(and really, the principal would be much happier to have them just color pictures of Beethoven...)
"His music really deals with the completeness and the innermost nature of the human condition." Agree or disagree? Why?
"Sonata No. 11 in B-flat major," Op. 221. Allegro con brio2. Adagio con molta espressione3. Minuetto 4. Rondo -- Allegretto"Sonata No. 19 in G minor," Op. 49, No. 11. Andante2. Rondo -- Allegro"Sonata No. 20 in G major," Op. 49, No. 2 1. Allegro ma non troppo2. Tempo di minuetto"Sonata 23 in F minor," Op. 57 ("Appassionata")1. Allegro assai2. Andante con moto3. Allegro ma non troppo
I caught this much of the TV recital last night. It was very involved and emotional playing for the most part although in some movements ( Op.22 mvt's 1 and 3, Appasionata mvts 2 and 3) he seemed reserved or disconnected. There was some sloppy passagework in Op.22 mvt. 1 and strangely in Op.49 #2 , perhaps he didn't practice that so much; still it was great to hear the Op.49 Sonatas played well for a change. High points for me were Op.22 slow movement and last movement (don't like the other movements anyway), Op. 49 #1 and the first mvt. of the Appasionata. I know Barenboim has his detractors, but I've usually enjoyed his playing. The high points of this concert for me were extraordinary music making.
I used to be a Barenboim detractor (Baren-boing-boing-boing I used to say) but I think I learned more partly from watching his masterclasses. I was able to see the Beethoven-Carnegie Hall classes live, and they were ear-opening, and I thought the class with Lang Lang, which you can watch on You Tube, is very educational. Too often genuine constructive criticism of people who are already stars is dismissed off-hand, but when it comes from a source like Barenboim, it changes your whole perspective.