mozart markable degree, very much determining scholars cannot pin down the precise time what he was able to hear of the limited in his early works to his own idiomatic the future direction of music. Without of composition. Also, in a few cases, strict acoustic possibilities of the instruments of language of the middle period works and, his immense influence, who knows what chronology is deliberately ignored so that that time. finally, reached heights of great spiritual would have followed Mozart? on each CD the order offers more attrac- depth in the last 10 years or so. tive listening. For example, in CD4, the Indeed, his whole life was extraordinarily Among his extraordinary output for piano, strict order would have meant listening to difficult. As a child he was beaten by his Such is the variety of his expression that there are many outstanding works that are the 12 Minuets WoO7 followed by the 12 drunken father, as an adult he often ex- some jazz musicians, when hearing the little played and the listener is bound to German Dances WoO8, about 42 mi- 2 3 HC19032.Booklet.16CD.Beethoven.qxp_PH?????_Booklet_Gamben/Handel 17.06.19 08:51 Seite 4 BEETHOVEN MARTINO TIRIMO nutes of continuous dance music. The in- CD 1 Sonata in E flat major, WoO47 No.1 are simply astonishing for such a young sertion of the 12 Variations WoO68 Nine Variations in C minor on a Allegro cantabile composer. In fact, all three Sonatas between them provides variety; after all, March by Ernst Christoph Dressler, Andante contain remarkable passages, both these three works were written more or WoO63 Rondo vivace pianistically and musically, which delight less at the same time. This is young Beethoven’s first known sub- Sonata in F minor, WoO47 No.2 the ear. The technical demands, especially stantial composition, completed in 1783, Larghetto maestoso - Allegro in the second movement of the D major Uppermost in my mind while making the and the first to be published. The theme by Andante Sonata, which is a minuet with six recordings was the experience of Fer- Ernst Christoph Dressler, was given to him Presto variations, are considerable; but it is the dinand Ries, Beethoven’s closest student, by Christian Gottlob Neefe, his first main Sonata in D major, WoO47 No.3 musical meanings and purpose behind who described in some detail what hap- music teacher and Court organist in Bonn, Allegro the notes that impress. pened during his piano lessons. Beet- who asked him to write some variations. Menuetto sostenuto hoven did not concern himself at all with The 12-year-old student responded magni- Scherzando: Allegro ma non troppo The structure of the first movements is wrong notes, but if the musical expression, ficently! In developing this rather banal These three ‘Kurfürstensonaten’ also date relatively straightforward, but not without the essence of his idiom and the specific March, he displays remarkable imagina- from 1782-83, and they are known as surprises. In the F minor Sonata, the emotional content, was absent, then he tion and even pianistic innovation. The Va- such because the 12-year-old composer deeply serious introduction is followed by went into a rage. For him this was not riations are rather conventional but are of dedicated them to the Elector (Kurfür) an equally dark Allegro based on descen- forgivable. It was a crime! such a demanding level of difficulty that Maximilian Friedrich. Even though their ding scales, and when the opening mate- one can only marvel at the technical style may be mostly in the shadow of rial returns before the recapitulation it is in This recollection of Ries is always with me, ability of the composer, who presumably Haydn and Mozart, there is such origi- the unexpected and unusual key of B flat for it highlights the composer’s powerful was able to execute them. Neefe wrote: nality, invention and boldness that they minor. Elsewhere, in all three Sonatas, instruction to the interpreter: to focus with “This youthful genius...will surely become amply deserve to be numbered among the there are hints of orchestral colours as well total dedication, commitment and love on a second Mozart, if he progresses as well established 32 Sonatas. If later works like as gracefulness and intense drama, which the significance of the music, on what lies as he has begun”. When listening to this Op.49 and Op.79 are among the 32, foreshadow the symphonic writing of later beyond the notes. And what a treasure he work, one must not forget that the compo- then it is time for us to start talking about years. Also, as in the finale of the D major has left for us! ser was merely a boy of twelve! Beethoven’s 35 Piano Sonatas! Sonata, the listener will detect the lighter and humorous side of the composer. Copyright, Martino Tirimo The slow movements of the first two Sona- February 2019 tas, and also the opening of the F minor Sonata, express depths of emotion which 4 5 HC19032.Booklet.16CD.Beethoven.qxp_PH?????_Booklet_Gamben/Handel 17.06.19 08:51 Seite 6 BEETHOVEN MARTINO TIRIMO Rondo in C major, WoO48 Scholars have rightly cast doubt on the Minuet in F major, WoO217 These two short movements are more like Allegretto authenticity of both these two-movement (no tempo indication) sketches and were probably composed Rondo in A major, WoO49 Sonatinas. They were published after Andante in C major, WoO211 around 1785. There is nothing particularly Allegretto Beethoven’s death and they are rather Andante noteworthy about them: melodically and Beethoven was still twelve years old when simplistic in their pianism and musical Little is known about the composition of harmonically they are straightforward and he wrote both these charming and joyous expression, especially the one in G major. these two short pieces and scholars do not without any surprises. Rather, it feels like Rondos in 1783 and he, surely, must have However, it is not impossible that they agree on the date of composition. The the jotting down of ideas and there is no had a smile on his face! They suggest that could have been written by a still younger Minuet is clearly a very early piece, but development.