Beethoven: The Man Who Freed Music; 5

They told you. Commemorating the 209 of our story of the birth of fun Beethoven in 1770 one of a series of programmes produced by the University of Michigan Broadcasting Service revealing the musical social and political climate of Europe during the lifetime of the man who freed music. Probably the most often played of all the works of Beethoven are his piano sonata.

Where is the piano student who has not been introduced to this wealth of material. At the very earliest possible time in his career as a pianist. Today's programme in the series Beethoven the man who freed music will be hosted by the world famous concert pianist George some Dore professor of music on the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music using as his topic Beethoven his piano compositions. MR. We'll put special emphasis upon the later 5 piano sonata. Here now is your host. George sun door. In this day and age when there's so much said about the bit on and we hear so much about it and we know so much about him it's rather difficult to talk about him and not use terms which are stereotypes which are platitudes which consist of continuous praise of his music and so on so forth. So when I try to talk about his loss an otter's I cannot help saying certain things which are obvious.

That is the greatest music ever written. It's 4:00 p.m. Eastern for musicians there's nothing more meaningful more important. And in spite of the fact that some people may think that of course in the latest periods of Beethoven and he was deaf and didn't hear the music he wrote that maybe he did write things that don't sound quite at their best they don't quite fit Danes Thurmont. Nevertheless I think we all agree the majority agrees that this product of Beethoven are about the carbonation about the the highest and the greatest that exist in music. Now these last five sun otters. They represent not only a very advanced and very personal style of beetle but pianistic leading from every point of view about the climax of what any composer has ever written. We know that the Hammerklavier Sonata for instance there was one of the six one of the monumental works and is quite not quite as accessible as the others because of its size and because of its complexity. I start to mention this first because the word because of the word how McLarty or

Beethoven used the word not only for this or not of course but he started to name piano music from that period on. This isn't for the Hammerklavier And we associate this with only it once another one or six hour he used that same name for the 1 0 1 for the first of the last five senators. So when we talk about how McLuhan let's just not think about the 1 0 6 but about this group of senators. Now the five senators we know consist of the one who wanted a major on 1 0 6 in B flat major 1 0 9 an e-meter 110 in a flat in the one to 11 in C minor. When I say that the writing is very dense very complex that is rather an understatement because we find that the texture of bit on in this period is quite similar to his late string quartet and there are of course the four instruments are busy and elaborate on material that he was working with.

There is such an opportunity for their variations for variance for complexity. There's really nothing else it in that that surpasses this. No he tried to do something like this in the last Beatles and others apparently and not only did he use the conventional order until then conventional style of pianistic writing but Incorporated has a great deal of contrapuntal writing in these last two books. We don't usually associate a bit on it. We feel we can read counterpoint but these last works if you go down the list contain a great deal of these contrapuntal writing. We find for instance in the first Sonata. There's a major Sonata refining the second movement the can on in the development of the last movement theres a few gotto passage the 1 0 6 contains one of the greatest fugues ever written already in the tree or there is a contra bank bungle passage of the second movement the 1 0

9. Some of the variations like version 5 in the last movement is. He was his counterpoint in one. Then there is a large fugue to the One 111 they are confident writings too. So this is all a style that was rather not associated bit on what even that is the view of this contrapuntal writing is developed in a way that one couldn't have thought of being possible that was so so imaginative and so reach of expression that the safely can say that the bit on is one of the greatest contrapuntal writers to the viewer as I said we associate him rather with a cortico melodic writing not the form the complexity of his works is also very remarkable. However he must see that there is not really anything basically new in these so not as far as form goes. In spite of the great freedom that he utilize everywhere what dominates the field is the what he calls on our top form.

Sometimes we call it Sonata Allegro form which I don't know that is quite the right name since the last one of the 1 0 6 which is one of the slowest quietest pieces and isn't certainly not associated with a leader or spirit is also in the spewers sonata form. Now this form seems to fit very well. Nathan was writing. Basically it's a very simple situation. First there's a presentation of the material then it being developed and then we hear again the material in the average edition which is a very basic way of presenting any dramatic situation to the music that seems to be sufficient and as far as we can see now there is really nothing else nothing radically new today in form that surpasses the sonata form and there's nothing much we can really hope for is not not much change in that either so be it don't use this form. And of course I was able to to express all the wealth in order.

