Beethoven Sonata No.18 in E flat Major, Op. 31 No. 3, 1st & 2nd Mov. - Enzo

[emill]

We earlier posted the practice session done at home and we hope that this recital session is an improvement.  As always we will be so grateful for whatever comments!

This was played very recently on invitation of the Arts department of the University of Asia and the Pacific in Manila; what a lovely campus they have! Enzo really felt good with the reception he got from the faculty, staff and students.

And for whatever it is worth (frankly, I do not understand most of it) here are some technical descriptions lifted from WIKIPEDIA:

Roger Kamien has performed a Schenkerian analysis of facets of chords of the sonata.[1]

Allegro: Beethoven's progressive harmonic language is apparent from the very first chord of the piece - ii 6/5 (F minor 7 in 1st inversion), the stability of a tonic chord in root position delayed until bar 7. The expressive harmonic colour, coupled with the changes of tempi in the introduction (1-18), creates an evocative opening, reminiscent of the improvisatory style of C. P. E. Bach's piano sonatas. This opening cell is repeated extensively throughout the movement - at the start of the development (89), in the recapitulation (137), and also during the coda (transposed into the subdominant (220), and then at its original pitch (237)). The codetta (33-45) explores this opening chord in a minor variation (with a C flat, implying ii7 of Eb minor), even appearing in bar 36 in the exact spacing (albeit with different spelling) of the 'Tristan chord', written by Richard Wagner some 55 years later.

Scherzo. Allegretto vivace: This scherzo is different from regular scherzos, as it is written in 2/4 time as opposed to 3/4, and because it is in sonata form. However, its still contains many characteristics of a scherzo, including unexpected pauses and a playful nature. The theme is in the right hand while the left-hand contains staccato accompaniment. This isn't the first time Beethoven wrote a scherzo that isn't in ternary form; the scherzo in the Op. 14, No. 2 sonata has a scherzo as its third movement, which is in rondo form