Beethoven 110 - the fugue(s)

[mattpianist]

Hello all...this summer I'm performing Beethoven's sonata op 110 at a conference in Europe, and I'm feeling rather "under the gun" as it's only 3 months away. I've been working on the piece all year, and can play it quite well from the score, with the first two movements memorized. But when I get into the fugues, it is seemingly impossible to memorize and keep going with the musicality I've built into it so far. Any suggestions?

I've performed many fugues and many Beethoven sonatas in the past, but combining the two into this piece just seems to be such a roadblock that I'm quite frustrated with my inability to overcome it! Any thoughts would be most helpful...

[faulty_damper]

Don't think of it as a fugue.  This was Beethoven's foray into Bach's music and his fugal counterpoint was very immature.  If you try to make it fugal, it will slow you down.

[mjames]

Don't think of it as a fugue.  This was Beethoven's foray into Bach's music and his fugal counterpoint was very immature.  If you try to make it fugal, it will slow you down.

...Huh?

[j_menz]

Don't think of it as a fugue.  This was Beethoven's foray into Bach's music and his fugal counterpoint was very immature.  If you try to make it fugal, it will slow you down.

Complete and utter nonsense.

It is a fugue, both in form and intent, and far from being "Beethoven's foray into Bach's music", it is Beethoven's development of the fugal form and adoption of it into his own compositional sphere.

@ OP - can't help with the memorisation, as I don't.  You could always play off the score.

[faulty_damper]

It's better to think of it not as a fugue but just another section of the sonata.  You shouldn't be thinking counterpoint a la Bach; you should still be thinking in Beethoven.

[j_menz]

It's better to think of it not as a fugue but just another section of the sonata.  You shouldn't be thinking counterpoint a la Bach; you should still be thinking in Beethoven.

You should certainly be thinking Beethoven and not Bach. It's Beethoven's take on the fugal form, not Bach's. And while there are certain commonalities, and Beethoven certainly knew of Bach's efforts, the end result is thoroughly Beethovian.

The underlying idea, however, that counterpoint and fugues are strictly baroque, or more particularly "what Bach wrote", is ridiculous (though not uncommon). If Beethoven (or Mozart) are not enough to convince anyone of the versatility of these forms (or compositional techniques), the vast number of works written during the 20th and 21st centuries which embrace and extend them should serve as conclusive proof - and probably an eye opener.