Beethoven Sonata Op110

[chelsey]

Hey...

I'm learning the first two movements of this piece for auditions purposes (I get to start the third movement in the spring-once auditions are over - she doesn't want me being distracted-it's one of my favourites of beethoven's sonata movements). Does anyone have any performance tips? Specifically regarding pedalling of the alternating pattern chords in the right hand of the first movement. I've been pedalling by system (without any reaction from my teacher) but it sounds kind of washed out at tempo. Any advice? Also the second section of movement 2: my piano teacher wants me to accent the first beat of each bar to counter act the left hand notes on the second beat. I find this takes away from its lightness/playfulness. What do you recommend for this section?

Which recording of this sonata would you recommend?

Another audition piece (currently memorizing) is Alexina Louie's "I Leap through the skies with stars". Louie is a Canadian composer, her stuff is really pianistic - have any of you heard/played her music?  Does anyone have any suggestions regarding memorizing obscure 20th century music (this piece was written in 1992). The piece is really neat... it begins with a 24 s (in senza misura) trill in both hands that grows like a shimmering effect.

Thanks in advanced
Chelsey

[kempff]

I did this sonata 2 months ago. It's amazing. One of the most personal sonatas Beethoven wrote. Anyways, here are a few suggestions:

1) Choose a calm and moderate tempo. I've heard lots of people playing it either too fast or too slow. It should be calm andpeaceful, however moving tempo.

2) Try to maintain a cantabile singing tone throughout the piece. This might be a bit of problem in the runs, but with a little practice you will nail it down.

3) I suggest you maintain a sense of tension in the Fminor part till the fats notes in the left hand come, and also the modulation to C#minor must be played calmly and quietly in general. Don't rush to finish it.

As for the recordings, I have 4 sets of this piece: Brendel, Pollini, Kempff and Arrau. I suggest Kempff and Brendel.

Good luck with this piece!

[chelsey]

Thanks for your reply!

I've heard Brendel's performance, but I will keep my eye out for Kempff's. I've heard Gould's playing of this piece, but I found he took too many liberties with tempi and it didn't feel rhythmically right. I also have a recording by Gilels, which was good but nothing amazing musically.

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely keep what you said in mind during my next session, Funny at my last lesson, my teacher talked about cantabile melodic lines throughout the movement.  I'm really finding this piece rewarding to work on... much more so than Op 27 No.1 (the less popular of the sonata quasi una fantasia set with the really dull first movement), which I had been working on for about a month until my teacher decided I was dead-bored with it and we went on to this wonderful piece!

[Ludwig Van Rachabji]

Opus 110 is a great piece. I love how the whole thing is like a rhapsody, which its constant changes of mood. It starts off quiet and light, then gradually gets darker and darker. Even the fugue is a bit dark, imho. Then, the minor theme comes back, and the inverted fugue comes in...... and then erupts into the ending which always gives me the shivers.

It doesn't get much better than that.


Ludwig Van Rachabji