Kovacevich: 00:00 - Mvt 1 07:39 - Mvt 2 12:33 - Mvt 3 16:11 - Mvt 4 Biret: 20:37 - Mvt 1 29:19 - Mvt 2 34:23 - Mvt 3 39:17 - Mvt 4 Kovacevich is one of the very, very, few pianists that can play the first movement of this sonata with the kind of lightness that you need: just listen to how the second theme takes off at 3:00, or the bass drum-strokes in the development. He sometimes also deviates from the score in rather nice ways: the extra LH accents at 3:31, for example. He does this too in his beautifully taut, punchy account of the second movement: at 10:41 there is an extra trill, and in the passage immediately after he takes the quasi-glissandi at a flat mf dynamic, creating a long-term anticipation of the wonderfully perky passage leads back into the recapitulation. The minuet is taken at a quick(-ish) tempo, and the last movement is broad and vigorous. Biret brings a certain magic to this sonata: listen to how she articulates the theme at 24:22, with those chirp-like slurs, compared to Kovacevich at 5:57, who plays them straight (this is an unresolved point of interpretive uncertainty, it seems: Schnabel and Schiff also exaggerate the slurs). The trills are also handled amazingly well: listen to them in the first theme, or at 24:34. And you might notice how the chromatically descending middle voice emerges 21:11. In the second movement she shows off some *stunning* staccato technique in the bass and at 31:25 (and similar) - in the latter it’s kind of miraculous how those huge chords, punched out like that, die away so fast. The tempo is slower than Kovacevich’s in both the second and third movements, but there’s a certain earthiness to the interpretation that’s pretty compelling, and a unexpected tenderness in the third movement in particular. The last movement is taken with very little pedal, and a beautifully sharp, focused attack, especially in the development. One last thing: I struggled a lot re whether or not I should place Kovacevich’s or Korstick’s account here, but you should definitely check out Korstick’s recording too. It’s more heavy-going than Kovacevich’s, but the contrasts are *really* satisfying.
Ashish Xiangyi Kumar I'm so happy to see a recording of Biret. I think she's one of the most overlooked pianist's of our time. Thank you for this wonderful upload
"It’s the second-last sonata in 4 movements (the last is the Hammerklavier)" Wait, but what about Opus 101? Or maybe because its 3rd mvt is well-connected to the 4th so you are considering them one large movement?
@@nguyenkien2256 I think what's meant is 4 independent movements. The op. 110 has 4 movements, too, sorta, but 3rd (arioso) and 4th (fugue) are interleaved. Technically the op. 110 finale has 6 sub-movements if you really want to slice it finely (recitative, first arioso, first fugue, second arioso, second fugue, coda) but you'd never play any of them as independent movements.
The first movement makes me want to run through my neighbourhood and greet everyone. This piece is so joyful that it took me a little bit to realise that Beethoven wrote it.
Beethoven is like the old guy at the family gatherings who seems like a total downer until he says something sarcastic/humorous and it ends up being funnier than the usual class clown
I went back to take piano lessons after I retired from my non-musical profession. While many listeners find this joyful and call it their favorite sonata, I have an usual experience while learning this piece. I found it humorous. I thought Beethoven was in a particular jocular mood writing the first 2 movements. My 93 year old piano teacher was discussing this music with me and somehow we both burst out laughing! This never happened to me before or after. I just felt good all over learning and playing this sonata. It was a very personal experience, in how music affects my emotion. Many thanks to Mr. Kumar for giving me such pleasure in my retirement. I always agree with your choices.
@@charleyfeng2054 I still don’t understand exactly what they are saying. I often see them play slow pieces or even sections at the tempo we play it now. They seem to believe it only applies above a certain tempo, and only until a certain time period. Like, the beginning of this piece would be absurd at half this tempo.
I finally realize what all the conductors are talking about when they say that Ludwig van Beethoven often put great wit in his.compositions! This is Stand-Up -- Genius Stand-Up for sure, but musical Stand-Up for all intents and purposes.
Fun fact: In Hungary we call this the "jó reggelt" sonata which means "good morning". The 1st movement's theme has a dum du dum rhythm which is the same as the rhythm as saying good morning In Hungarian. Also in my opinion it sounds like the break of dawn, where all the animals come out and the birds start chirping.
Actually, we call itt "jó napot!" instead of "jó reggelt!", try to pronounce it to the starting rhythm, and will discover why 😉 mármint mi, magyarok 😉😉😉 anyway, your interpretation of its mood is nice 👍
Thank you, Ashish Xiangyi Kumar , from the bottom of my heart. This is how most music videos should be produced, with this kind of point-to-point description, with a convincing hand, pointing out things to us that we may miss, without overbearing or distracting intrusion.
I love the first few bars. They are so tension-building. They are very Debussy-romantic to modern style. I see this style in many of his pieces and Symphonies. He just composes how his heart is telling him to. And I love that about Beethoven!
When I stop listening to Beethoven for a period, returning to him reminds me of his forward thinking and audaciousness. The classical language is all there - but transformed into something vibrant, new and sometimes, downright shocking.
Beethoven writes what I know the most miraculous musical phrases when transitioning from one melody or motive to another. It's absolute joy to listen to the genius designs.
@@tylerstoner7051 Indeed, it really was, since the seventh on ii generally follows a tonic chord. But the most exciting thing is that this seventh is not resoleved on the domainant at all as usually, but goes to a cadenza to the tonic through a consequent chromatic prograssion, using in particuler a diminished seventh outside the tonic region before the first tonic perfect chord. As I wrote upper, Ravel used this example to explain a rather complex section in his own 'Valses Nobles et Sentimetales'.
