Beethoven: Sonata No.11 in B-flat major, Op.22 - Boris Giltburg | Beethoven 32 project
Vložit
- čas přidán 29. 08. 2020
- Looking back at the sonatas Nos. 8-11, the Sonata No. 11, Op. 22 is the grandest of the four in its scope, probably the most challenging one technically, but curiously also the most conservative in its spirit and musical language. The elegant minuet and the easy-flowing, good-natured finale are even reminiscent of the sonatas Opp. 2 and 7, written 4-5 years earlier.
The opening movement is in textbook-perfect sonata form, putting on hold Beethoven’s previous experiments with structure and dramaturgy. I politely disagree with those who call this movement foursquare or perfunctory (those words could hardly apply to any of Beethoven’s mature works!). However, it is definitely a piece characterised by its sparkle, light-fingered drive and ebullient energy, rather than inventiveness or depth of emotion. Only towards the end of the development (05:05) does Beethoven’s customary ease of surprising us come to the fore, as he brings the left hand to the very bottom of the keyboard in a long, very atmospheric pianissimo passage.
The standout movement, for me, is the second one (7:46). Here, spirituality is abundant, and Beethoven’s sense of colour, texture and register is exquisite. ‘A long aria’, one could say of the big opening phrase - but it’s written in pianissimo, and as such, appears to us as if in a dream, or through a softening mist, an inspired effect. The middle section (11:30), rising from the murky depths of the keyboard, is a delight, rich with unusual, unexpected harmonies. It is also perhaps the most deeply-felt part of the sonata, questingly exploring numerous keys in a long modulating passage.
Having written the above, I wonder if it is unfair to reproach the sonata for mostly playing it safe. It is undoubtedly the work of a master, one in complete control of his craft and his instrument. Beethoven himself thought very highly of the work, and perhaps it is only in hindsight and through the lens of our own sensibilities that we find the sonata falling somewhat short of Beethoven’s greatest works. In a way, we could see it as a closing, summarising chapter of the first third of Beethoven’s sonatas cycle. The next one to follow, No. 12 Op. 26, will present us with very different musical worlds.
***
Beethoven 32 - Over the year 2020, I will be learning and filming all 32 Beethoven sonatas. Subscribe to this channel to follow the project, and visit beethoven32.com for blog posts and listening guides to each sonata.
Boris Giltburg, piano
Filmed by Stewart French
© 2020 Fly On The Wall, London (fotw.london)
Filmed at the Fazioli Concert Hall, Sacile, Italy
@Fazioli Pianoforti - Hudba
I. Allegro con brio - 0:04
II. Adagio con molta espressione - 7:46
III. Minuetto - 17:14
IV. Rondo: Allegretto - 20:45
He leído alguna vez que el legendario Arthur Schnabel, a quien todo un Glenn Gould veneraba, era celebrado por sus interpretaciones hondas y reflexivas de los movimientos lentos de las primeras sonatas de Beethoven. No lamento vivir en otra época y no haber podido oírlo nunca, porque me parece imposible que pueda haber una versión más hermosa de ellos que la de Boris Giltburg. Los movimientos lentos encierran una enorme dificultad, porque obligan a sujetar el "tempo" con una gran concentración y con riendas muy firmes para que el todo mantenga en todo momento su carácter unitario, su tensión interna y no se "desarme" o "deshilache". El maestro Giltburg lo logra en esta Sonata op. 22 de un modo tan fascinante que uno se ve movido a contener la respiración. No conozco nada que pueda comparársele entre los pianistas de nuestro tiempo. Vaya para él una vez más, desde Mendoza (Argentina), mi admiración más sincera y fervorosa. Y también mi gratitud por estas grabaciones que de una manera tan diáfana, tan sensible, tan vigorosa sin dejar de ser sutil, tan lúcida y sobre todo tan cordial, nos ponen ante la maravilla de lo siempre vivo: el genio de Beethoven.
These sonatas suits you very well. I am a big fan of your rachmaninov cd, and I will definitely get your sonatas when they’ll be available. Thanks for sharing!!
Very interesting interpretation - more singing than usual - use of the sustain - more dynamic range. Will try to add some of your ideas to my own interpretation. Wonderful! Thanks and best.
Thank you. This is the first of your Beethoven 32 I have listened to. There are so many excellent recitals online this year because you musicians all need to perform! It is good for listeners, though I miss the live experience. We all hope it can end soon. Enjoy your Sept 3 dreamstage debut - I'd like to hear it but 3 a.m. gives me pause.
I did, and it was unmissable. If I had not already decided, hearing that piano in your interview would have changed my mind. Is there a place for comments? 27/2 Mvt.1 was beautiful - the melody still clear - must be hard to play all pp.
