Hello!
I have never been to a lecture concert... period. So I apologize if that makes me of no help to you. However I am currently learning the Beethoven Appasionata, and if I were to go to a lecture concert about it, I would love to know one's thoughts as they are playing and interpreting such a behemoth of a piece. I love hearing about how interpreters think about the music and how they connect to the music and how the music connects to the composer. It gives a real intimate connection from the listener to the music, and enhances the listening experience 1000%. Also, I would love to hear about how the Appasionata connects to Beethoven's other works. I noticed that in the first movement, there is an ominous Db-Db-Db-C motif that has a very uncanny resemblance to Beethoven's Fifth. Is there any other connections to Beethoven's other body of work? It would be fascinating to know the answer to that!
As for my favorite recording, Pollini takes the cake. On the technical side, it's confident, clean, and virtuosic. Also, the tempi he chooses are just right, perfectly highlighting the characters of the movements (Especially the third movement. It's fast and exciting, but not so much so that the musical ideas get drowned out). Nevertheless, through all this technical brilliance, it's not soulless and dry like many modern recordings are (this is one of my biggest problems with modern classical music interpretation -- being so hellbent on playing "perfectly" that expression and creativity are lackluster because of it). The climaxes are fiery and passionate and intense, and the more somber sections never fail to send chills down my spine. And once the dramatic diminished chord is rolled at the end of the second movement... oh boy you'd better strap in because its a trip!
Good luck with your recital and learning this monster of a sonata -- oh boy some parts of it are crazy!
Topic: Appassionata Inspirations