Beethoven - 6 Bagatelles, op. 126 (Audio+Sheet) [Kempff]

Wilhelm Kempff, piano
00:00 - No. 1 - Andante con moto in G major
03:07 - No. 2 - Allegro in G minor
05:01 - No. 3 - Andante in Eb major
07:24 - No. 4 - Presto in B minor
10:53 - No. 5 - Quasi allegretto in G major
12:19 - No. 6 - Presto - Andante amabile e con moto in Eb major

[@ericrakestraw664]

At 1:11 Beethoven recapitulates the opening theme in the bass in such a subtle way that you don't even realize the theme has returned until four bars have passed at 1:17. You're too busy listening to the beautiful rising countermelody in the top voice to notice the bass.

[@katttttt]

I only noticed it when I compared the parts from the sheet music, wow

[@timward276]

I've always loved this set. Beethoven himself was quite fond of his Bagatelles.

[@yaelavivi501]

source?

[@wiltzu81]

@@yaelavivi501 Beethoven wrote to his publisher, Schott Music, that the Opus 126 Bagatelles "are probably the best I've written". And I know that his statement sounds quite amazing statement when you compare these bagatelles to many much more famous works of his. Or maybe he compares op 126 just to his previous bagatelles...?

[@yaelavivi501]

@@wiltzu81 probably just wanted to sell them
(all in good fun, thanks for the source :b)

[@anthonyc6017]

number 5 is so simple yet i cant stop listening to it there is just something magical about it

[@azurbtkl3901]

Kempff is such an underrated pianist (in our age... At his time he was very well regarded).

[@johnchessant3012]

No. 5 is gorgeous!

[@theoperot]

I just love the plagal cadences of no. 4. Also I think the structure of no. 6 is very reminiscent of some of Mendelssohn songs without words (short introduction to establish the home key that repeats at the end). Fascinating

[@MaxFox_Gaming]

The first one is my favourite of all his bagetelles, gentle but the bass adds so much character and depth. Always has and probably will be my favourite classical composer.

[@danielfladmose]

Kempf unfortunately omits the last repetition in nr. 6. What a shame. It destroys the hidden reversed golden ratio of the big form.

[@rollinginabarrel1218]

He's too tired of it all to do pretty much any of the repeats... as you say, a shame.

[@juanmanueldiz764]

And with the no 4 in this set we finally got a piece in B (major or minor) in Beethoven's music, in his very last piano composition (apart from the Diabelli's). Does anybody remember another one? The only one I can think about is the second movement of the last piano concerto. (Still a second movement and not the main tonality of the piece)

[@christianwouters6764]

Very original and unpredictical, yet lacking the chaotic fussyness of the last sonatas or the Diabelli variations. Indeed later Van Beethoven at his best.

[@hjo4104]

Some of these bagatelles were written in the late 1790s - early 1800s.

[@farazhaiderpiano]

@@hjo4104 Nope, this set of bagatelles was actually written in 1823, according to most sources. The set was published in 1825. The characteristics of this set also suggest a more mature Beethoven than that of the Op. 33 bagatelles or the Op. 119 bagatelles.

[@hjo4104]

@@farazhaiderpiano All right, idk but the second one, for example, sounds too obsolete for late LvB.

[@IbrahimHoldsForth]

they have the flavor of the late works

[@vincent-ataramaniko]

​@@hjo4104 I disagree, the second one really reminds me of the diabelli variations. Definitely written around the end of his life

[@alanleoneldavid1787]

No. 4 reminds me to haydn b minor sonata 3rd movement

[@baldrbraa]

For anyone who has played this themselves, Kempff can be annoying. He skips the repeats. The point of a repeat is that a bit of music can go in two directions, and there is a reason for hearing both. If it’s not done, we lose one of the two transitions, disrupting the composer’s intention. As if the pianist is thinking «oh, we’ve heard that, no point in playing it again» which to be honest is not very deep musical thinking. The formal balance suffers too, because now we are spending a shorter time in some bits, which is not the way it was intended to be weighted.
Also, he’s very haphazard with dynamics and articulation. Just one example. In number six, he plays the little ländler-like bit first staccato where there is no such indication, and later when there are actual staccato dots in the score, he doesn’t. Argh.

[@satosmi9408]

Indeed, despite Kempff's skills, he skips far too many repetitions, and in the 5th piece there's almost a clearly audible sense of impatience in the absence of both repetitions. Even so, these bagatelles are still so moving!

[@brunotheiss1]

Hmmm... And yet, he sounds absolutely transcendental to anyone who is not stuck with a narrow idea of how these Bagatelles should sound like!

[@filippotenisci5175]

I also played and recorded these works and i bealive that this recording Is one of the most beatiful for his great musical inspiration and sound. Kempff is a real master and thinking musician and his decisions on these bagatelles have their sense for my personal opinion as a pianist and musician