Beethoven: Sonata No.3 in C major, Op.2 No.3 – Boris Giltburg | Beethoven 32 project

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.

Beethoven's sonatas Op. 2 were his calling card in Vienna as a composer. At that point – 1795 – he was already famous as a keyboard virtuoso, but the transition to fame as a composer was not obvious, and he took great care with the first works he published, a set of three trios (Op. 1) and three sonatas (Op. 2).

In both opus numbers, it was the final, third work which was to be the culmination of the opus. After the passion and darkness of the F minor sonata, and the easy, warm eloquence of the A major sonata, Beethoven turned to C major for a work of explosive brilliance. Virtuosity is the core trait of the music, whether serious or humorous, thundering or quick-fingered. One can imagine Beethoven proclaiming with happy self-assuredness: "look what I can do at the piano, no holds barred!" And yet there's nothing empty or ostentatious here: the technical brilliance rests upon a glowing musical foundation, and there's so much atmosphere, colour and narrative throughout to complement the passagework. The slow movement, too, stands out in its emotional maturity and often exquisite beauty – its deep musicality wonderfully balancing the fireworks of the fast movements.

Boris Giltburg, piano

Filmed by Stewart French
© 2020 Fly On The Wall, London (http://fotw.london)

Filmed at @Fazioli Pianoforti Concert Hall, Sacile, Italy

Видео Beethoven: Sonata No.3 in C major, Op.2 No.3 – Boris Giltburg | Beethoven 32 project канала Boris Giltburg