@@breadbutter2476 I’m not him, but something I think is close to what you’re looking for is the opening to Bach’s St. John passion. It doesn’t resolve right, but it’s INCREDIBLE. As for use of 6 chords in general, baroque music in general has more than you’d think.
@@gerardbegni28066/5 over the 4th scale degree in the bass -> diminished chord over #4 -> 6/4 over 5 is a cliché, not a novel or surprising idea in itself. It's in basically every mozart concerto, it's used a lot in bach (especially in the minor key), and basically every composer beyond the baroque period
I had to stifle myself from laughing out loud during a performance of this sonata, at the recapitulation of the scherzo (11:00). It's just so damn CHEEKY. You KNOW that theme is coming back like nothing happened, it just HAS to, and when it does, it's such an exquisite combination of anticlimax and inevitability. LVB does this so much in this sonata - it's all over the place in this movement, but also in the first movement, where the second theme's virtuoso cadenzas lead right back to where they started. The second movement of the first sonata in this set, 31 no.1 in G, also does this to extreme effect - the cadenzas are absolutely ludicrous, and when they lead RIGHT back to the nonchalant, smugly elegant theme, it's comedic gold. Classic comedic structure - buildup>surprise/anticlimax. Beethoven's humor has been hugely underrated. The Diabellis are basically a laugh a minute, but done with such penetrating intelligence and style.
Thank you so much for providing us with an sonata-analysis in the description, as well as the sheets to follow while listening! This is really helpful!
I just started learning this one. I have always loved the whimsical Scherzo and the high-spirited finale, but didn't love the first movement until I started playing it. Now it's growing on me. So many fun little turns in unexpected directions, from literally the opening chord. It's funny that this sonata doesn't have the heaven-storming power of the Appassionata (or even its partner, the Tempest in this same opus) or the serene lyricism of the last 3, but it's a delight all the same. Also the finale is very pianistic, so it's not as hard as I first feared. Certainly not *easy* but manageable for a skilled amateur. As tarantellas go, it's not nearly as scary to learn as the Schubert D. 958, for example.
Yiiiiikes the Schubert 958. That finale is maybe the scariest thing I've ever performed. That B theme with the hand crossing, leaps, repeated thick chords, etc gets really, really knotty. Not to mention managing not to rush. But MAN what a fantastic tarantella. Schubert was the world heavyweight champion of tarantellas. Death and the Maiden of course has another staggeringly brilliant one. It's almost as if his impending early death gave him special powers to channel that genre better than anyone else.
I love D.958 too but I've decided to play D.959 first and some other stuff (WTC fugues, mozart sonatas, rondos etc, beethoven rondos ) before I attempt it, not that I want to hold on until playing it. It just looks pretty demanding... particularly the 4th mov
Usually classical music is characterized by contrasts but the way Beethoven does it here is extraordinary. He alternates long, static passages in the tonic or merely in V - I cadences with unstable, unpredictable and unconventional harmony in a way that makes us hop with joy at the playfulness one minute but feel like this could actually be dangerous the next.
Thank you! Considering this and Op 32 #2, this quite a happy opus for Beethoven! "This pregnant introductory measure [1st mvmt]...may be played in various ways...The refined and emotional rendering of this one measure is a wellnigh decisive touchstone for the innate taste and musical talent of the player." - Hans von Bulow.
The almost ragtime fourth movement is pretty uncanny. It's not to say that later musicians just ripped Beethoven off, because jazz and such has a distinct origin, but it's still impressive that Beethoven had these rhythms in him a hundred years before they became a popular style.
It's really good to hear that when you sleep it's relaxing and doing good for me too so Bravo Beethoven your sonatas will be hear in the future and after
Biret's solid pulse in the 4th mvt makes it sound really enjoyable and "uncrippled" from little breaths (which a lot of pianists do) by being unable to play as firm as Biret.
I did want to add that this is one of those pieces that evokes a Jazz - kind of time machine - in my mind in the last movement around rehearsal letter #75. Anyone sense something similar? That transition is such a delight!
My favorite is ST ILL his very FIRST Sonata, that Last Movement (hear Richter)...I can almost play it myself. Now, I'm steeped in The Master's Late String Quartets...takes real concentration. Greetings from San Agustinillo!
0:48 sounds Wagnerian, in terms of the half-diminished chords and the upward climb of those chords. It's a wonderful few seconds in an already great piece.
@@Paul_Franz It's used as a half diminished chord in this case, so not exactly the same function as the Tristan chord. But Wagner definitely used half finished chords frequently, so yes good observation
@@iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiivy Oh, I definitely agree that it's not being used functionally in the same way, especially since Beethoven 'resolves' it to a full diminished chord (plus the notation is, of course different than Wagner's). Beethoven may have been way ahead of his time, but we can't quite give him credit for the inventiveness of Wagner. ;)
well today's the day I listened to three versions of this remarkable piece of music that I'd never heard before and felt a great depth and width of delight, cheers Ludwig vB!
After having played the Schumann string quartet no 3 many times and having revisited this Beethoven Piano sonata I notice a similarity. The opening movement of the quartet uses a descending fifth with the same chord a ii 7 chord in a major key which acts a a pre-dominant. The descending fifth is repeated throughout the movement. Schumann was an admirer of Beethoven. and borrowed his material.
I love this sonata very much and I think it deserves to be much more famous.. it has got very good melody lines and its harmony is perfect in my opinion!
