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Topic: Beethoven for noobs  (Read 2056 times)

Offline todias

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Beethoven for noobs
on: May 09, 2016, 09:16:51 AM
Hello fellow pianist!

I would like to know if you could help me! Is there any pieces of Beethoven one should tackle before a sonata?

I'll explain the context... I'm 23 years old and finishing this year my Masters degree (in Portugal), but despite having an acceptable grade in my final Piano exame, I feel that my path was rather clumsy... For now I'm working by myself, and it has been a very odd experience. In short terms, I realized that I lacked experience in the base of the pyramid... and in the middle... and in the top! But it is the base and middle lack of experience that makes me so 'non autonomous'!

So I decided to try an experience with Bach! I started to prepare the Ricordi's 23 easy pieces as concerto pieces. I chose 6 of them, and studied them, searching in them as you search to render your performance of a prelude and fugue! When I finished, I felt that I was more intimate with Bach and his language; at one point, it was all so intuitive... I'm doing the same with Inventions... But I must teach myself to not be in a hurry, because it was this hurry of my teenage-want-it-all-self that spoiled my pianist path...

The first time I played Beethoven, was with the first movement of op. 78... In college I played op. 26 (complete). And that sums up my Beethoven experience. God, I feel ashamed when I see this written out...

So, what should I approach before the sonatas?

Thank you!
Todias

Offline visitor

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Re: Beethoven for noobs
Reply #1 on: May 09, 2016, 09:46:53 AM
I think early Beethoven sonatas are good such as the three.Bonn sonatas. They are hardly ever published as part of complete sets.so you will need to look for them specifically vs jut searching out complete sonatas.

i would also look at early theme and variations.
the e
woo73, 10 of them so all in all w repeats its of apparopriate length. At my old school the jury panels and professors allowed for substitution of theme and variations for a sonata for semester amd rectial requirements.  They really force you to be creative.in how you present each theme since you repeat a lot it forces you to get creative to keep it interesting
ie

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Re: Beethoven for noobs
Reply #2 on: May 09, 2016, 12:42:09 PM
you could also try one of the rarely heard early works (has some controversy surrounding it, so that  in and of itself makes it juicy to me).
btw good website to bookmark and follow since it features rarely heard/recorded Beethoven works, there's lots of ignored beauty off the beaten path.
https://unheardbeethoven.org/search.php?Identifier=wooanh10
this will link to a streaming/download mp3 of these 8 variations for piano along w a backstory to them and arguments surrounding them

Offline chopinlover01

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Re: Beethoven for noobs
Reply #3 on: May 09, 2016, 08:36:58 PM
Try the 32 C minor variations. It's the closest Beethoven ever got to writing etudes, and introduces you to all his various textures.

Offline todias

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Re: Beethoven for noobs
Reply #4 on: May 10, 2016, 02:11:47 PM
Hello!

Thank you for your help!

I really like the 32 c minor variations! What about the Bagatelles? The op. 119 new 11 Bagatelles? I always loved Beethoven Bagatelles, specially the op. 33 but these are a bit more complex!

Offline chopinlover01

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Re: Beethoven for noobs
Reply #5 on: May 11, 2016, 01:18:07 AM
They'd be good choices. I recommended the C minor variations (or just chunks of it if you're only trying to get familiar with Beethoven) because they really give you the exact kind of language he used, since the variations he wrote were based largely on different textures.

Offline lostinidlewonder

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Re: Beethoven for noobs
Reply #6 on: May 11, 2016, 01:27:43 AM
You have completed a degree in music so I would hope that now you can trust your judgement a little more in terms of repertoire choice. I don't think there is a best path as to what pieces to learn first. You choose something that interests and benefits you, plus you have good playing experience to know what will challenge you more and make your learning rate inefficient and what you can deal with more readily. So choose something which you can learn quick and you enjoy the sound of and which you think benefits your playing, start listening, get inspired ;)
"The biggest risk in life is to take no risk at all."
www.pianovision.com

Offline todias

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Re: Beethoven for noobs
Reply #7 on: June 10, 2016, 02:55:01 PM
Hello!

So, I started studying the Bagatelles op. 119!

I've recorded the first 5 for "pedagogical purposes", but since I've done it here it is!

Feel free to criticize, I know i'm very out of shape...

&feature=youtu.be

Thanks!
Todias
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