Great music has one of two effects: it either captures your attention and makes an impression right from the first time you hear it; or it grows on you more each time you listen to it. This is how I'd sum up the first and last movements of this sonata - the first belongs in the first category and is the reason I chose to learn it for 8th grade, and the last is a perfect example of the second - especially the middle section when it goes into the minor keys
I'm learning this sonata and on the strength of this recording I can't wait for the whole set to be released.
I am going to start learning this sonata tomorrow, usually I do not listen any recordings until I know the piece very well but your ideas about this sonata and the atmosphere you create is absolutely fantastic. It is a great inspiration and pleasure, thank you so much for your music🙏
With pleasure! And good luck with the sonata!
Lovely playing! Can't wait for the late sonatas (especially op 109; my favorite!)
Please continue this series! I love your playing very much. Cannot wait for you to upload no.29!
Thanks! We should get to No. 29 by spring 2021.
@@BorisGiltburgPiano Amazing! Looking forward to how you play it :)
Love your interpretation !! Thank you so much for sharing this project with us 🎵
Thank you for these performances!
Really Great playing. Captures Beethovens impetuous nature and a wonderful feeling of spontaneity. Passionate and very lyrical as well. Really want to hear the rest!
You are an absolute pleasure to listen to. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing this wonderful experience with us. The slow movements - the way you interpret them - are extraordinarily, spiritually beautiful. The explanatory notes included are a rarity - thank you.
What the!!! I was thinking "why doesn't he play the sonata no.11..." thank you thank you thank you
I like your interpretation of rhythm in this piece, and the lively camera with high quality too ^^
Thank you, Bravo
Eduardo Poblete de Chile, la escuela rusa en todo su esplendor, y su máximo representante, Boris cómo interpreta a gran Beethoven, saludos afectuosos desde Chile....
Thank you ! Kazakhstan 🇰🇿
Well described, well played! Indeed clearly a work of someone who had mastered his craft, with a spiritual slow movement wich is full of beauty... Looking very much forward to your interpretations of the 12th and 13th sonatas, some of my favourite sonatas wich are, in my opinion, so not-very-well-known to a point that it's almost criminal, especially the 13th.
No. 13 was such a discovery for me! Rather than comparing it with the Moonlight, I love playing them together as a unit. 30 minutes, and you get incomparable richness of imagination, colours, invention, poetry, virtuosity, you name it. The video will be out in late September.
@@BorisGiltburgPiano For me it was too and they are indeed a great pairing, both absolute wonders! (I also love pairing the op. 27 with the 12th, somehow it feels like it makes a lot of sense to me, that the pastoral is very much a new chapter feeling-wise)The only reason I always emphasize my love for the 13th and not the 14th is the fact everyone more or less knowns the 14th haha :)
@@BorisGiltburgPiano If you have time and like discovery, you might take a fresh look at the Henle Urtext (and manuscript) of the first movement of Op 27 Nr 2 and try it literally as written. Alla breve so 2 beats per bar, faster then usual. Melody pp and accompaniment pp, so not cantabile. The hairpins applied to the accompaniment not the melody except bar 64-65, and climaxing precisely on the note as written. Weird and unconventional? Yes, but this is Beethoven. Of course you can never perform it like that - audiences demand that cantabile melody - or can you? [Precis of a talk by Brian Chapman]
The 13th is so good : )
@@LOS_wolfb I got to know almost all of Beethoven's sonatas trough a youtube channel where the complete cycle was uploaded with sheet music and analysis and the most wonderfull thing was that at least 75% of the descriptions contained things like "one of the most beautifull slow movements by Beethoven" or "some of the best keyboard writing by Beethoven" and other stuff in that line and listening to it all you just knew that it was true, that every sonata, even though you have your personal favourites, has something unique to offer, some beauty, inventiveness, ...
The extremely velvet-like opening of the 2nd mvt took me by surprise. Not easy to play it like that - had it been possible on a Steinway? Very emotional, too. It is easy to tell you love this movement. Made me teary-eyed.
great 👍
09:55 (2-18)
19:00 (3-minor)
Wasn’t planning on listening to the whole thing.
Next thing I know the performance is over and I wanna listen to it again.
This a brilliant idea of giving CZcams recitals and a happy coincidence with Covid-19. 😂
ah, 'happy' is tough to say... but I would have gone bonkers crazy without being able to play for you guys over these months.
omg that’s fkin awesome 👏🏻
♥️👏
Handheld camera is too shaky. Background spotlights are obnoxious.
🤩🤩 12:23-13:17 !
No.11 sounds refine with this pianist😅