In measure 8 and 9 first movement as in almost all the sonatas, Beethoven keeps the regularity of 4 measure phrases but tricks the listener into perceiving an extension of the phrasing by suddenly adding sixteenth notes and triplets so that there are more notes in the same amount of time.
Ashish thank you very much for this upload. Great selection of performances. Looking always forward to your new uploads and tasteful texts. I think this is one of the fewest pieces Beethoven allowed himself to be really humorous. The phrasing is often a bit like that: "serious, serious, oh actually not really serious".
@@wastrel09 T You know, the issue is jusr to begin a work by a seventh harmony within the main tonality, bur not on tonic and dominant. Ravel analyzed a part of hid avlse nobles & sentimantales" as a section fully controlled bt y this 7/II harmonic field, with unsolved appogiaturas, chords from remote tonal firllds, etc. Bethoven was just the composer who started with this peculiar harmony. It could have been somebody else.
Whenever I hear the 4th movement, it reminds me of Schiff's masterclass where he said, "This is the hunt, galloping horses and very Italian." You can sing the tune with "Mamma-mia, mamma-mia, mamma-mia." I find that hilarious and so true. Now I crave for a bowl of spaghetti.
Beethoven said, "Everyone can hear a horn, but I can't hear it. This is an unbearable humiliation." , "The Hunt" No.18 in E-flat Major, began with a twice horn This is descriptive music. Aristocrats run their horses side by side with a horn signal. The prey is a fox. There is a description that Fox escapes sadly. However, it returns to the depiction of following fox bravely. If you are a horse enthusiast, you will notice trot or gallop running as listning music.
I find it interesting that people in the comment section are decreeing that this piece is mozartian or heavily influenced by Mozart. I could not DISAGREE more. Beethoven had a certain quirkiness in his music that Mozart simply did not have. Mozart is a lot more “straight laced” for lack of a better term. This piece is quintessential “quirky” Beethoven. Now if one wanted to make an argument (which in my opinion would even be a stretch) one could say that it’s more Haydnesque … but even so Beethoven was more daring and more “in your face” about his quirkiness than Haydn was.
This is a very special Beethoven Sonata, my favorite. I laughed aloud at the humor in this! Does anyone feel this or I am just crazy? Thank you for this upload and the detailed comments!
the sad part is that you people are so idiotic and stupid that you can't comprehend the fact that there are multiple ways to spell in the english language. (sometimes) so get a life.
aegeanbo I agree 100% ! It took me a long time to appreciate this sonata. I wish I had learned it in college when my teacher encouraged me too. Anyway no. 16 always made me laugh out loud and I never understood why. Same with number 6. Beethoven's humor goes beyond all conceivable measure and intellect. It is forever infinite just like his music.
Trio around 13:50 - He plays those accent marks stacatto - which is not how they're marked. I have no problem with that - but it's not the way I learned it.
This sonata has always been one of my favourite and specially the fourth movement that summarises the capacity of Beethoven to create worlds that words are not able to describe. Its sounds like a "happy anger", even if this sounds ilogical. Just Beethoven can do this. The greatest composer ever.
I've played this (at least mvmts. 1 & 2). I thought this was called "The Frog", owing to the "ribbits" from the left hand near the beginning of the deveopment, around 4:23. IMO first performer played this a little bit fast. This matters musically, because you really want to be able to distinguish the triplets from 1/16th notes. If you play it too fast the distinction blurs; and I promise you, Beethoven wanted to make the distinction. Also in the "ribbts" (even the R.H. ones), you want to be able to hear that leading 1/16th note quite distinctly (like the raindrops in Chopin's Raindrop Prelude) - - not as a grace note, which is what it degenerates into when played too quickly.
I'm currently practicing this sonata and I would say it is really fun to play, especially the second and forth movements. However, in terms of difficulty, this piece is hard and the hardest movement goes to the forth movement while the easiest movement goes to the third movement.
Compare 16:39 with 20:55 in Tempest Sonata (ua-cam.com/video/hl_6lAvMsKE/v-deo.html) - the figuration in the right hand is so similar. Considering that the two sonatas were right next to each other, this section might've been inspired by the previous sonata.
Not sure if the Russian virtuoso Evgeny Kissin is able to play this wonderful Sonata with the same degree of humour & warmth as Idil Biret. She is the best Turkish pianist I have ever heard! Far better than the jazzy, overly individualistic Fazil Say.
The 8th symphony, written ten years later, also has a minuet. So this is not his last minuet movement. I'm trying to figure out why someone decided to call this sonata "The Hunt." Wikipedia says there is a theme somewhere in the last movement (which is surely a tarantella) that is reminiscent of a horn call, but I don't see anything that would fit that description.
I believe the idea is supposed to be that the rollicking tarantella left hand in the last movement has a kind of gallop to it, and the development section sequence starting at measure 90 kind of goes gallop to horn call, gallop to horn call... but like most of the sonata nicknames, it's pretty nonsensical :)
@Ashish Xiangyi Kumar Such a wonderful sonata one my favourites. Have you heard the wonderful Schnabel recordings, or maybe the great Solomon recordings would of interest to the channel?
