Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 30, Op. 109 | Kit Armstrong, piano

Beethoven was deaf when he wrote this late sonata—a piece that reaches into the future while drawing on old musical forms. Kit Armstrong is an American pianist who performed the Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109. He originally made a name for himself with his extraordinary musical renditions. You can enjoy a live performance of him recorded by Deutsche Welle at the Beethovenfest in Bonn taken on September 10, 2023 at the Bonn Plenarsaal.

(00:00) I. Vivace, ma non troppo
(03:58) II. Prestissimo
(06:28) III. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo (Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung)

Written in 1820, the Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major Opus 109 is one of Beethoven's last piano sonatas. He had already been deaf for a long time, so he wrote this sonata from his memory of how notes sound, because he could no longer hear the music himself.

Ludwig van Beethoven composed a total of 32 piano sonatas between 1795 and 1822. During the later years of his life, he broke away from the classical structure of the sonata—which included individual movements and the treatment of certain musical themes and harmonies. What makes this sonata special is the "variation movement" with which it ends. Beethoven's pupil, composer Carl Czerny, described this change as a "peculiar set of variations in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.”

According to his own statements, Ludwig van Beethoven enjoyed spending time with Baroque music—especially compositions by Bach, like "The Well-Tempered Clavier.” He said that Bach's teachings also inspired some of his own compositions. Kit Armstrong says he was intrigued by this aspect during his concert in Bonn. He played Beethoven’s sonatas alternating between pieces from Bach's “Well-Tempered Clavier” to demonstrate how Bach might have influenced Beethoven.

The unrestricted compositional form of Beethoven's late piano sonatas is evident in the use of older musical forms, like fugues or variations of pieces from the Baroque period. Beethoven was also ahead of his time when it came to dissonant harmonies, virtuoso arpeggios, and performance techniques. The last group of variations in Piano Sonata No. 30, for example, utilizes additional dynamics like "molto cantabile ed espressivo" (full of feeling with the most heartfelt emotion). These kinds of additions refer to tempo and emotions, and were commonly used by later Romantic composers.

In Ludwig van Beethoven's case, however, the "with heartfelt emotion" addition might also have a more personal meaning. Beethoven dedicated this sonata to Maximiliane Brentano, the daughter of his long-time friend, Antonie Brentano, and wife to philosopher Franz Brentano. Antonie Brentano might have been the "Immortal Beloved" referenced in Beethoven’s romantic letters from 1812. But people remain uncertain to this day, and continue to speculate who this immortal lover could really have been.

Alfred Brendel described the pianist Kit Armstrong as a “child prodigy,” but Armstrong himself humbly rejects this description. Alfred Brendel is an Austrian pianist who began to teach Kit Armstrong from the age of 13 and was impressed by his talent. Kit Armstrong was born in Los Angeles in 1992. Today, he’s not only a highly sought-after pianist and organist, but a composer, music researcher, mathematician, biologist and physicist. At five years of age, Kit Armstrong was already playing the piano and had even composed his first piece of music. Armstrong attended elementary school and high school at the same time, and was accepted into Chapman University in California as the youngest student in the school’s history. At the age of nine, Kit Armstrong transferred to Utah State University, where he studied music, mathematics, biology and physics, before moving on to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London with honors.

As a solo pianist, Kit Armstrong has worked alonside many of the world’s most renowned conductors, including Christian Thielemann and Robin Ticciati. He has also performed with famous orchestras like the Vienna Philharmonic and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. At 93 years of age, Alfred Brendel is still following the career of his gifted pupil.

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