VIDEO Beethoven Sonata in C minor op.111

[sjskb]

Dear pianostreet members,

do have a listen to my latest live-in-concert recording, with the complete Beethoven op.111. it's definitely far from perfect. This concert is done about two months from the time i started sightreading the sonata.

I do understand that the 2nd movement Adagio is very long, so i do appreciate your patience in watching/listening. Comments and criticisms are most welcome!

Cheers!

[becky8898]

Hi again.  That last movement , those variations are just incredible.  You played very well. I have always found Beethoven to be much more difficult to get into the hands than Chopin. At least for me.  All I can say is just maybe , only maybe a tad lighter on some of those really hi triplets floating above this work.  but again its just my own inexperienced artistic vision.  Just a passing thought.  Perhaps when I get older Ill see it how you do it.  Fantastic.

Cheers, Becky  .

[birba]

So far I've only listened to the first movement.  I'm hoping some day to tackle this masterpiece.  I already know it by memory and have heard all the greats perform it - either live or on disc.  I don't know, it's music but so much more, too.  I'm curious to see what you do with the second movement.
You play the first movement very well, technically.  It's such unpianistic writing at times and you get through the development with flying colors!  But I still think there's something missing.  Beethoven says "con brio ed appassionato" - and I didn't hear any of these two qualities.  at times it sounded pedantic.  Especially the octave motif you first encounter at measure 36-or the sixteenth note passages running up at the end of the exposition.  There's no movement.  They don't go anywhere.  and yet you follow all Beethoven's tempo indications and dynamics- 
It probably needs more time to mature.  But you've made a great beginning.  And I envy you!!!
Just one thing - experiment with the tempo "maestoso" -  SLIGHTLY slower.  And maintain an almost metronomic perfection of the dotted 32nd notes until the closing 5 octaves where you can do a slight sostenendo.  Wow.  what music.

[pianisten1989]

Hmm, I agree with Birba... sometimes. I think you should aim for a slightly faster tempo, at least as a final goal. Not that it's anything wrong with the tempo itself (I think the greatest pianists would chose somewhere around this tempo), but it lacks in direction. Maybe you do too little with the dynamics, or to non-obvious in a way. Like the arpeggio at 7.50-ish - it starts as f, and end in f... It's almost like that.

Sorry for the vague critique, but I don't really know what the problem is... Probably just needs more time.

Good job anyway!

[birba]

Superlative playing.  From measure 64 to the end of the first set of trills was exceptional.  You sustained that whole part with a remarkable balance of tone and the upper register was especially beautiful.  I would also kill for trills like yours. 
Bravo.

[scottmcc]

I was a little put off by the opening...I found it a bit rushed and lacking in the gravitas needed for the work, but then once you got going, you seemed to hit your stride better and the playing became simply marvelous.  the variations in the second movement were positively delightful.  I'd love to be able to play this sonata someday, but I'm resigned to the fact that I'll simply never have the technical ability.

becky, it's funny that you find chopin easier than beethoven--I'm exactly the opposite.  I think some people have "chopin-fingers" and others don't.  

edit:  listen to Sviatoslav Richter's take on the opening few bars...this is what I was talking about with "gravitas!" 

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[becky8898]

Hi scottmcc. Its not that I find Chopin easier. Its only that he was such a pianist . Its like when he wrote he thought about the instrument first and the art second. Beethoven seems to basically say here is my music, my art, you figure out how to play it.  Does that make sense? He just doesnt seem to care if what he wrote wasnt always pianistic. My Grandma who sings Opera said alot of his vocal stuff is a nightmare. He had not one consideration about the nature of the human voice.  Thats what im trying to get at. 

Cheers, Becky

[sjskb]

wow, 1 day and so many comments... thank you, guys!

birba, thank you for your useful comments (as always!). I will definitely come back to work on this sonata sooner or later... one of my friends said that the op.111 is a work that you will revisit once every ten years or so... i may not wait so long though! but of course, i need more time to really understand the detailled nuances of the piece.

The 1st movement is indeed not very pianistic, and always poses finger problems...

scottmcc: yes, i do fully agree that the introduction is something which i have to think about more... it's always a balance between tempo and direction.... while it sounds "grandioso" with a slower tempo, you will lose the sense of direction in the long phrases, especially those dotted 32nd notes.

Thanks also to becky8898 and pianisten1999 for bothering to watch my video and post comments... the adagio movement is something that i have to try very hard to get the music and feeling out.... most of the time, i am struggling to recall the next note/phrase/etc... just too many notes to remember! I performed this once after 6 weeks of learning, and then this time after 2 months...