Myra Hess plays Beethoven Sonata No. 31 in A flat Op. 110

[@urherman1]

This was smply a magnificnet performance--Technique tonal splendor and interpretive insight are amazing. Hess at her best was one of the greatest pianists before the public.

[@meredith218461]

She inhabits Beethovens inner soul throughout this serenely beautiful work.

[@theUroshman]

Grandiose style and a profound understanding of the music by legendary Dame Myra Hess. Always an enormous pleasure to listen to. Thanks for posting, as we all know she didn't record much nor care much for the process.

[@hyramesshiramess1035]

Decidedly THE most satisfying rendition of Opus 110 ever recorded. This is infinitely superior to her recording of Opus 109 issued with the Schumann Symphonic Etudes all of which sound emotionally sterile and super-cautious. THIS is some of the very best Beethoven playing I've ever heard from ANYONE. The piano sound and phrasing are exquisite, and the pacing exctly right. Her tempo for the fugue is exactly what I always hope hear. Most play it much too fast just because they can, I suppose.. It should proceed at just this serene, majestic pace. It let's the magnificent architecture of Beethoven's music emerge clearly as though bathed in a warm golden light. My GOD! Every single note-to-note relationship is beautifully realized but never out of context with the structure of each phrase and with the whole. Just GREAT.

[@larrykatz3333]

+Hyramess Hiramess I agree but don't agree with your comments about Opus 109. I think it is equally great.

[@hyramesshiramess1035]

Her 109 is every bit as COMMETENT but nowhere near as INSPIRED. This 110 is fully engaged on the deepest emotional, intellectual and spiritual levels to a degree exceedibly rare even among the greatest artists who ever lived.

[@moremendelssohn3611]

+Hyramess Hiramess - You may be right; it is certainly one of the most satisfying renditions of Opus 110. I definitely agree with you about the tempo of the fugue. The score says "accelerando" but perhaps most pianists accelerate too much and forget about the peace of Beethoven's soul, just so that they can bring the fugue to a climax. But not Myra Hess.

[@Francispia]

Her 109 was life-changing for me. Everyone has different perceptions.

[@juannadie1280]

@@Francispia The same for me.

[@dimitridemetriades2637]

What an amazing , fantastic , great performance ! Yes , wonderful tempi , very tender , very expressive , very powerful , what the music Beethoven´s needs at any given moment , in short : inspired ! This Sonata , which I have been practicing and playing for a couple of years now , became and still is the one closest to my heart . Some pianists think at first less of it, even the great Sviatoslav Richter admits to not have liked it until H.Neuhaus insisted thet he play it , and then it became one he performed again and again , as long as he was able to play the piano. There is also a very good performance on DVD by Stephen Kovacevich , not surprising at all , since he was Myra Hess`pupil .

[@lousalome1]

Dimitri Demetriades have you heard the Gilels and Solomon recordings of this. They are on KZbin although the Solomon is broken up by movement but it is available on CDs

[@inesmorais25]

I didn't know this pianist. It's a revelation for me, thanks for introducing me to this pianist.

[@edouardchan8719]

What an immense, tremendous artist Myra Hess was

[@christophbarthe6762]

music from heaven, Also her interpretation of op 109 is unmatched. At least I haven't heard any yet that comes close to her recording of these two sonatas.

[@Allanfearn]

I remember hearing her broadcast Op 111 (first time I ever heard it) on the BBC in the early 1950s. If a recording of that broadcast were ever to turn up..........

[@ganjamozart1435]

Blimey... This might be the most coherent reading I have had the privilege of listening to.

[@_PROCLUS]

Adagio ma non troppo - Fuga(Allegro ma non troppo) at 8:55

[@larrykatz3333]

It reminds me of something Aldous Huxley wrote about listening to a late Beethoven quartet: "It floods the mind with its beauty."

[@MrAviron]

Superb performance. Rivals my favourite interpretation by Richter and for me this sounds similar. Certainly the tempo is very close to Richter's.

[@extrasalt4595]

One of the best performances in my book, up with those of Backhaus and Eisenzopf Hoomeyow!!

[@mmbmbmbmb]

w o n d e r f u l ~ thank you !

[@jeffsmith1798]

0:02 - Moderato cantabile molto espressivo 6:40 - Allegro molto 8:58 - Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro ma non troppo

[@zinastolarpelcastre8656]

Siento que transmite una pasion pausada, con lo que le impríme una fuerza grandiosa que traspasa los tiempos... Hermoso!. Zina Stolar Pelcastre.

[@MrFartyman44]

She was amazing

[@gda295]

young woman [YT humour ] ....sorry couldnt post this on last video I watched , pc not loading well. Master procrastinator makes masternator does'nt it? btw, her rendition [M Hess] of this , on Great Pianist series , selected by BBC radio 3 as best performance of it, quite agree.

[@professordeportugadoyt113]

gda295 What you mean?