Do you know that Ravel used the first chord of this sonata ( a 'natural' seventh on the submediant) to explain a rather complex section of his 'Valses sentimentales'? But what is indeed wonerful is that there is a quite academic way to resolve this chord on the dominant. Beethoven does not do that at all. He writes a series of chords with consequent chromatic progressions, diminished sevenths out of the tonic region before having clearly set up the tonic. This progression is followed by a section which is quite claiisal from a tonal point of view. And nevertheless, this progression looks quite natural to our ears and the identity of the tonic makes no doubt. Many things are quite outstanding in each movement of this sonata, including in the finale which can seem first quite simple end even childish - the weak point in a great sonata, but which reveals many subtleties as the music goes quickly forward. the second movement looks both very strange and familiar. It seems to anticipate some scherzos or other quick movements of the so-called "third period". The analysis proposed by Ashish Xiangyi Kumar is more than excellent.
Quite simple and even chilldish , weak point.... Maybe , but dont talk afer that of greatness of thé late period with thé scherzo OP 131 , the danza tedesca OP 130 ,thé allegro op 135...
@@olivierdrouin2701 Please read carefully whqat I wote about the finale. I wrote' looks', which means that actually it is not. This was a Vinnes tradition, which tou can trace back to Mozart, Haydn nd in germany CPE Bach, to write the fianle in clerar harmonic lines, patterns and plans to give the feeling to conclude. You are speaking about the so-calld 'third manner'. A typical fature in that manner is to alternate highly complex and clearere sections or movements. Study for intsance the Daibllai varitaion op. 120, or in its compls version xith the great fugue the alternance of movements in the XIIIth string quartets, and the simple plan of mouvement n G major and Bb minor when compared to the incredible complexity of the great fugue.
Maybe are you french ? Merci pour la rectification ,je reconnais ma culpabilité , en souhaitant la diminuer par mon anglophonie très relative . C est un plaisir de vous lire , même si je n ai aucune connaissance technique.
Is there anyolne else who "hears" Ferdinand Ries's op 26 3rd movement from 18:01-18:16? Actually, since he was Beethoven's student and B wrote his piece earlier, it's quite likely that R. stole it :D
Kovacevich:
00:00 - Mvt 1
07:39 - Mvt 2
12:33 - Mvt 3
16:11 - Mvt 4
Biret:
20:37 - Mvt 1
29:19 - Mvt 2
34:23 - Mvt 3
39:17 - Mvt 4
Kovacevich is one of the very, very, few pianists that can play the first movement of this sonata with the kind of lightness that you need: just listen to how the second theme takes off at 3:00, or the bass drum-strokes in the development. He sometimes also deviates from the score in rather nice ways: the extra LH accents at 3:31, for example. He does this too in his beautifully taut, punchy account of the second movement: at 10:41 there is an extra trill, and in the passage immediately after he takes the quasi-glissandi at a flat mf dynamic, creating a long-term anticipation of the wonderfully perky passage leads back into the recapitulation. The minuet is taken at a quick(-ish) tempo, and the last movement is broad and vigorous.
Biret brings a certain magic to this sonata: listen to how she articulates the theme at 24:22, with those chirp-like slurs, compared to Kovacevich at 5:57, who plays them straight (this is an unresolved point of interpretive uncertainty, it seems: Schnabel and Schiff also exaggerate the slurs). The trills are also handled amazingly well: listen to them in the first theme, or at 24:34. And you might notice how the chromatically descending middle voice emerges 21:11. In the second movement she shows off some *stunning* staccato technique in the bass and at 31:25 (and similar) - in the latter it’s kind of miraculous how those huge chords, punched out like that, die away so fast. The tempo is slower than Kovacevich’s in both the second and third movements, but there’s a certain earthiness to the interpretation that’s pretty compelling, and a unexpected tenderness in the third movement in particular. The last movement is taken with very little pedal, and a beautifully sharp, focused attack, especially in the development.
One last thing: I struggled a lot re whether or not I should place Kovacevich’s or Korstick’s account here, but you should definitely check out Korstick’s recording too. It’s more heavy-going than Kovacevich’s, but the contrasts are *really* satisfying.
Ashish Xiangyi Kumar
I'm so happy to see a recording of Biret. I think she's one of the most overlooked pianist's of our time. Thank you for this wonderful upload
"It’s the second-last sonata in 4 movements (the last is the Hammerklavier)"
Wait, but what about Opus 101? Or maybe because its 3rd mvt is well-connected to the 4th so you are considering them one large movement?
@@nguyenkien2256 Yeah, I really think of the Op.101 as having one big 3rd mvt!
Thank you so much for doing this and sharing with the world!
@@nguyenkien2256 I think what's meant is 4 independent movements. The op. 110 has 4 movements, too, sorta, but 3rd (arioso) and 4th (fugue) are interleaved. Technically the op. 110 finale has 6 sub-movements if you really want to slice it finely (recitative, first arioso, first fugue, second arioso, second fugue, coda) but you'd never play any of them as independent movements.
The first movement makes me want to run through my neighbourhood and greet everyone. This piece is so joyful that it took me a little bit to realise that Beethoven wrote it.
Beethoven's Baton The art of Beethoven is so complete and universal that covers absolutely all the colors and feelings of mankind.
Original user-name.
‘Beethoven: Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major’
Beethoven is like the old guy at the family gatherings who seems like a total downer until he says something sarcastic/humorous and it ends up being funnier than the usual class clown
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words!
I went back to take piano lessons after I retired from my non-musical profession. While many listeners find this joyful and call it their favorite sonata, I have an usual experience while learning this piece. I found it humorous. I thought Beethoven was in a particular jocular mood writing the first 2 movements. My 93 year old piano teacher was discussing this music with me and somehow we both burst out laughing! This never happened to me before or after.
I just felt good all over learning and playing this sonata. It was a very personal experience, in how music affects my emotion. Many thanks to Mr. Kumar for giving me such pleasure in my retirement. I always agree with your choices.
