Best piano sonata ever written?

[ilikepie]

Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata

You remind me of a classmate who loves this Beethoven Sonata, which by the way, is the only sonata he knows(probably) or so he says.

[jre58591]

a few medtner sonatas, particularly the night wind sonata come to mind. lets face it, the man was a genius and the greatest composer of his time (i quote rachmaninoff). also beethoven's op 109 sonata is one of the best ive heard of that era. the berg op 1 sonata is one of the best "pre-contemporary" sonatas. from the last 40 years, it is impossible to make one choice, but i will nominate vine's two published sonatas and kapustin's 2nd sonata. there are just too many from the romantic era that i could name, but the night wind sonata by medtner and alkan's grande sonata are way up there.

[mephisto]

Ornstein's 8th sonata among others(the piano repertoire is just so insanely HUGE)

[mephisto]

...... and the greatest composer of his time (i quote rachmaninoff).

Well I do certainly love Medtner, but I have to dissagree with that statement, unless you only wanted to show what Rachmaninoff's oppinion was.

Favourite sonatas:

Ornstein's 8th sonata among others(the piano repertoire is just so insanely HUGE)

[jre58591]

Well I do certainly love Medtner, but I have to dissagree with that statement, unless you only wanted to show what Rachmaninoff's oppinion was.

yeah that was part of my aim. i dont entirely agree with rachmaninoff, but medtner truly is one of the best of that time.

[ahinton]

a few medtner sonatas, particularly the night wind sonata come to mind. lets face it, the man was a genius and the greatest composer of his time (i quote rachmaninoff). also beethoven's op 109 sonata is one of the best ive heard of that era. the berg op 1 sonata is one of the best "pre-contemporary" sonatas. from the last 40 years, it is impossible to make one choice, but i will nominate vine's two published sonatas and kapustin's 2nd sonata. there are just too many from the romantic era that i could name, but the night wind sonata by medtner and alkan's grande sonata are way up there.

Yes, indeed they are - and what about Medtner's B flat minor sonata? - one of his greatest solo piano compositions, I think...

No such thing as the thread subject, of course, except that it does draw out some interesting works in people's expressed estimations...

Best,

Alistair

[jre58591]

Yes, indeed they are - and what about Medtner's B flat minor sonata? - one of his greatest solo piano compositions, I think...

the sonata romantica is the one i forgot to mention. i actually like it a bit more than the night wind at some points. it depends what mood im in. anywho, ill nominate that one also.

[mephisto]

Tveitt 29

[jre58591]

Tveitt 29

isnt this the only one that wasnt destroyed? what a shame if so.

[mephisto]

Indeed

It isn't my favourite piano sonata, but it should get mentioned, in this world where pianist are recording yet another Beethoven cycle(I love Beethoven, don't get me wrong) instead of playing new and great repertoire.

[mad_max2024]

Beethoven's Apassionata

How do you define the best sonata?
To me the best sonata is the one that means the most to me, so it's also my favourite sonata.
What makes a sonata the best? most popular? most complicated? most revolutionary?
I think that would make a discussion of it's own

[tds]

best? i can't answer that question. but my favourite is beethoven op. 109

[tompilk]

best? i can't answer that question. but my favourite is beethoven op. 109

same here... fantastic piece...
tom

[ahinton]

same here... fantastic piece...
tom

Shame that you missed hearing Jonathan Powell playing it recently in London, then! (You did miss this, didn't you?!)...

Best,

Alistair

[djealnla]

Deleted

[thalbergmad]

Woelfl Op.33

[ahinton]

Woelfl Op.33

Should we presume that this response was made very much while (and perhaps also because) you're in self-confessed "I prefer my banjo to my piano at the moment" mode?

Best,

Alistair

[stevebob]

I wonder if the "best piano sonata ever written" was penned during the years that elapsed between the active life of this thread and its reanimation.

[djealnla]

Deleted

[thalbergmad]

I never understand people who destroy manuscripts even if they are their own.

If memory serves, His Royal Hintonness threw away some if his.

Thal

[gyzzzmo]

because you should only publish stuff you feel comfortable with. It is You and Your wallet that counts

[thalbergmad]

Not publishing I can understand, but destruction of a personal creation i cannot.

Thal

[stevebob]

"Destroying a manuscript" seems like a quaint anachronism in our digital age, where music notation software seems as indispensable to composing as a text editing program is to writing.

[lostinidlewonder]

You destroy them because they distract you, it may tempt you to try and improve it and not let you move on.

[djealnla]

Deleted

[sevencircles]

Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata

A true milestone just like most of his sonatas, you can play it in a thousand different ways and it still sounds great.

so many possibilities.

Is Gaspard De La Noit a Sonata? 

