Beethoven op.26 Sonata

[paris]

holla!

i wanted to ask for your opinion about tempo in first movement (as well as other mvts) in this sonata.
i did masterclass yesterday and professor (german school) advised me to play faster and NOT change tempo in ''faster'' variations (2nd and 4th). my original tempo was around 72, just to give you idea. i did also masterclass with another teacher (russian school) who told me it's okay change tempo, i mean, play faster in 2nd and 4th variation as long as i don't lose ''peaceful'' character and atmosphere.

first what i'm curious, you who did this sonata, what was your thema tempo and did you change tempo during variations?
(schnabel wrote 63-66 for thema, which is way to slow, gilels plays it and he exagerrates a bit for beethoven in my opinion)

what about other movements tempo?

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I think 72 is about right. When I did the first movement of this sonata, I tried to maintain the same tempo for all the variations, as I think the variations fit together and make more musical sense this way, rather than playing them at varying tempi.

That's my opinion, for what it's worth.. seeing as I don't play much Beethoven. I do have a soft spot for this sonata however.

[paris]

but in which tempo did you play 2nd variation? 72 or around is quite slow for it.. i used (before) like 92 or 96 for it, then minor variation back to thema tempo and 4th variation also 96 and triplet one again thema tempo.

[pianistimo]

i play them all the same tempo - but i think you could fluctuate with your feelings a bit (so there's some give and take).  perhaps you just don't want to sound robotic with this piece.  as i've learned - the faster the notes inbetween - the lighter you play.  it has a very 'elegant' feel and reminds me a lot of the fourth concerto.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I was speaking from memory, which was probably wrong of me. I went to the piano to have a quick look at it (trying to play as by instinct, and ignoring the notes I have made on the score) and there's no way I was playing variations 2 and 4 as slow as I thought I was.  My memory is possibly coloured by knowing that the edition I have has a specific comment suggesting playing all the variations at the same speed. So, I don't think I look very clever for saying one thing and playing another

You're right, variation 2 does sound slow at 72, I was probably nearer to 96 when playing by instinct. Variation 4, on the other hand, makes sense (to me, at least) at 72-80. It gives it a sense of mischeivous dialogue (especially noticeable in bars 144-152).

[sharon_f]

 I studied/played this sonata about a year ago and I believe the key to the entire sonata (not just the first movement) is finding the right tempo. I took the first movement theme around 92 and kept all the variations in the 92-96 range, so the listener hears each variation at basically the same tempo throughout, which is "correct" for a classical set of variations.  I did broaden the tempo a bit during the coda.

[after8ight]

i studied this piece for my ATCL last year.

it's really pure 'chamber' type music with all its elegance. thus i took it sometimes freely with tempo.

i took the set at ~104 with no breaks in between. which means the first note of the next var is the last beat of the previous. var1 was a simple variation. var2 i sped up and lightened. var3 i returned to 104. don't slow here or you'll lose that sense of violence in the midst of the sadness. var4 i did it at 104 and lighter. and var5 i took it faster and freer.

i procured about all of the recordings of this sonata and this is my favorite mix:

Stephen Kovacevich - Andante con variazioni
Richard Goode - Scherzo
Friedrich Gulda - Marcia Funebre Sulla Morte D'un Eroe
Stephen Kovacevich - Allegro

I highly recommend the kovacevich sonatas.

goodluck

[sharon_f]

Schiff has a wonderful series of performance lectures on all the Beethoven piano sonatas. I found the comments on Op. 26 very illuminating.  The entire series can be found at the following link:

https://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/page/0,,1943867,00.html