Ludwig van Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata played on a clavichord

[michael_sayers]

Hi Everyone,

I don't have any particular opinion on this, or the discussion that surrounds it, but maybe you do?  I am a bit biased toward hearing this piano sonata on a grand piano, and maybe being a pianist has something to do with this.

A clavichord is only pp-p in dynamics, unlike the impression given by how it was mic'd for the video.

Mvh,
Michael

[compline]

Michael, what does  pp-p mean? 

Sorry if that seems a goofy question.

 

[michael_sayers]

Michael, what does  pp-p mean?  

Sorry if that seems a goofy question.

Hi Compline,

It isn't a goofy question at all!  I've never played a clavichord, or heard one live, but I am told that the range of dynamics is so quiet that just whispering by someone in an audience will make it hard to hear the instrument.

pp-p is shorthand for pianissimo to piano, and is a type of indication which sometimes [though very rarely!] is used in music scores.


Mvh,
Michael

[michael_sayers]

Hi Compline,

I did some checking, and evidently I was bit off in describing a clavichord's dynamic range!  This is what I read at https://www.clavichord.org.uk/More/Guides/ComposingGuide.html :

In absolute terms, relative to the modern concert grand piano, the loudest clavichords have a dynamic range of perhaps pppp–mf. Because the listener's and player's ears adjust quickly to the relative dynamic level, composers have historically notated this range from pp–ff. It is often most rewarding to explore the dynamics at the quietest levels, although players can be reluctant to do this in concert, for fear of not being heard.


Mvh,
Michael

[michael_sayers]

p.s. - I also read this at that web page - evidently my views on clavichords have become a bit out-of-date!

It used to be thought that the clavichord was too quiet to be played in public, and that the instrument should serve just for practice and private study and enjoyment, but modern experience with fine historic copies in small halls with good acoustics has showed that it can be a successful concert instrument. It has also been used in ensemble with flute, violin or voice, and there is a small but important repertoire for two clavichords.


Mvh,
Michael

[compline]

Thank you for all the interesting information  Michael.
It is worth while to study and compare these authentic instruments with the modern concert  grand.   
Do you know if Beethoven performed on such a Clavicord and when he was taking lessons?
I think he lived at a time of technological advance.  And did he not expand the keyboard?

 

[michael_sayers]

Hi Compline,

I don't know much about Beethoven's experiences of clavichords.  I have read, though, that his father drilled him relentlessly with Bach's W.T.C I.

Composers influenced expansion of the keyboard up through Busoni who motivated the 92 key Imperial Bösendorfer.


Mvh,
Michael