It´s my favorite post Beethoven sonata if that´s the case.

[gep]

Avoiding the 'usual suspects', I will enter Medtner's "Night Wind" Sonata. Hamelin playes it rather fine, I think....

I never understand people who destroy manuscripts even if they are their own.

While a composer does have the right to do with his own creations as he/she pleases, I must say I would love to hear Sibelius' 8th Symphony, to name but one example. Apparently Holmboe wrote some 7 String Quartets before the official Nr. 1, and Robert Simpson some 4 Symphonies before his No. 1. Not to mention the two Symphonies by David Matthews, apparently written on no more education than he and his brother could give one another. And there are many more examples. I'd love to hear all those works, even when they would be not on a par with what they wrote later (or, in Sibelius's case, before). Each is a stone in the road to their respective composer's maturity, and thus might provide an insight to from where they came.

All best,
gep

[ahinton]

I never understand people who destroy manuscripts even if they are their own.

If memory serves, His Royal Hintonness threw away some if his.

I've only just seen this. I don't know about "His Royal Hintonness", but I can confirm that a composer with a similar surname whom I have known all my life did indeed discard some of his work years ago, but (a) he did not merely throw it away but ripped it to bits first (he would have used a shredder had such machines been around at the time) and (b) he did so because the discarded work was almost unmitigated crap (apart from a piano trio which is the only work of whose score he has ever regretted disposing).

Best,

Alistair

[djealnla]

Deleted

[thalbergmad]

I have almost mastered the Otto Nicolai Sonata. Pretty tunes/semi romantic/nice climaxes and would infuriate the modernists.

Can't get much better than that.

Thal

[mnmleung]

I am very fond of Raymond Hanson's sonata

Others in no particular order:

Beethoven op 7, op 2 no 2
Liszt B minor
Rakhmaninov's 2nd sonata (original version, especially the 2nd movement)
Skryabin 4th

[liszt1022]

When I'm in a "sonata" mood I go for Liszt B minor most of the time.
I had a fling with Berg Op. 1 for a few years, never did finish learning to play it. I should come back to it one day...
But I need to learn some more audience-accessible pieces right now. Stuff to play for my piano students, before I go off learning more stuff for myself.

[djealnla]

Deleted

[thalbergmad]

I am having a rather pleasant time with Pinto at the moment.

If only he had lived just a little longer.

Thal

[stoudemirestat]

Liszt B Minor

[williampiano]

Khachaturian- Piano Sonata
Antheil- Sonata no.4
Prokofiev- Sonata no. 2
Ornstein- Sonata no. 6
Mozart- Sonata K 310
Grieg- Sonata op. 7
Beethoven- Sonata op. 10 no. 3

[pianoplayjl]

Liszt sonata B minor even though i never heard it.

[pianoplayjl]

beethoven appasionata
Chopin sonata in b falt minor
alkan four ages of man
berg sonata

[mozartk365]

Beethoven Op.106
Liszt sonata in b minor

[philb]

Beethoven Op. 109 and 111

Liszt Sonata in B minor is also a great sonata.

Any late Schubert sonatas.

So many good sonatas, and they are all very different. It's hard to judge.

[pianoplayjl]

It should be better to classify the best piano sonatas according to their periods e.g. best romantic sonata, best classical sonata, etc. with just comparing and choosing great sonatas, it just ain't fair. some sonatas that deserve to be mentioned are not.

[mike_lang]

Does anyone know Medtner's Sonata Tragica (op. 39 no. 5)?  I make no claim to its being the "best piano sonata ever written," but it is very cool!

[pianoplayjl]

Of the 20th century: Leos Janacek's 1905 sonata, dedicated to a man who was bashed to death by mobsters.

[49410enrique]

not sure what is meant by best, but if it means 'fun' i can't help but smile when playing through the Shimomura , Sonata on themes from kingdom hearts, loads of fun

link to first mvt allegro con brio (suggested links will populate to other movements if you're interested)

[williampiano]

Here is another one I would like to add to my list.
Korngold Sonata no.1 in d minor

[pianoplayjl]

Heres another few:

Haydn sonata in e flat no 52
Prokofiev sonata no 8
Lypunov sonata in F minor

JL

[megadodd]

I see alot of people saying Liszt in B minor here, but if I ever feel like listening to a whole sonata, it's the one I choose.

[pianoplayjl]

Here's another two I'd add:

Thalberg sonata
Alkan four ages of man sonata

JL

[beethovenfan01]

Beethoven Appassionata.

Schubert B-flat sonata.

Liszt B minor sonata.

Prokofiev No. 7.

All famous ones? Famous for a reason!

[marijn1999]

Haydn Piano Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:49. It's an archetype of the Vienesse Classical sonata style which brought forward the form in the first place.