I, too, have laughed listening to and playing the sonata :)
That fourth movement to me is just the most musical expression of careless fun I have ever heard. It's truly gorgeous.
Not if Wim or Alberto plays it in double beat :)
The fourth movement is the best, and yes i think is better than the second
@@charleyfeng2054
I still don’t understand exactly what they are saying. I often see them play slow pieces or even sections at the tempo we play it now. They seem to believe it only applies above a certain tempo, and only until a certain time period. Like, the beginning of this piece would be absurd at half this tempo.
I suggest Mouvement by Debussy
I finally realize what all the conductors are talking about when they say that Ludwig van Beethoven often put great wit in his.compositions! This is Stand-Up -- Genius Stand-Up for sure, but musical Stand-Up for all intents and purposes.
I love Beethoven so much. I love his sonatas so much.
Extremely based
@@cdiegorodriguez based on what?
Pedro doubek I think he meant biased...😋
But based is open to more discussion...
MusicalMichael How much...?!!😂
Omg same! Everytime I listen to a Beethoven sonata I haven't heard before, I go like "ok, this is my new favourite sonata you can't change my mind" 😂
Fun fact: In Hungary we call this the "jó reggelt" sonata which means "good morning". The 1st movement's theme has a dum du dum rhythm which is the same as the rhythm as saying good morning In Hungarian. Also in my opinion it sounds like the break of dawn, where all the animals come out and the birds start chirping.
Wow, that's quite interesting! I didn't know about this before. Thanks for the info.
That doesn't make any sense
I am Hungarian and I've been familiar with Beethoven's sonatas for over 10 years but never heard this title for this particular one :D very apt though
@@jimmyrustleberg5646 for this you must know how "jó reggelt" is pronounced, that way it does indeed make sense.
Actually, we call itt "jó napot!" instead of "jó reggelt!", try to pronounce it to the starting rhythm, and will discover why 😉 mármint mi, magyarok 😉😉😉 anyway, your interpretation of its mood is nice 👍
Thank you, Ashish Xiangyi Kumar , from the bottom of my heart. This is how most music videos should be produced, with this kind of point-to-point description, with a convincing hand, pointing out things to us that we may miss, without overbearing or distracting intrusion.
I love the first few bars. They are so tension-building. They are very Debussy-romantic to modern style. I see this style in many of his pieces and Symphonies. He just composes how his heart is telling him to. And I love that about Beethoven!
When I stop listening to Beethoven for a period, returning to him reminds me of his forward thinking and audaciousness. The classical language is all there - but transformed into something vibrant, new and sometimes, downright shocking.
Beethoven writes what I know the most miraculous musical phrases when transitioning from one melody or motive to another. It's absolute joy to listen to the genius designs.
Des exemples , s il vous plaît !
The starting melody is just magical… 🎵
That ii 6/5 harmony at the opening is such a daring gesture for his time, I think.
It really was. Probably why he put it in his sonata which would be a more private work
@@tylerstoner7051 Indeed, it really was, since the seventh on ii generally follows a tonic chord. But the most exciting thing is that this seventh is not resoleved on the domainant at all as usually, but goes to a cadenza to the tonic through a consequent chromatic prograssion, using in particuler a diminished seventh outside the tonic region before the first tonic perfect chord. As I wrote upper, Ravel used this example to explain a rather complex section in his own 'Valses Nobles et Sentimetales'.
@@gerardbegni2806 HEY YOU SEEM SMART. DO YOU KNOW ANY OTHER COMPOSERS BEFORE BEETHOVEN THAT USE THE CHORD
@@breadbutter2476
I’m not him, but something I think is close to what you’re looking for is the opening to Bach’s St. John passion. It doesn’t resolve right, but it’s INCREDIBLE.
As for use of 6 chords in general, baroque music in general has more than you’d think.
@@gerardbegni28066/5 over the 4th scale degree in the bass -> diminished chord over #4 -> 6/4 over 5 is a cliché, not a novel or surprising idea in itself. It's in basically every mozart concerto, it's used a lot in bach (especially in the minor key), and basically every composer beyond the baroque period
I had to stifle myself from laughing out loud during a performance of this sonata, at the recapitulation of the scherzo (11:00). It's just so damn CHEEKY. You KNOW that theme is coming back like nothing happened, it just HAS to, and when it does, it's such an exquisite combination of anticlimax and inevitability. LVB does this so much in this sonata - it's all over the place in this movement, but also in the first movement, where the second theme's virtuoso cadenzas lead right back to where they started. The second movement of the first sonata in this set, 31 no.1 in G, also does this to extreme effect - the cadenzas are absolutely ludicrous, and when they lead RIGHT back to the nonchalant, smugly elegant theme, it's comedic gold. Classic comedic structure - buildup>surprise/anticlimax. Beethoven's humor has been hugely underrated. The Diabellis are basically a laugh a minute, but done with such penetrating intelligence and style.
When I played this I always did a 'Chico Marx' move on those descending chromatics - I concur completely on Beethoven's humor being underrated. :)
What an excellent and thoughtful reply! It is indeed cheeky!
I think it's truly a miracle how Beethoven can get laughs out of music without lyrics or any visuals.
Such a gorgeous & under-rated sonata full of humor & complexity. Beautiful interpretation!
I couldn’t stop smiling and dancing in the second movement.
What a great sonata!
I am awestruck at how well these pianists play this delightful piece!
practice and practice
and then some more practice
And audio editing
Probably my favorite Beethoven sonata; especially the 1st movement. I've been waiting for this upload!