Imagination possible for human beings in music. But there are certain interesting aspects and this last one utters. A lot of us try to follow exactly what is in the music and we have sort of a card lately that we follow the composer's original markings in the original insta intentions from the first editions of the Urtext EDITION. I bring this up because I'm bit on skis this is very justified. The late in the last four to four fifty years rather insist on the school text reading because in that period Beaton was very careful to and not it and I'd done everything as precisely as possible. That was the period rather after the improvisational Stires which prevail which prevailed in the Baroque period of course and even more tired and Haydn stand but be torn somehow. But he's dippy. He wanted exactly to indicate what he had in mind. And when we look at the text and pay attention not only to

his dynamics and the phrasings but rather methodically follow the exact indications we have you'll probably find the correct interpretation of the work better than an other with other composers music he was very careful about these markings. There's only one thing that we have to be careful of course are the metronome markings. We know that in his letters he indicated several times that he's met almost 40. And those markings should not be taken in consideration. If you just think of the beginning of the Hammerklavier Sonata you'll find in metal and marking it's practically impossible to follow. So as much as we stay close to the wood text it's not a bad idea to ignore the mythical markings all together. Then there are other interesting things was no one 10 in a flat major Sonata. There's a passage in the rich directive section where there are repeated in tied over notes which are we try to interpret it be different than they are written.

This is an often discussed thing of course is there be a bunk in this 1 0 1 10 Sonata or not be because of the word that was used before and it has to be related to the club record. So when we have tied over notes and we try to recreate the effect of the baby boom we sort of play that same note or we repeat the same note and give the impression of sort of a hesitant x in X intuition. I bring this up because it's a rather controversial thing. Some people simply follow their writing and some others try to me to describe the chord effect. There is no clear indication from Beethoven what he really wanted because this is a musicologist area to investigate what is right what is not right. But I think since we follow Beethoven's writings very carefully and there were text we might as well just follow the phrasing marks and dispense with the so-called baban. Now that would text which is very authentic since it was

prepared of the first edition of the bitterness in others is to be respected. I would like to bring up a thought now which is I think rather important that this idea is being transferred or being applied to all other composer's knowledge if you like to play with text in Barkin Haydn and Mozart and Chopin is music to even use that word. But of course in these composers who were there was no not the kind of precision to be found in beat on. There was much more improvisation going on and even in Mozart The very often very the text according to our own will as long as it's within the style of course. Indeed on this is not advisable so I just brought this up to suggest that the Codex indeed is very correct and very precise and we ought to follow it at the same time we have to be aware of the fact that in that wood text addition to the number of errors the number of misprints and do we really accurately write or rather play everything that isn't. We should determine and

realize where are the misspellings that are mistakes. One of the controversial things regarding this is to be found in the Hammerklavier Sonata. First movement before the recovery tradition there's a modulatory passage where the text presents a certain chromatic succession of notes and in other of these things that are not do it of sedition. These notes are quite different. Now this is a very debatable question here is the old text right there isn't it is no mistake there. If I may I will show or illustrate those notes which I'm talking about. The first example was do it in the urtext and the second was approximately what is in other

editions. Now the first contains certain chromatics which really don't ever find in Beethoven's music and is in an harmonic with relation which is rather uncharacteristic. So in a case like this one has to just use one's own judgement one's own criteria what is right what is wrong I don't want to go into many other examples but we will find them if you study there were text Ed. There are also questionable things regarding the troops for instance in this late period as we know in the Baroque period. We started the trill on the upper note usually since the instruments involved a club record in the organ did not have the quality of coloring themselves you couldn't alter individual notes within a certain register. Therefore to make it true unnoticeable you had to start the dissonance with the start of an upper note but this tradition was transferred to the piano too and up to the early rather middle period of Beethoven. If you start altars on the upper note this is

perfectly justified and fine because it somehow reminds of brings back to the previous era beares periods but after their passionate hour after it was 57. To start at there is on the op or not is really not necessary at all because on the piano with the technique we use on the piano with the potential of the instrument. There is a way to emphasize to accentuate the note or to color it differently and make the audience aware of of the of this particular sound therefore there's no reason why one should start at 3 on the upper note in these late Peterson otters. We simply emphasize them a note and begin to turn on them in order to reach the trees at the edge later on. While I think it might be interesting to hear some music too and rather to go into some of the individual senators of these five sonatas that of course are so different in character. Anyone we look at has its very defined a boord an atmosphere in

Portland and directory sticks which are which made that particular sound a quite unique. We find is very different and modes. We find the first of them that 101 which is a very lyrical and very peaceful. So not at the beginning which of course contains or divert out of was later on but had a certain stamp a certain quality that makes it. Very very very unique and very very much an individual product of Beethoven. But this first Sonata we are talking about a major Was it in 1816 and dedicated to Byron as Dorothea from mine who was a music lover and student of Beethoven and who most likely performed a piece studying with the Beethoven one in the sonata I believe. Instead of this cry me through the words which is another difficult fruitless task in music anyway. We might just have a chance to hear some of it. We have somebody callings here which come from a previous era so to see

from masters who are not with us anymore and even if the technical or secondary connector is not up to today's products but it's very interesting to get the head into position of the masters of the previous generation. Of course we don't have to since you know what Mr. SCHNABEL who was very well-known personally here but he's a superb recording of the 101 we would like to hear not in the first movement of one of one's own by Beethoven. A.

