I am not commenting on Beethoven's sonatas, but on his life. We have to think deep on why Beethoven went deaf? I think it is related to Mozart's early death on 5 December, 1791, with an acutely unfulfilled deep desire to compose.
Hint. B's earliest work elicited comments like: " why have you copied Mozart's work? You have to free yourself."
There is something fascinating in what you say. As a young musician, Beethoven was an absolutely phenomenal improvisor. He was probably at the level of a Bill Evans as an improvisor. But there was no recording capability back then. Sometimes things happen to us, as the hand of Fate, that turn us in a different direction than we consciously intended. Perhaps it was such a kind of Fate that re-directed Beethoven from spending his life energy in improvising, into developing his written composition. It's painful for me to think of such a Fate as benevolent. But we live in a mysterious Cosmos. Food for thought.
If we expanded the question to include favorite recordings of the Beethoven piano concerto, I choose the Fleisher / Szell set. Any one of the five. To me, it's not just the quality of the pianist, but the quality of the conductor and how they collaborate.
For me, my favorite Beethoven sonata recording is Horowitz Waldstein. I grew up with that recording and was obsessed with learning that piece in my teens. It's a nostalgic choice for me.
I am not commenting on Beethoven's sonatas, but on his life. We have to think deep on why Beethoven went deaf? I think it is related to Mozart's early death on 5 December, 1791, with an acutely unfulfilled deep desire to compose.
Hint. B's earliest work elicited comments like: " why have you copied Mozart's work? You have to free yourself."
There is something fascinating in what you say. As a young musician, Beethoven was an absolutely phenomenal improvisor. He was probably at the level of a Bill Evans as an improvisor. But there was no recording capability back then. Sometimes things happen to us, as the hand of Fate, that turn us in a different direction than we consciously intended. Perhaps it was such a kind of Fate that re-directed Beethoven from spending his life energy in improvising, into developing his written composition. It's painful for me to think of such a Fate as benevolent. But we live in a mysterious Cosmos. Food for thought.
If we expanded the question to include favorite recordings of the Beethoven piano concerto, I choose the Fleisher / Szell set. Any one of the five. To me, it's not just the quality of the pianist, but the quality of the conductor and how they collaborate.
For me, my favorite Beethoven sonata recording is Horowitz Waldstein. I grew up with that recording and was obsessed with learning that piece in my teens. It's a nostalgic choice for me.
Hi Derek, Actually for me as well, I loved that one as a student. Horowitz has a swashbuckling approach to Beethoven that's still refreshing to hear!