performed by Rostropovich and Richter (cover image by Joanna Kosinska) The second cello sonata of Beethoven has the same provenance as its sibling in the opus five. Both works were written in 1796 in Berlin, when the composer met King … Continue reading Beethoven Cello Sonata no. 2 in Gm, op. 5 no. 2
performed by Mstislav Rostropovich and Sviatoslav Richter, or below with Maisky and Argerich (cover image by Eddie Garcia) I told you we weren’t done with Beethoven. The young composer’s first cello sonatas are not only his first, but sort of… the first of their kind. … Continue reading Beethoven Cello Sonata no. 1 in F, op. 5 no. 1
performed by the Czech Philharmonic Wind Ensemble & Zdenek Jilek, or below with Daniel Hoexter (piano) with members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra (cover image by Aaron Burden) Listening to this work, it just doesn’t surprise me that there aren’t very many works … Continue reading Beethoven Quintet in E-flat for Piano and Winds, op. 16
performed by Rudolf Buchbinder, or below by Alfred Brendel (cover image by Rodion Kutsaev) Each performer has the freedom here to create something different… Sir Andras Schiff (cover image by Rodion Kutsaev) As discussed in the article from earlier this … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 20 in G, op. 49 no. 2
performed by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, or below by Alfred Brendel (cover image by Rodion Kutsaev) If you were to listen to the piano sonatas of Beethoven based on the order of their opus numbers, after a dozen and a half increasingly … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 19 in Gm, op. 49 no. 1
performed by the Zurich string trio, or below in a much brisker rendition by the Grumiaux Trio So trios… We talked about Beethoven’s op. 1 piano trios starting here, the first of those also in E flat. That was last summer, … Continue reading Beethoven Trio for violin, viola & cello in E flat, Op. 3
performed by Maurizio Pollini, or below by Richard Goode Also, required (or at least very enjoyable, informative) watching (actually listening) is Andras Schiff’s lecture about the piece from Wigmore Hall below: Dating from 1796, Beethoven’s second-longest piano sonata, the Grand Sonata, … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 4 in Eb, op. 7
performed and introduced by András Schiff (or without explanation by Murray Perahia [with links to the other movements within]) As Schiff states, this sonata could hardly be more different from the one that precedes it. The overwhelming tone of the … Continue reading Beethoven piano sonata no. 2, op. 2, no. 2
Fugue for Thought 