Beethoven Pathétique Sonata

Hello!

In pursuing my Beethoven-Sonata-project, here is my next step, recorded last year: The Pathétique-Sonata.

The recording was made on a Steingraeber Concert Grand Piano in a Piano-atelier ( http://www.klavierwerkstatt.com ). The second movement has no (ore maybe one) cut, on the others, I spend some more effort…

Comments welcome! If you'd like to support my project, the exact same recordings are also available as digital downloads on amazon or itunes (and elsewhere).

 

Jan, I've just listened to all three movements from start to finish - I didn't intend to do so, but I was enjoying it too much! This is a sensitive account of the Pathetique and I cannot fault your technique. Any criticisms must be purely my own point of view.

About the first movement I have no quibbles. In the second movement, I didn't find the tempo particularly offputting, although I agree with Andrew that it would certainly not hurt to give it a little more time, particularly in the triplet section. I do think though that, in the outer sections, the middle 'accompanying' voice needs a gentler touch, less powerful and less insistent, and I would have liked a more sonorous bass. The third movement has many touches of poetry and I envy you your control of rubato - might I simply suggest that it should be ... bigger? It feels too careful, too small; there are moments of real violence in this music which should shock.

Thank you! I look forward to further instalments.

 

Hello!

Thanks for your kind remarks and comments! I am practising the F-sharp major Sonata right now, but this will take some time before I'll find myself ready to record it. Before that I will post op2/1, the recordings were done in November '15, and just yesterday I came to do the cutting.

Greetings!

 

I suppose it's going to be tough to please everyone on this well-known sonata (which, along with the Moonlight, may well be Beethoven's most famous and frequently played), but this seems to me more like a practice session than a performance. The outer sections seem lacking in drive and quintessential Beethovenien energy, and the middle Adagio -- to my ears one of Beethoven's most lovely despite its warhorse status -- seems a bit of a prosaic muddle. A few specifics:

• First movement: I know Grave has come to mean "very slow" in musical terms, but this seems painfully so -- to the point where the core rhythms at the beginning seem imperceptible and the dotted rhythms have no crispness. I might recommend seeing the tempo indication just a bit more in terms of the other, and more literal, part of the meaning of Grave (i.e., "serious"). The Allegro con brio also seems under tempo (though not drastically so), and too fussy and overly articulated so that I miss the passionate and stormy sweep of the left-hand squalls. in the right hand, the staccatos seem too clipped and prissy.
• Second movement: I'd pay a bit more attention to the "cantabile" portion of the tempo marking. The right hand needs to sing more and fails to phrase this gorgeously sculpted, sensual melody. This problem becomes especially obvious in the emergence of the triplet variation on the accompanimental figures, most of which seem much too loud and obtrusive to my ears. Some additional details that jumped out at me are that there seems an odd hesitation around bar 16 (before the sixteenth rest and the repeated C's), the turns in bars 20 and 21 sound a bit awkward, and the triplets in the middle "C" theme in the bass seem much too quiet and not delineated enough (if you're using soft pedal here, that could be a hindrance).
• Third movement: Seems to lack a consistent tempo throughout, which makes the structure of the piece fall apart a bit from my perspective. Actually, your tempo at the end seems a bit more like it, but currently seems a bit out of place since I don't think that outrageous an accelerando is called for regardless of the tempo you choose (or so it seems to me). Many of the triplets, in particular, sag and make me lose a feeling of the overall pulse. This is evident in say mm. 34-41 or the left-hand unevenness around mm. 53-55.

Regarding the recording, the piano sounds very nice but the overall sound seems a little bit tubby and overloaded. I think your dynamics in places are on the right track but it could be I'm missing a lot of them for this reason. I'm wondering whether there may be too much reverb. This became noticeable to me in the chords that end the first movement, where, for comfort, the sound seems to take far too long to die away.

 

Dear Joe,

please don't comment on my recordings any more.

To call this performance a practice session is insulting. I believe you have a specific notion of how Beethoven should be played; your wisenheimer-remarks show that you are thoroughly informed about a certain Beethoven-cliché; that's not what I am aiming at. Nothing against halfway-objective observations and practicing-advice, but I miss the open ear and the intention to understand an approach that's not your own.

With best wishes, have a nice life

Jan

 

"I believe you have a specific notion of how Beethoven should be played..."

Yep, and so do you. The difference is that, a couple of testy remarks aside, I would never tell someone to "not comment on my recordings any more" because he or she didn't tell me what I wanted to hear.

"...but I miss the open ear and the intention to understand an approach that's not your own."

Oh, I make every possible attempt and am actually quite easy to convince when the playing is good.

Have a nice life yourself.

 

Hi,

I really love this piece and I personally thought that you've played it clean and clear. Well done. I just signed up for this today and will be listening to more!

Cheers,
Jason
Singapore Piano Hub

 

Hi Jan,

Thank you for posting the Pathetique.

First movement
There are many good things about your interpretation - the timing,
the balance between the hands, the clarity of the embellishments,
and the evenness. There seems to be more drive and emotion as things
progress in the first movement. I think there is a very classical
feel to your interpretation and that you could consider delving into a bit
more of an extroverted, less inhibited state at times. The playing is very distinct
and clean which is good. Perhaps some of the crescendos could be more
dramatic. There is a lot of beautiful phrasing where the hands cross.

Second movement

I think the second movement has a nice sense of melody. There is a true
sense of song. I would consider playing it a bit slower to bring out your
beautiful balance of hands and to increase the realization of the song like
qualities. The middle section is really played beautifully, but again, it needs to be slower to be truly poetic.


Third movement

The third movement tempo for me is perfect. The melody is brought out in
an interesting fashion although perhaps a little too introspective for my thinking.
The third movement is very well articulated and the middle section and the harmonies
throughout the entire movement are realized in an elegant way with clarity.

Thank you for posting. I look forward to hearing more of your recordings. There is some fine
scholarship in your interpretation.

Kaila Rochelle