Mine too! It reminds me of good summer times, traveling around with my bike, discovering new places.
I love this sonata. It's one of Beethoven's most playful pieces and full of his wicked humour.😄😄
On the joyful and light-hearted surface of this sonata, I can feel a thick hidden layer of sadness and wistfulness
One of my favourite Beethoven Sonatas! Love the description and the 4th movement always surprises me!
Thanks for the upload.
Ludorgel vsfu corno
Thank you so much for providing us with an sonata-analysis in the description, as well as the sheets to follow while listening! This is really helpful!
This sonata is endless delight.
The second and fourth movement are SO NICE
Very nice!!
"Nice" is an understatement
there's something just a little jazzy about the first movement, i love it so much
I had the pleasure of meeting Biret last month, her personality is as lovely as her playing. Thank you for this post.
egenginol fudac nerd bobaum
Nobody gives a shit
I love that 2nd movement!
Ouça o pequeno prelúdio 933 de bach…
I just started learning this one. I have always loved the whimsical Scherzo and the high-spirited finale, but didn't love the first movement until I started playing it. Now it's growing on me. So many fun little turns in unexpected directions, from literally the opening chord.
It's funny that this sonata doesn't have the heaven-storming power of the Appassionata (or even its partner, the Tempest in this same opus) or the serene lyricism of the last 3, but it's a delight all the same. Also the finale is very pianistic, so it's not as hard as I first feared. Certainly not *easy* but manageable for a skilled amateur. As tarantellas go, it's not nearly as scary to learn as the Schubert D. 958, for example.
Yiiiiikes the Schubert 958. That finale is maybe the scariest thing I've ever performed. That B theme with the hand crossing, leaps, repeated thick chords, etc gets really, really knotty. Not to mention managing not to rush. But MAN what a fantastic tarantella. Schubert was the world heavyweight champion of tarantellas. Death and the Maiden of course has another staggeringly brilliant one. It's almost as if his impending early death gave him special powers to channel that genre better than anyone else.
I love D.958 too but I've decided to play D.959 first and some other stuff (WTC fugues, mozart sonatas, rondos etc, beethoven rondos ) before I attempt it, not that I want to hold on until playing it. It just looks pretty demanding... particularly the 4th mov
Kovacevich maneja muy bien las dinámicas y los tiempos. Se escucha bien clásico.
I love the nocturnes perfoming by Idil Biret every night in my youth I listened.
Usually classical music is characterized by contrasts but the way Beethoven does it here is extraordinary. He alternates long, static passages in the tonic or merely in V - I cadences with unstable, unpredictable and unconventional harmony in a way that makes us hop with joy at the playfulness one minute but feel like this could actually be dangerous the next.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this sonata.
Thank you! Considering this and Op 32 #2, this quite a happy opus for Beethoven!
"This pregnant introductory measure [1st mvmt]...may be played in various ways...The refined and emotional rendering of this one measure is a wellnigh decisive touchstone for the innate taste and musical talent of the player." - Hans von Bulow.
The almost ragtime fourth movement is pretty uncanny. It's not to say that later musicians just ripped Beethoven off, because jazz and such has a distinct origin, but it's still impressive that Beethoven had these rhythms in him a hundred years before they became a popular style.
I think this is the heir of the op. 10 no. 3, utterly avant-garde
It's really good to hear that when you sleep it's relaxing and doing good for me too so Bravo Beethoven your sonatas will be hear in the future and after
Underrated sonata
Biret's solid pulse in the 4th mvt makes it sound really enjoyable and "uncrippled" from little breaths (which a lot of pianists do) by being unable to play as firm as Biret.
Happy 250th birthday Beethoven!
Kovacevich will be forever remembered.
I did want to add that this is one of those pieces that evokes a Jazz - kind of time machine - in my mind in the last movement around rehearsal letter #75. Anyone sense something similar? That transition is such a delight!
0:49 Tristan Chord
1:03 in my mind Beethoven used this theme in the 5th symphony , 1st mov when the key changes to E-Flat major.
First time I've heard this.
Where have I been?
Should be as well known as the
Pathetique.
Very catchy.
My favorite is ST ILL his very FIRST Sonata, that Last Movement (hear Richter)...I can almost play it myself. Now, I'm steeped in The Master's Late String Quartets...takes real concentration. Greetings from San Agustinillo!
The last mvt is an absolute BEAST.
I am learning this song now. It's a beautiful song.❤❤
0:48 sounds Wagnerian, in terms of the half-diminished chords and the upward climb of those chords. It's a wonderful few seconds in an already great piece.
Exactly what i thought as well
In fact, the chord at 0:50 is note-for-note the Tristan chord.
@@Paul_Franz It's used as a half diminished chord in this case, so not exactly the same function as the Tristan chord. But Wagner definitely used half finished chords frequently, so yes good observation
@@iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiivy Oh, I definitely agree that it's not being used functionally in the same way, especially since Beethoven 'resolves' it to a full diminished chord (plus the notation is, of course different than Wagner's). Beethoven may have been way ahead of his time, but we can't quite give him credit for the inventiveness of Wagner. ;)
@@Paul_Franz indeed
Very nice detailed performance.
well today's the day I listened to three versions of this remarkable piece of music that I'd never heard before and felt a great depth and width of delight, cheers Ludwig vB!
After having played the Schumann string quartet no 3 many times and having revisited this Beethoven Piano sonata I notice a similarity. The opening movement of the quartet uses a descending fifth with the same chord a ii 7 chord in a major key which acts a a pre-dominant. The descending fifth is repeated throughout the movement. Schumann was an admirer of Beethoven.
and borrowed his material.
