Beethoven: Sonata No.10 in G major, Op.14 No. 2 – Boris Giltburg | Beethoven 32 project

The other sonata of the pair, No. 10 in G major, is a real hidden gem. The outpouring of loving emotion in the first movement – outwardly tender, yet full of inner ardour – presents a Beethoven we haven’t really encountered so far in the cycle. The personal nature of the music is reflected in the parlando (‘speaking’) effect – music which seems to imply spoken words – particularly in the second theme, with its many repeated, entreating notes. None of those were necessarily new or original, but the sincerity of emotion and the lack of theatricality make the music particularly endearing.

As a separate element, Beethoven enjoys playing with shifting bar lines, right from the beginning. Based on the opening notes, it is impossible to say where the downbeat is – is it on the second note of the right hand? Or on the last note of the opening line, coinciding with the first note of the left hand? As one would almost expect, it is neither – the downbeat lies in the middle of the right hand line, almost imperceptible on the 4th note of the right hand. This opening line is also the basis of the development, the only truly turbulent section of the sonata.

The second movement counters any rhythm ambiguities with the squarest of all possible meters: it’s a march in common time. But the music itself is bursting with humour, closer to a comedy sketch. The short, clipped chords set the mood of comic seriousness, accentuated by a plump long chord at the end of each phrase. And the earthiness of the opening phrases is contrasted with the middle section of the theme, which is written legato and floats weightlessly in a higher part of the keyboard.

In structure, it is a theme with three variations. The first one passes the theme to the left hand, with the right hand filling in the gaps between the melodic notes with soft-spoken syncopations. The second variation, returning to the comic character of the theme, explores the syncopation effect to the fullest. In its harmonies, it is also the more adventurous variation of the three, adding dense chromaticism to what is otherwise quite a bland movement (harmonically only!). The third variation increases the flow by expanding the right-hand accompaniment into semiquavers. The original march-like movement returns at the very end, cautious and in pianissimo as if tiptoeing up to someone. Beethoven then pursues the slapstick routine to the end, with the penultimate hesitant notes being capped with an almost-inevitable fortissimo bang of a C major chord.
The finale brings back Beethoven’s enjoyment of manipulating meter. The very first bars are seemingly written in two, until the third bar establishes the real meter – in three. This interplay between two and three continues throughout the movement, as does the virtuoso interplay between the right and left hands. It is wonderfully humorous, full of endlessly self-generated energy, its flow barely interrupted by a few hesitations here and there. In the end, after the farewell coda with its drone-like left hand, it all evaporates like a summer day’s dream.
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Beethoven 32 – Over the year 2020, I will be learning and filming all 32 Beethoven sonatas. Subscribe to this channel to follow the project, and visit https://beethoven32.com for blog posts and listening guides to each sonata.

Boris Giltburg, piano

Filmed by Stewart French
© 2020 Fly On The Wall, London (http://fotw.london)
Filmed at @Fazioli Pianoforti Sacile, Italy

Видео Beethoven: Sonata No.10 in G major, Op.14 No. 2 – Boris Giltburg | Beethoven 32 project канала Boris Giltburg