DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (May 21, 2020)

Adagio refers to a slow tempo and cantabile means in it should sing. Today, we employ some of the less well known ones from his piano sonatas.

1. Early: Beethoven considered his Piano Sonata No. 11 in B♭ major, Op. 22, composed in 1800, to be his best to date. The Adagio con Molto Espressione from that sonata, is one of his more operatic piano movements. As a boy in Bonn, he often provided the harpsichord Continuo for opera, and thus learned Italian bel-canto very well. This movement starts out like a soprano aria, including cadenza-like passages, and leaps of two octaves from a chest register C to a high C. At other times it sounds more like a duet. The video below provides score, so that you may follow all of it.

2. Middle: Here we provide the Adagio from Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2, (composed in 1801–02), often called "The Tempest” or Der Sturm in German. The Adagios from many of these middle-era sonatas often serve a more dramatic purpose. This sonata contains great thematic unity between its three movements. We will present the entire sonata in the future.

3. Late: The Adagio Sostenuto of Piano Sonata No. 29 in B♭ major, Op. 106, called Große Sonate für das Hammerklavier or Hammerklavier (completed in 1818), is massive, as is the entire sonata. It is one of the most passionate and soul-searching music ever composed. Many modern performers prefer a faster tempo. So, we reach back to the 1930s, for this great rendition by Arthur Schnabel.