Walewein Witten fortepiano Piano Sonatas by Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven Piano Sonatas Walewein Witten fortepiano Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Sonata in D minor, Op. 31/2 ‘The Tempest’ Fortepiano after Walter & Söhne (1805), built by Gerard Tuinman (2003) 1. Largo – Allegro [8:44] 2. Adagio [8:21] 3. Allegreo [7:46] Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. XVI:52 4. Allegro [9:59] 5. Adagio [6:08] 6. Finale: Presto [6:40] Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) Sonata in F major, KV 533/494 7. Allegro [9:05] 8. Andante [7:46] 9. Rondo: Allegreo [6:58] Total playing me [71:29] Walewein Wien in conversaon with registers of the instrument as an expressive Caroline Ritchie device, seng certain melodies where they have the most effect, and going to extremes CR: You have chosen for this recording of range for dramac effect. There are some works by three Viennese composers, beauful accompanimental figures in the closely associated with one another, middle register, which on the fortepiano and considered historically to be the sound dark and mellow, and the cascade-like pillars of the ‘Classical Style’. These descending arpeggios in the second three sonatas were wrien within a movement look ahead to Chopin or sixteen-year period, represenng a even Debussy. late, perhaps culminave work (Haydn), a re-working of exisng material There is great inherent drama and emoonal (Mozart), and a transion to a density in this piece. The earlier sonatas new aesthec (Beethoven). have moments of intensity, too, but the musical material stays within the expected With the three Opus 31 sonatas, Classical boundaries. In the middle period, Beethoven pledged to compose in a from the ‘Tempest’ onwards, Beethoven’s new style, thus beginning his ‘middle use of more extreme harmony and dynamics period’ of composion. What creates a deeper sense of yearning, pain disnguishes this sonata from his and anguish – but also of contemplaon, earlier wring, and what are the and profound peace. characteriscs of this new style? For me, the greatest innovaon in this WW: What strikes me immediately is period is the increased tension between the use of the instrument. In this sonata harmony and melody. In Beethoven’s the texture is thicker and fuller, creang earlier works, as in the late-Baroque and a more connuous, vibrant sound, as Galant style, the melody is independent, opposed to the drier, more arculated re-iterated in different keys which form , sound we know from the earlier sonatas. opposing structural secons. Here, the Beethoven pushes the fortepiano to its melody consists of small moves that can limits, moving between extremely so, easily be modified, allowing for a freer- tender and fragile to very loud, strong moving harmony; the resulng tension and almost raging. He uses the different creates the strong inner drive that is so James Francis Brown Photography: Liz Isles typical of Beethoven’s middle and later Therese Jansen-Bartolozzi and may inially the Pianoforte’, and it seems that Haydn ‘Rondo’ to form a complete sonata. How does periods. have been intended for her exclusive use, as was certainly inspired by the ‘London the piece change and mature with this no English edion appears before 1800; it school’ of piano composers; Clemen, regeneraon? CR: Barry Cooper, analysing the surviving was published in Vienna in 1798, but with for example, and Dussek, who lent Haydn sketches for this sonata, describes its a different dedicaon. his own piano around the me this sonata WW: The original Rondo KV 494 was marked origin in ‘a haze of different ideas’ – was composed. The English fortepiano ‘Andante’, which Mozart changed to the earliest sketches contain significant We think of Haydn as bridging the gap developed separately from the Viennese ‘Allegreo’ when he added this movement melodic material. So these mutable between the Baroque sound-world of his instrument, with a heavier touch and a to the two movements KV 533. Andante melodic paerns that you describe were youth and the Classicism of Mozart, more powerful tone, especially in the in Mozart’s me suggests a medium-fast there at the beginning, forming the Beethoven and their contemporaries. This treble register. Several features of this tempo, so the change in itself is not too ‘seeds’ of the sonata itself. Its nickname, is the last of Haydn’s piano sonatas, and it sonata suggest that Haydn was wring great, but sll, the sonata does not end ‘The Tempest’, dates from an alleged is quite an extraordinary piece – a sonata for an English piano – the fermatae which with the typical fast movement. The remark of Beethoven’s to his biographer, in E-flat with a middle movement in E allow for the disncve resonance of greatest alteraon was the addion of Anton Schindler; Schindler asked how to