I love this sonata very much and I think it deserves to be much more famous.. it has got very good melody lines and its harmony is perfect in my opinion!
In measure 8 and 9 first movement as in almost all the sonatas, Beethoven keeps the regularity of 4 measure phrases but tricks the listener into perceiving an extension of the phrasing by suddenly adding sixteenth notes and triplets so that there are more notes in the same amount of time.
Ashish thank you very much for this upload. Great selection of performances. Looking always forward to your new uploads and tasteful texts. I think this is one of the fewest pieces Beethoven allowed himself to be really humorous. The phrasing is often a bit like that: "serious, serious, oh actually not really serious".
If you think this one's funny, you should really love the Op.31 No.1!
1st Movmement:
I prefer Kovacevich. Very light and playful. Trills are clearer too. The tempo is slightly faster which i like 😀
Ravel quoted the first chord (7th on II) as a model for his "valses nobles et sentimentales'.
interesting hypothesis ... Ravel was not fond of Beethoven's music, and wrote critically of it. But you may be right
@@wastrel09 T You know, the issue is jusr to begin a work by a seventh harmony within the main tonality, bur not on tonic and dominant. Ravel analyzed a part of hid avlse nobles & sentimantales" as a section fully controlled bt y this 7/II harmonic field, with unsolved appogiaturas, chords from remote tonal firllds, etc. Bethoven was just the composer who started with this peculiar harmony. It could have been somebody else.
Ah, a great favorite of mine, and one I try to learn. Great to hear these interpretations.
Whenever I hear the 4th movement, it reminds me of Schiff's masterclass where he said, "This is the hunt, galloping horses and very Italian." You can sing the tune with "Mamma-mia, mamma-mia, mamma-mia." I find that hilarious and so true. Now I crave for a bowl of spaghetti.
I'm an uncultured swine who isn't experienced enough to grasp the reference in its entirety
Ok... The Fourth movement is the best, perfect in every way, beating the second
Absolutely Awesome.
Wow! Thank you for the detailed comments presented in the description!
Probably my second favorite Sonata after the Pathétique
This sonata is heroine in my vanes, first time hearing it just astonishing
Beethoven said, "Everyone can hear a horn, but I can't hear it. This is an unbearable humiliation." , "The Hunt" No.18 in E-flat Major, began with a twice horn
This is descriptive music. Aristocrats run their horses side by side with a horn signal. The prey is a fox. There is a description that Fox escapes sadly. However, it returns to the depiction of following fox bravely. If you are a horse enthusiast, you will notice trot or gallop running as listning music.
Yet as a bird enthusiast, I can still hear the horse.
I am also playing that “The Hunt”.
I find it interesting that people in the comment section are decreeing that this piece is mozartian or heavily influenced by Mozart. I could not DISAGREE more. Beethoven had a certain quirkiness in his music that Mozart simply did not have. Mozart is a lot more “straight laced” for
lack of a better term. This piece is quintessential “quirky” Beethoven. Now if one wanted to make an argument (which in my opinion would even be a stretch) one could say that it’s more Haydnesque … but even so Beethoven was more daring and more “in your face” about his quirkiness than Haydn was.
Couldn't agree more! 👏
7:39 Mvt2 is so nice.
아이 너무 멋있따..ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ 베토벤 고마워요 이런 곡들을 남겨줘서
Thanks for uploading!
This is a very special Beethoven Sonata, my favorite. I laughed aloud at the humor in this! Does anyone feel this or I am just crazy? Thank you for this upload and the detailed comments!
*favourite
*humour
Idiot.
The lyrical grace and explosive shock and relief in laughter and ultimate undiluted satisfaction of a Buster Keaton or Chaplin masterpiece.
the sad part is that you people are so idiotic and stupid that you can't comprehend the fact that there are multiple ways to spell in the english language. (sometimes) so get a life.
aegeanbo
I agree 100% ! It took me a long time to appreciate this sonata. I wish I had learned it in college when my teacher encouraged me too. Anyway no. 16 always made me laugh out loud and I never understood why. Same with number 6. Beethoven's humor goes beyond all conceivable measure and intellect. It is forever infinite just like his music.
Electronic Goat it’s American English you nit, get a life
피아노과 대학생인데
이거 학교 실기곡으로 엄청 많이 들리더라구요... 처음 들었을때 음? 하다가도 듣다보면 점점 오.. 하게 되는 명곡😌
How Woderful 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎼🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶💛
16:42 hm, me recuerda a cierto pasaje del 3er movimiento de la sonata 17
Beethoven write the 16th, 17th and 18th in a row. There was reciclable themes
Trio around 13:50 - He plays those accent marks stacatto - which is not how they're marked. I have no problem with that - but it's not the way I learned it.
정말 너무 감사드립니다.
잘듣겠습니다.
팬데믹 상황에, 다들 많이 지치고 힘이 드시겠지만
그래도 더 힘내고 버티시길 바랄게요.
다른 방법이 아직 없으니까요.
힘내세요.
이런 말씀밖에 드리지 못해 죄송합니다.
This sonata has always been one of my favourite and specially the fourth movement that summarises the capacity of Beethoven to create worlds that words are not able to describe. Its sounds like a "happy anger", even if this sounds ilogical.
Just Beethoven can do this.
The greatest composer ever.
*favourite
*summarises
Electronic Goat Thank You very much. Regards
@@geralteld1332 Stfu
It’s Beautiful music✨
18:42 goosebumps moment!!!
