BEETHOVEN Stephanie Proot Piano Sonatas Op. 10/2 Op. 27 Op. 110 Laureaat SWUK 2012 Stephanie Proot Beethoven Piano Sonatas Stephanie Proot Sonata in E-flat major, opus 27 no. 1 1. Andante - Allegro - Tempo I 5’36 2. Allegro molto e vivace 2’13 3. Adagio con espressione - Allegro vivace - Tempo I - Presto 9’01 Sonata in C-sharp minor, opus 27 no. 2 - ‘Moonlight’ 4. Adagio sostenuto 6’14 5. Allegretto 2’14 6. Presto agitato 8’06 Sonata in F major, opus 10 no. 2 7. Allegro 6’56 8. Allegretto 4’24 9. Presto 2’31 Sonata in A-flat major, opus 110 10. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo 7’18 11. Allegro molto 2’18 12. Adagio ma non troppo - Fuga: Allegro ma non troppo - L’istesso tempo di Arioso - L’istesso tempo della Fuga 11’20 Stephanie ProotTotal Time: 68’20 Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas ficulty of Beethoven’s sonatas is very high, Neatly outside the box he loathed meaningless virtuoso passages. In Beethoven’s ‘serious’ music, not one note In the early days of his career, is exempt from a functional or dramatic Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) sense. His ability to combine structures was especially known in Vienna as a and ideas of increasing complexity into a pianist and improviser. His whole life strong unity was of the utmost importance. the piano would remain his faithful com- panion. In fact, it was his innate intimacy The Sonata in F major is the shortest of the with the piano that would set him back three sonatas published as op. 10 in 1798, on track not only while dealing with per- since it is composed of only three move- sonal and artistic crises but also during the ments. The fast first movement Allegro( ) process of discovering his most innovative is, according to the conventions of that compositional techniques. Apart from a period, modeled as a sonata form move- series of variations, piano concertos and ment. The second movement (Allegretto) chamber music, Beethoven’s oeuvre for shows the undeniable ABA-structure of piano solo consists of no less than 32 piano a minuet with trio. Although the third sonatas, developed over a 30 year time span. movement (Presto) is also written in sona- ta form, the three fugue-like entries of the The first sonatas are born in the clas- main theme initially suggest otherwise. sical Viennese tradition. Nevertheless, Beethoven, ever the individualist, imme- The first three years of the new cen- diately confronted the stylistic borders of tury were characterized by Beethoven’s the sonata practices of Mozart and Haydn. striking increase in experimentation. In the These early sonatas show a symphonic Two Piano Sonatas op. 27 (1801) he col- texture and style. They mostly consist of lides so forcefully with the boundaries of four (instead of three) movements and are the genre, that he felt it necessary to give thus longer, more expansive and heavier the sonatas the subtitle Sonata quasi una compared to what people were used to at Fantasia. The term ‘fantasy’ refers to the Stephaniethat time. Even though the technical dif- direct expression of more freely used sty- Proot listic and formal elements that Beethoven Other than the writing of such suggestive combined with the stricter patterns of the music Beethoven himself had no hand in sonata tradition. In both sonatas Beethoven the existence of this link. The association moves the centre of gravity of the sonata is to be ascribed to the German musicolo- to the last movement by starting off with gist Wilhelm von Lenz. He wrote in his a slow movement and gradually building Beethoven biography (1852-55) about a up the energetic intensity towards the fast romantic image the poet Ludwig Rellstab and impetuous last movement. In addi- envisioned while thinking of this sonata: tion, he wanted the piece to be performed a little boat, sailing underneath a moon- without any interruption. The resulting lit sky through the untouched landscape singular unit is on the one hand supported of the Lake of Lucerne in Switzerland. by a particularly solid tonal coherence; all movements of the Sonata in C-sharp minor In order to discuss the Piano Sonata opus (op. 27/2) are based on the same keynote 110, we have to make a leap of 20 years in C#. On the other hand, the motivic co- Beethoven’s biography. The issue of deaf- herence is guaranteed because of the dy- ness affecting Beethoven in 1797 turned namic last movement, which is based out to be the first symptoms of an irrevers- on ideas of the slower first movements. ible deterioration of his auditive capacity. Although this establishes a very well- Out of sheer necessity he gave up his career grounded musical continuity, very often as a concert pianist, although this gave him – especially in the Sonata in E-flat major more time to devote himself exclusively (op. 27/1) – it is challenged by contrasts in to composition and in