What we have just heard are two snob would play the second one for one a one Sonata by

Beethoven. And this very interesting and personal interpretation we were able to observe a few things mentioned before from the question of the trailers. He said it doesn't make any effort of starting those things on the op or not to start them on the main note which in those days when he function he performed was no problem for anybody they were just they just played the music do it was written and the not much affected by so-called traditions which disappeared because of the changed circumstances. So the truce sounded even under Meno. Another interesting effect we heard here in this interpretation was the pedal effect. But isn't this an origin bit of marking at the passage for about four measures there's a different meter how many kept down by the pedal which is origin not in this by Beethoven and again they have to be careful here when we follow this instruction to sort of condition it to the circumcision which relieved today in his on his piano of course the strings were shorter and the pedal was held down. He had sort of a kind of a nebulous effect of so not it is carried over but because of the length of the string you didn't

have the disturbing effect of the bass being too loud for too long a time so. If you use the pedal mounds of bait only have to take that in consideration or maybe just use half barrel. There's no reason to play football or no paddle at all but the sound effect will come through very well just like you heard in the recording too if the pedal is used to the vibrato. Just half the battle and prolongs the diff that major sound. Oh it would be wonderful to hear the rest of the sonata but I think we should carry on. And may I just say a few words about the Hammerklavier Sonata. As mentioned before this name stuck to the sun either although Beethoven has used the same term for other works and most likely for a very simple primitive reason is because the word hammer somehow brings in one's mind. The hammer the hardness the the power for power for in us of of the multilateral effects that we hear at the beginning of the movement really has nothing to do with the original intention to be the head simply

translation of the word piano into German. Their use hammers to make this thing sound but the majestic and the monumental opening of the first movement somehow can be associated with hammers steel hammers if you want to. So the Hammerklavier Sonata bite size and by its content is certainly one of the greatest work of of any composer. It's complex it is quite obvious when you use the sewer pianistic it's very difficult and very very expressive and we sometimes hear from people while he was deaf he didn't quite hear what he's doing and he may even beyond the potential of the possible use of the piano. But this for sure is not the case at all. The sound effects are wonderful if the piece is played well but this one either was it in 18 18 and 18 19 and was dedicated to Beethoven's friend the Archduke as Duke Rudolph who was very influential of course and in Beethoven's life and whom Beatle had a lot to think too and vice versa.

Names probably went on because of Beethoven nowadays otherwise we wouldn't really know who he was. So these 1 0 6 one of these monumental another says some quite interesting and meaningful aspects to form in the first one is a regular sonata form with highly developed and development section itself consists of the forgotten the part which is as mentioned before was the characteristic of this latest senators to maybe just one more observation regarding general qualities and correctness of this so it is interesting to observe that the last five sun otters which are the most expressive in most meaningful works of Beat don't have a some kind of a hesitant quality towards the end. Not all of them but at least three of these so not others don't. And on and downbeat which is the usual way to end the piece but they end

on upbeats. If the observations are just the very last night it was 111. You notice this very hesitant to spur feeding out which is probably just a way to express that there is no definitive end to this piece there is something left for later. Even though this was this last Sonata we find the same opposite ending on in the in the two others and others in the 1 0 6 now Michelob is not in the 1 0 9 2. While I mentioned before this misprint orders possibly spin that would text in the modulatory section before that if I produce on the first movement. Otherwise there are some other MySpace what again we don't want to go into those. However the sign out is very obvious in its in its wealth in complexity. So to see if the Treated of a look at some of the sections and its like the wood at the late string quartets then we probably can bring about more that complex in the rich

effect that they don't had in mind in the slow movement for instance where we have a typical sonata form as the basic structure of the piece. There is a section of the variance of the theme which are very very much the same as the lead bit on water to do violence the view and the chill alternate in paraphrase rather primitive in simpler passages in a way that create a very complex effect. It's also interesting to note that the third movement is a gradual movement of the Hammerklavier Sonata that is a mention of what is written in sonata form. Has one measured at the beginning and that one measure is the introduction. It really has nothing to do with the rest of the piece. But here we don't follow the tradition which was which prevailed in the previous century. Do that before you start the piece you have a prelude where you have an opening section to read later on his or her this opening passage or motive

