Beethoven Piano Sonata in B♭ major, Op. 106, "Hammerklavier" - Part 1

Beethoven once wrote to his publisher: “What is difficult, is
also beautiful, good, great, and so forth. Hence everyone will
realize that this is the most lavish praise that can be bestowed,
since what is difficult makes one sweat.” If this credo manifests
itself most powerfully in any one of Beethoven’s works, it might
be the piece we’ll talk about today, the piano Sonata Op. 106,
nicknamed, “Hammerklavier.”  It is the longest Sonata
Beethoven ever wrote, which essentially means that it was the
longest sonata anyone had written up to that point. It marks one
of the pivot points between Beethoven’s so-called heroic period
and his late period, where his music became even more cosmically
beautiful than before. It is certainly his most ambitious Sonata
to that point, and his most difficult. The scale of the
Hammerklavier sonata is hard to describe; in around 45 minutes of
music, Beethoven explores the full gamut of human emotion. The
intensity, the difficulty, and the concentration that this sonata
requires from the pianist and listener alike has led to many
people, as the pianist Andras Schiff says, to “respect and revere
this Sonata, but not love it.” Most of the articles and analyses
of this sonata that I found in researching this show emphasize
its difficulty, its scale, its obsessiveness, and its
impenetrability. But I must say that when I talk to musicians
abut this piece, their eyes light up. Yes, this sonata is
difficult, but what have we just learned from Beethoven? What is
difficult is also beautiful, good, great and so forth. Join us as
we begin a two part exploration of this remarkable work
together. 


Thank you to Jerry for sponsoring this show on Patreon!


Recording: https://youtu.be/yBtJF_4msqw?si=bIznKSGuRyXDbFaT