4 reasons WHY Beethoven's Sonata No. 31 in A-flat, Op. 110 is UNIQUE (Pianist Duane Hulbert)

[@nameless6430]

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[@GrantCarvalho]

Wonderful video, thank you!

[@jsh31425]

Thanks for the video! A few things: -- It's fine to play the 32nd notes with two hands, but I don't think you can justify it by the way Beethoven put the stems. In my untext edition (and your score, as far as I can tell), the first two sets of eight 32nd notes have stems down, and the last set has stems up. That doesn't correspond to the way people divide it into two hands! -- Regarding the sudden key change to E major: it's interesting that in all three of the late sonatas, the first movement has a written-in key change to the third below (which happens to be the key of the "previous" sonata, when you view the three as a cycle). That is, op.110 goes to E major (the key of op.109), op.109 briefly goes to C major (the key of the second movement of op.111), and op.111's exposition not only ends in Ab (the key of op.110), but changes the key signature to get there! The big key signature mystery in op.110 is this: the first arioso is in the key of Ab minor, so why does Beethoven use only six flats in the key signature there? (He had used the correct seven previously in op.26!)

[@LearnLoveMusic]

Interesting insights. I try to honor a composer's direction of the stems, but when it's too difficult, I do it in what I feel is a more efficient manner. When I was at Juilliard, a lot of my colleagues would argue whether to "cheat" or not. It's an interesting dilemma.

[@MichaelTLam]

Great video! 👍 This is an extremely wonderfully ingenious piece which I failed to appreciate at first, but am now absolutely in love with. Looking forward to the other four late sonatas! (Opus 101 is probably my favourite of all 32)

[@LearnLoveMusic]

Thank you very much!

[@stanleykho2]

any interesting details on the second and third movements? thanks!