major! By this point, was Haydn even the English instruments, and the twenty-seven bars at the end of the interpret the sonata, and was instructed leaning towards Romancism? grandiose opening, reflecng the ‘Rondo’, forming a virtuosic quasi-cadenza to ‘read Shakespeare’s Tempest’. We extravagant virtuosity of the London and looking back to the first movement, know that Beethoven loved Shakespeare, WW: In his heart Haydn was and remained pianists. Haydn also departs from the where the contrapuntal texture is who in the Romanc era was viewed as a Classical composer. Despite the fact that usual three-voice texture of his earlier combined with extreme lightness and a ‘universal’ author who spoke to all he enters extreme harmonic territory here, piano wring, developing a freer style rapidly changing musical ideas. of mankind. This resonates with the the atude is sll a Classical one. Those in which between three and seven ‘deep sense’ you find in this sonata of keys are not a state of mind or of the soul, voices appear and disappear within the It is this somewhat volale quality that I emoon, of love, of beauty – the whole they are merely a musical experiment which same melodic paern. The choice of love in this piece. And yet, as always in gamut of humanity, as in nineteenth the composer enjoys. Haydn plays around keys may also reflect the strand of Mozart’s music, this vivid spirit speaks to century readings of Shakespeare by with moves and melodies, revealing Empfindsamkeit (sensibility) which us with great honesty. The beauful Goethe and others. musical truths which suddenly appear, and stretches throughout his work; the melody of the ‘Andante’ could have are just as quickly abandoned. It is this mournful E major ‘Adagio’ is reminiscent come directly from The Marriage of Figaro Turning now to Haydn: his last piano lighthearted playfulness that disnguishes of Maheson’s descripon of this key or Don Giovanni, two operas which were sonatas date from his second trip to this piece from Beethoven’s later works, as ‘desperate or fatal sadness’. wrien just before this Sonata. In the England in 1794–5. Haydn was well- and most certainly from Schubert and middle secon, the absolute genius of received in London, and seems to have Schumann. The Mozart sonata, by contrast, is a Mozart reveals itself in a amazing found a creave freedom there that composite piece – the ‘Allegro’ and chromac passage, building up to a was lacking in Vienna. This piece was CR: The English publicaon of this sonata ‘Andante’ were originally published climax and then resolving as if nothing one of two wrien for the pianist described it as ‘A Grand New Sonata for alone, before being aached to the happened. The piece is a lively experiment with form, but there is also a fragile of Young, modified to suit the keys of these Walewein Wien im Gespräch mit bewegt sich von äußerst leise, zart und quality, a tenderness, something parcular pieces, and the pitch is a´=430 Hz. Caroline Ritchie zerbrechlich bis hin zu sehr laut und stark, inexplicable. fast bis zur Raserei. Er setzt die verschiedenen CR: To summarise the whole disc in a few CR: Für diese Aufnahme hast du Werke Lagen des Instruments als Ausdrucksmiel Beethoven and Haydn are very close to words – we talked earlier about these dreier Wiener Komponisten ausgewählt, ein, verlegt besmmte Melodien dorthin, each other; Mozart is in a different realm, three composers in relaon to the die man immer wieder miteinander in wo sie die größte Wirkung enalten und a different soul, actually a very lonely ‘Classical’ style, but what, in your opinion, Verbindung bringt und die tradionell geht um des dramaschen Effekts willen bis one. The strength of his music is less really sets them apart from their als die drei Säulen des „Klassischen Sls“ in die Extreme des Tonumfangs. Es gibt obvious than Haydn’s and Beethoven’s, contemporaries? gelten. Diese Sonaten wurden innerhalb einige wunderschöne Begleiiguren in though so direct and inmate. For me eines Zeitraums von 16 Jahren geschrieben der Miellage, die auf dem Hammerflügel this piece stands a lile to the side, WW: There were many other composers und umfassen ein Spät-, vielleicht sogar dunkel und warm klingen, während die almost as a comment on the works of wring in a similar style, such as Koželuch, Gipfelwerk (Haydn), eine Neubearbeitung fallenden Arpeggio-Kaskaden des zweiten his colleagues. Vořišek, Dussek, Eberl, Hummel, etc. bestehenden Materials (Mozart) und Satzes schon auf Chopin oder gar Debussy Looking at these composers it is easy to einen Übergang zu einer neuen Ästhek verweisen. CR: Mozart possessed a piano by Walter, chart a stylisc development from late- (Beethoven). and I understand you used a similar Baroque to Classical to early-Romanc. The Das Stück ist von großer innerer Dramak instrument for this recording.