Beethoven's "Tempest" Sonata 1st mvt-Music from Another World

[@djtomt]

Bravo!

[@grahamtwist]

WOW, Cole! I have read that when Carl Czerny once asked Beethoven how to play the first movement of this D Minor Sonata, the reply was: "break the piano." Well, you didn't break your home instrument (as far as we know!), but the power and energy you invested in the more dramatic and stormy sections of the opening movement captured for me all the heartbreak and anger (and even violence) that Beethoven may have been feeling when agonizing over his increasing deafness. The music is startlingly abstract and emotionally compelling with the first movement giving us the tragedy of Beethoven's plight: more broken man, I fear, than broken piano. But look what that meant for his creativity! Beethoven was known for his eccentricity and erratically odd behaviour. Such 'infamy' now-a-days would see a superstar inundated with lovers . . . and perhaps Ludwig was back then, as the writer Andrea Gillum rather wickedly remarks! She goes on to say that this is the pre-Liszt rock star times. Beethoven was revered, but he wasn’t the seductress that Liszt was. Gillum adds that she suspects "that what we get instead is all this energy, all this inner turmoil, possibly even loneliness, grief, poured into pieces of music like this. What might we have lost, by way of fire and passion and ill temperament if he had had somewhere else to direct those emotions and all that energy?" Well, without that raging fire in Beethoven's soul, we would have lost your magnificent performance in this upload, Cole! As ever, your introductory commentary was fascinating and your playing was just breathtaking. I'm sure that next week, when we hear the recording of the second movement that eventually satisfies you, we will be further bowled over by your interpretation of this Sonata. (How I felt for you when you 'confessed' that this week's intended recording was "no good"; I have been there so many times myself! I was reading recently some interesting observations about the 'Tempest Sonata' by the German concert pianist and pedagogue, Caroline Oltmanns, which may resonate with you. She likes to create a 'clean canvas' when playing established repertoire herself and she is often disappointed to see some performers copying the interpretation of another pianist, resulting in there being no sense of surprise, of raw passion and of novelty. But she does acknowledge it is important to look at the performance traditions of a piece when there is a revered history of interpretations. She also acknowledges that there can be a bit of a problem with the history of recordings as it is all too easy to rely on other artists and their work: "to imitate the recording of Wilhelm Kempf, Alfred Brendel etc. (both famous for their Beethoven interpretations). A piece cannot sound fresh unless the interpretation comes organically from the player, unless we do spend time with the score in search of the genius in the piece itself. For me a well crafted interpretation should live somewhere between the two poles of finding new discoveries and of honoring the interpretations handed down through generations of pianists. This holds true for a classical composition I play for the first time and for something I revive from concert programs past. Playing the 'Tempest Sonata' is no exception, it too is a balancing act between tradition and innovation.")

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you Graham, I find your quotations from Caroline Oltmanns to be very encouraging as they certainly mirror feelings I have had myself. Nothing could be more injurious to an original conception than to blindly follow "tradition," on the other hand, we can be guided to find our own path by studying what the greats before us did-a unique balancing act indeed!

[@Bigblackpiano]

I do look forward to the second movement...it's a tough one to get right as I find out recently myself

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Yes, you are very right!

[@Bigblackpiano]

@@TheIndependentPianist I also respect the admission from a pro that their work didn't come easily 👏

[@MRulli427]

Is this the usual tempo of this piece? it is a bit slow compared to other recording I have heard. Also on a scale, how hard is this first movement? Especially if you were going to play it faster? Great video very informative

[@stefanhaffner]

Excellent video as usual. May I suggest raising the levels for the speaking parts. They are quiet compared with both the music sections, and the general level of KZbin videos.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you for that comment! I will have to look into it. It's weird, when I am editing the video the spoken sections always sound louder than the music audio. Maybe something is happening in the export process. Thanks for your perspective.

[@Bozzigmupp]

Could you play Liszt's Il lamente? My favorite of the concert etudes

[@TheIndependentPianist]

I will look into that one. It's certainly an intriguing idea, as you never hear that played. Thanks for that suggestion!

[@Bozzigmupp]

@@TheIndependentPianist Lovely! I agree, Un sospiro is the "go-to" and the first etude is a bit shadowed

[@joycewang8365]

Nice 😂😂😂🎉🎉🎉🎉😊😊😊

[@joycewang8365]

Nice 😂😂😂🎉🎉🎉🎉😊😊😊