became organic part of the piece. But here it's very interesting to see that this enormous slow movement has just one measure for other inexpressive in significant material where he precedes the work which is sort of a statement that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the piece. However if you look more carefully into this you will notice that during the Hammerklavier Sonata we find certain patterns of sequence of notes very characteristic. The third as such has a great deal to do with the sun after the interval of the third. And we find it practical All of a sudden the tumor relationships the sequences consists very often of thirds. There is the introductory section before the field which is improvisatory and which is really built on nothing else but on descending

thirds he carries on with the motive and then begins to modulate and goes down the words downwards direction with thirds order with a view that find we will hear that and this is a performance which I'm going to hear shortly by Mr. Petit. Now here do in the opening two measures of the slow movement we find this third in time or in an ascending way which is unusual in the sonata. But anyway the third in one way or other must have meant something mystical or symbolic to be tone and he used it in the sonata but they're going with very very expressive purposes. Well we would love to hear now the introduction and a few of the Hammerklavier Sonata was one of six by Beethoven is spread by egg on Petri. While this was a very wonderful live edition of Mr. Pitt three of the hallmark of a few Opus 1 0 6 by

Beethoven as much as I would like to talk about his work which is really the outstanding compositions of the period at least I won. Do you want to carry on to the other works of beat on in the 1 0 9. The Major was it in one in 1820 and was dedicated to get into the student Maxi Madonna phone Brentano. Then he went on. Wonderful composition and there's one interesting aspect of this. If you want to observe that indeed a capitulation of the first movement that other jurisdiction comes back into your text edition we have completely different dynamic markings as the first time and some additions this has been corrected those changed rather and the dynamics of the first presentation I applied to the second but here is something food for thought that maybe this recapitulation odor that jewel might be played the way the way beat them indicated in that were text. They're going to hear they my outer has performed its first movement and you see what she does with that particular section. So this would be the first

movement of the E major Sonata by Beethoven 1 0 9 Opus. This is a very edgy mom who remarkably fine interpretation by the mind I has of

the first one of the 1 0 9 by Beethoven. Let me proceed now with the other Sonata does the next on of with 100 intend a fifth major Sonata was in 1821. This is the one I wanted to. There's no dedication. The other ones have been a sunset and I didn't get to certain people. This one lives in the US too but put in to beat them. Changed his mind and didn't leave any name on the top of the can of the sonata. This is a very often discussed and played piece and here you'll find that particular passage I was talking before one of the rest of the messages has the so-called baby boom possibility in it which is to be questioned. But in the way to be thought about. We are going to hear now the interpretation of mistress number of the second movement of the hundred and ten Opus Sonata by Beethoven in a flat major. This was author snubber who plays for us the second movement of the Opus One tends to not

have a beat on a flat major. Re would like to proceed now and reach Nol last sonata of this cycle. There was one eleven by Beethoven in C minor but the Sonata was it in 1822 and was one of the works dedicated to the Archduke Rudolph was a patron of Beatle invite it is interesting to note is that these five monumental stone others were written within a span of six years between 18 16 and 18 22 this is because Lawson are the semen of the thirty second sonata after this you still wrote a few piano compositions like that here believe that Asians are Ondo and some of the battles but this is his last work and it's as I mentioned before it's interesting to observe how he ends the entire composition rather the entire cycle of his song others in suspense on our beat. There's nothing categorical final or different about it is if you had known that there are few more centuries for him to be around and

he would be able to live in live within. Joy is just wonderful music that is so not of cause doesn't need any descriptions of this incredible contrast it is volcanic or dramatic first moment in this very serious peaceful second movement. The structure of the work is rather obvious. There's an introduction first and then comes the again the typical sonata form with its exposition development and the capitulation. The last one is a variation form which in the debate then was so great and through which he expressed so much of his emotional wouldn't you know would the last movement is a very simple theme and if he had a interpretation of Mr. Bach cause we'll see how this composition carries us to heights that really were not that age before by any composer. We will hear now the interpretation of Wilhelm by cause of the

second movement of the Opus 111 Sonata by Beethoven. See my note. With the playing of a portion of the second movement of Beethoven's sonata Opus 111

by Vilhelm Bach I was your host and George Sand or brings to a conclusion his program devoted to the composers last 5 Sonata was another in the series Beethoven the man who freed music reviews by the University of Michigan broadcasting service to commemorate the 200 anniversary of the birth of LET ME FIND Beethoven is John Doerr world renowned concert pianist is professor of music on the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music are invited to listen again next week at the same time for another program in the series. Beethoven the man who freed music. Program produced by holy well over at Burroughs speaking for the national educational

radio network this program was originally produced in 1970 by the University of Michigan Broadcasting Service and is currently being distributed by NPR National Public Radio. A.