doing so, he found tempo, key, register, dynamics and texture himself supported by an exceptional audi- that refer to the more spontaneous fantasy- tive visualization. Not only was he able to style. perfectly picture what a score would sound like, he could also write down sound Through its ultra-popular Adagio the Piano images and structures that were more Sonata op. 27/2 is one of Beethoven’s most innovative and provocative than renowned compositions. This movement ever before. It is telling for the Stephanie Prootgave the sonata the nickname ‘Moonlight’. size of the leap Beethoven tion, which was traditionally written en- made in his late music, tirely in the main tonality. The scherzo- that this work was appreciated like second movement (Allegro molto) is only decades later. followed by a most remarkably designed last movement. Beethoven’s longing for During the last years of his life Beethoven direct expression is translated in the use of developed a preference for a style that instrumental recitative and arioso (Adagio spoke in a more direct, intimate and un- ma non troppo - Recitativo - …). There- affected way. In addition, he was more and upon follows a supple fugue on a dolce more concerned with the lyrical character theme. After repeating the recitative and of his pieces. Beethoven felt that the era arioso, Beethoven ends with a contrapun- of the classical style was over for him, and tal tour de force based on the inversion of he searched for other means of expres- the original fugue theme. This manipula- sion. Having been heavily interested in the tion transforms the plaintive and delicate music of baroque masters Bach and arioso into a swift and radiant ending. Händel as a youngster, he succeeded in updating the ‘fugal software’ into the 19th century, as well as replacing the baroque style with his own language. The Piano Sonata in A-flat major op. 110 (1821-2) is the most lyrical of the four pieces on this CD. This is shown imme- diately in the melodious and expressive first movement Moderato( cantabile molto espressivo), of which the centre of gravity – just as that of the whole sonata – is situated at the end. This weight shift is caused mainly by postponing the most Stephanieextreme modulations to the recapitula- Proot The Belgian pianist Stephanie Proot such great musicians as Augustin Dumay, (°1987) studied at the ‘Royal Music Con- Alain Paris and Theodor Guschlbauer. servatory of Antwerp’ with Levente Kende. Stephanie’s excellent competition results In addition, she pursued the ‘Diplôme secure her place in the international con- Supérieur de Concertiste’ at the ‘Ecole cert scene. Her list of awards include the Normale Alfred Cortot’ in Paris with Ramzi Benelux Yamaha Scholarship, the sixth Yassa and took further classes at the ‘Queen prize in the ‘5th Shangai International Elisabeth Music Chapel’ in Waterloo Piano Competition’, the second prize in (Belgium) with Abdel Rahman El Bacha. the ‘International Piano Competition of She completed her education with master the City of Porto’ and the first prize in classes by renowned teachers Jan Wijn, the ‘Rencontre Internationale de Piano’ Alfred Brendel, Leon Fleischer and Dmitri in Le Mée-sur-Seine. In December 2011 Bashkirov. She has performed as a soloist she was awarded the ‘Favorite’s Prize’ in at many prestigious venues both in Belgium the ‘International Telekom Beethoven and abroad, together with the Brussels competition Bonn’ by the public. Philharmonic, L’Orchestre de Chambre de Wallonie, the National Orchestra of Bel- gium, the Porto International Orchestra Stephanie Prootand the Zagreb Radio Orchestra alongside Beethovens pianosonates van een sonate gewend was. Ofschoon het Netjes buiten de lijntjes gekleurd technische niveau van Beethovens sonates bijzonder hoog is, had hij een hekel aan In de begindagen van zijn carrière virtuoos maar weinigzeggend passagespel. stond Ludwig van Beethoven (1770- In Beethovens ‘ernstige’ muziek is geen 1827) in Wenen vooral als pianist en enkele noot wars van functionele of drama- improvisator bekend. De piano zou zijn tische betekenis. Zijn vermogen om steeds leven lang een trouwe partner blijven. complexer wordende structuren en proces- Zowel bij het verwerken van persoonlijke sen te combineren met een sterke muzikale en artistieke crises als bij het ontkiemen eenheid was daarbij van wezenlijk belang. van zijn meest grensverleggende vin- dingen, hielp Beethovens haast aangebo- De Sonate in F is mede omwille van haar ren vertrouwdheid met het klavier hem drie delen de kortste van de drie sonates steeds (terug) op weg. Naast onder meer die Beethoven in 1798 publiceerde als variatiereeksen, concerti en kamermuziek op. 10. Het snelle eerste deel (Allegro) is, bevat zijn piano-oeuvre niet minder dan 32 zoals toen gebruikelijk, gemodelleerd als pianosonates die verspreid over een periode sonatevorm.