I've played this (at least mvmts. 1 & 2). I thought this was called "The Frog", owing to the "ribbits" from the left hand near the beginning of the deveopment, around 4:23.
IMO first performer played this a little bit fast. This matters musically, because you really want to be able to distinguish the triplets from 1/16th notes. If you play it too fast the distinction blurs; and I promise you, Beethoven wanted to make the distinction. Also in the "ribbts" (even the R.H. ones), you want to be able to hear that leading 1/16th note quite distinctly (like the raindrops in Chopin's Raindrop Prelude) - - not as a grace note, which is what it degenerates into when played too quickly.
I'm currently practicing this sonata and I would say it is really fun to play, especially the second and forth movements. However, in terms of difficulty, this piece is hard and the hardest movement goes to the forth movement while the easiest movement goes to the third movement.
The first theme of the menuetto seems the inversion of the first theme of mvt 1
Miguel Fontes Meira yes-you’re right! I observed that while playing them.
Bravo super sonata
Sorry...the last Beethoven's Menuetto is the ironic third movement of 8th Symphony. Thanks for sharing this extraordinary music!
Compare 16:39 with 20:55 in Tempest Sonata (ua-cam.com/video/hl_6lAvMsKE/v-deo.html) - the figuration in the right hand is so similar. Considering that the two sonatas were right next to each other, this section might've been inspired by the previous sonata.
Not sure if the Russian virtuoso Evgeny Kissin is able to play this wonderful Sonata with the same degree of humour & warmth as Idil Biret. She is the best Turkish pianist I have ever heard! Far better than the jazzy, overly individualistic Fazil Say.
The 2nd mvt is not a Scherzo. It's a slow movement but in a slightly faster tempo.
The 8th symphony, written ten years later, also has a minuet. So this is not his last minuet movement.
I'm trying to figure out why someone decided to call this sonata "The Hunt." Wikipedia says there is a theme somewhere in the last movement (which is surely a tarantella) that is reminiscent of a horn call, but I don't see anything that would fit that description.
I believe the idea is supposed to be that the rollicking tarantella left hand in the last movement has a kind of gallop to it, and the development section sequence starting at measure 90 kind of goes gallop to horn call, gallop to horn call... but like most of the sonata nicknames, it's pretty nonsensical :)
@@LOS_wolfb Thanks. Just sounds like a tarantella to me!
@Ashish Xiangyi Kumar Such a wonderful sonata one my favourites. Have you heard the wonderful Schnabel recordings, or maybe the great Solomon recordings would of interest to the channel?
beethoven piano sonata ~~ all time music bible~!!!
Beauty and expressive donate, and appassionaty.
16:37 part of the melody from tempest movement 3
Little hints of jazz at the beginning-anybody else agree?
琴聲顆粒，圓潤。很好聽。
Do you know that Ravel used the first chord of this sonata ( a 'natural' seventh on the submediant) to explain a rather complex section of his 'Valses sentimentales'? But what is indeed wonerful is that there is a quite academic way to resolve this chord on the dominant. Beethoven does not do that at all. He writes a series of chords with consequent chromatic progressions, diminished sevenths out of the tonic region before having clearly set up the tonic. This progression is followed by a section which is quite claiisal from a tonal point of view. And nevertheless, this progression looks quite natural to our ears and the identity of the tonic makes no doubt. Many things are quite outstanding in each movement of this sonata, including in the finale which can seem first quite simple end even childish - the weak point in a great sonata, but which reveals many subtleties as the music goes quickly forward. the second movement looks both very strange and familiar. It seems to anticipate some scherzos or other quick movements of the so-called "third period".
The analysis proposed by Ashish Xiangyi Kumar is more than excellent.
Quite simple and even chilldish , weak point....
Maybe , but dont talk afer that of greatness of thé late period with thé scherzo OP 131 , the danza tedesca OP 130 ,thé allegro op 135...
@@olivierdrouin2701 Please read carefully whqat I wote about the finale. I wrote' looks', which means that actually it is not. This was a Vinnes tradition, which tou can trace back to Mozart, Haydn nd in germany CPE Bach, to write the fianle in clerar harmonic lines, patterns and plans to give the feeling to conclude. You are speaking about the so-calld 'third manner'. A typical fature in that manner is to alternate highly complex and clearere sections or movements. Study for intsance the Daibllai varitaion op. 120, or in its compls version xith the great fugue the alternance of movements in the XIIIth string quartets, and the simple plan of mouvement n G major and Bb minor when compared to the incredible complexity of the great fugue.
Maybe are you french ?
Merci pour la rectification ,je reconnais ma culpabilité , en souhaitant la diminuer par mon anglophonie très relative .
C est un plaisir de vous lire , même si je n ai aucune connaissance technique.
самая лучшая и красивейшая соната
Is there anyolne else who "hears" Ferdinand Ries's op 26 3rd movement from 18:01-18:16? Actually, since he was Beethoven's student and B wrote his piece earlier, it's quite likely that R. stole it :D
I cant help myself from laughing like a little girl every time i hear beethovens cheeky melodies lol
Yes, a good example is in the Waldstein's theme!
I am actually listening the sonata with sheet music of the exact same piece.
Ludwig give me back that coke, you already had too much
Biret's beethoven is superb
4:01 lol that shift to the minor chord came out of nowhere. Loved it 😂 Beethoven is such a troll (in a good way)
I think I know why it is called “the hunt” ! Maybe because the theme of the first movement is kinda like a horn that you use in hunting.
Thank you too much.