Lecture concert Appassionata

[bubblessomewhere]

Hello everyone:)

I have to prepare a lecture concert exam about Appassionata.
Have you ever heard of Appassionata in a lecture concert? How was it? If you are planning to visit a lecture concert about Appassionata, which topics do you want to hear? Besides, which interpretation of Appassionata do you like the most???

[lowk-_-y]

I would probably want to know what makes this piece so great.

Context is nice. Any trivia surrounding the composition? Any interesting events happen around the time period? How was it received at the time?

Harmonic, Rhythmic, Structural, Pianistic innovations?

Any inspirations from previous composers/works?

Is it typical of Beethoven's writing or is it a development?

What can the audience expect to hear in terms of mood shaping?

Just a few thoughts for you.

[medtnerfan]

I've never seen a live concerto lecture on the Appassionata, but a couple of months ago I watched Jonathan Biss' free lecture course about Beethoven called "Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas" which is in the coursera website. I found that interesting to watch.

There will be many things you can discuss, so you will have to pick and choose what you think is most interesting and what will make an effective lecture.

[quantum]

First thing you have to consider is who your audience is.  The content of the lecture and its delivery should be determined by the audience it is directed toward.  General population, educational presentation for young musicians, music teacher conference, general academic audience, a specialist academic audience that knows a lot about the topic you are presenting, etc.  Are you being graded on this (doing this for school)? 

Go listen to a number of lecture/recitals, they don't have to do anything with Appasionata.  Gain an understanding and perspective of what it means to be an audience member in these presentations. 

Be focused with your delivery, you don't want to turn the presentation into a data dump. Present the information, don't just unload it in front of your audience and expect them to connect the dots.  As a presenter, it is your job to present the data and illustrate how all these data points connect, compare, contrast, agree or disagree with each other.  It is your interpretation of the data. 

If it is for a general music appreciation audience, include things like: historical context, what was going on in Beethoven's life when he wrote it, what to listen for to gain a better appreciation for the work. 

If it is for an academic audience, I would treat it more like a paper presentation or journal submission.  You would want a clear research topic.  You would be dealing more directly with specifics related to your research topic.  You would be more free to use technical language and lingo understood by specialists in the field.