Beethoven - Early Piano Sonatas Opp. 2-7-10

An experienced early-keyboard specialist brings his expertise to the ‘New Testament’ of the piano repertoire.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Artist: Simone Pierini (fortepiano)

Artwork: Jasieński at the Piano (1908) - Józef Pankiewicz (Public Domain)

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‘Period’ performances of Beethoven sonatas have become relatively mainstream during the present century, through artists such as Robert Levin and Ronald Brautigam. Through them, we have learnt, or rediscovered, that the turns of phrase in Beethoven’s musical thinking take on a particular shape and agility when played and heard on the kind of instrument for which he was writing.
All the same, most modern fortepianos are exactly that: modern. In this bold new project, Simone Pierini presents the first nine of Beethoven’s sonatas – from Op.2 to Op.10 – on fully original instruments of the period. These instruments are identified as the work of piano-makers Johann Haselmann (end of 18th century-early 19th century), Matthias Müller (1822) and Conrad Graf (1830).

Simone Pierini complements the sonatas with several standalone pieces: the Allegretto in C minor WoO53, Andante Favori WoO57, Bagatelle in B flat WoO60, the Rondos Op.51, Variations in D Op.76 and the Polonaise in C Op.89. The set thus surveys the first 20 years of Beethoven’s career as a composer, from the Op.2 sonatas of 1795 to the Polonaise which he wrote in 1814-15.
During those two decades, his style underwent far-reaching changes, which in themselves have come to define the passage from the Classical to the Romantic style in music. All the same, Beethoven was and is Beethoven all the way through, as inimitable and distinct in the coursing momentum and sometimes surprising breadth of Op.2 as in the inward gaze of the Andante favori and the sideways look at popular dances in the Polonaise: all of them, in their way, inheritances from and developments of Haydn’s style.

Simone Pierini’s previous fortepiano albums for Brilliant Classics include sets of sonatas by Luigi Cherubini, JB Cramer (Beethoven’s publisher in London) and Helene de Montgeroult. He brings to this repertoire a deep understanding of both its context and the nature of the instruments on which these composers were working at the turn of the 18th to the 19th centuries: equipped with a lighter touch than many modern pianos, and a more intimate tone. Reviewing the album of de Montgeroult, the Fanfare critic remarked that Pierini ‘plays with tremendous energy and conviction’.

Tracklist:
00:00:00 Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 7: I. Allegro molto e con brio
00:08:06 Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 7: II. Largo, con gran espressione
00:15:35 Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 7: III. Allegro
00:20:42 Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 7: IV. Rondo. Poco allegretto e grazioso
00:27:11 Ecossaises, WoO 83
00:29:34 Allegretto in C Minor, WoO 53
00:33:50 Rondo in C Major, Op. 51 No. 1
00:39:05 Rondo in G Major, Op. 51 No. 2
00:47:37 Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: I. Allegro molto e con brio
00:53:20 Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: II. Adagio molto
01:01:12 Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: III. Finale. Prestissimo
01:05:19 Piano Sonata in F Major, Op. 10 No. 2: I. Allegro
01:14:01 Piano Sonata in F Major, Op. 10 No. 2: II. Allegretto
01:17:43 Piano Sonata in F Major, Op. 10 No. 2: III. Presto
01:21:45 Piano Sonata in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: I. Presto
01:29:21 Piano Sonata in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: II. Largo e mesto
01:38:28 Piano Sonata in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: III. Menuetto. Allegro
01:41:31 Piano Sonata in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: IV. Rondo. Allegro
01:45:49 Variations in D Major, Op. 76
01:51:58 Bagatelle in B-Flat Major, WoO 60
01:53:14 Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: I. Allegro
01:59:47 Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: II. Adagio
02:04:54 Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: III. Menuetto allegretto
02:07:59 Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: IV. Prestissimo
02:14:35 Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 2 No. 2: I. Allegro vivace
02:25:16 Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 2 No. 2: II. Largo appassionato
02:31:09 Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 2 No. 2: III. Scherzo. Allegretto
02:34:41 Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 2 No. 2: IV. Rondo grazioso
02:41:27 Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 2 No. 3: I. Allegro con brio
02:52:03 Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 2 No. 3: II. Adagio
03:00:05 Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 2 No. 3: III. Scherzo. Allegro
03:03:24 Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 2 No. 3: IV. Allegro assai
03:08:43 Andante favori, WoO 57
03:16:37 Polonaise in C Major, Op. 89

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