Worldwide acclaimed pianist Sebastián Forster ventured into accomplishing a
lifetime-legacy major project of immense proportions: the recording of the 32
Piano Sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven, in an ongoing creative effort during 10
albums, from 2009 to early 2012.
Sebastián is a true Beethovenian, he breathes and experiences Beethoven's every
single emotion, of true love, drama, passion, desperation, beauty and darkness.
Living Beethoven with every key stroke is an experience of monumental inner
impact, only at reach for the daring soul and the truly talented soloist.
Famous for his deeply moving and highly original interpretations and dazzling
mastery of his repertoire, Sebastián continues this travel through the universe
of Beethoven in this Volume 7 with five Sonatas from 1804 and 18010.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54, was written in
1804. It is contemporary to the first sketches of the Symphony No. 5 in C Minor.
It is one of Beethoven's lesser known sonatas, overshadowed by its widely known
neighbours, the Appassionata and the Waldstein.
The Sonata is remarkable in its concision, a precursor in some ways to the
Sonata in E Major, Opus 109. The two movements present opposite faces on many
levels.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (colloquially
known as the Appassionata, meaning "passionate" in Italian) is a piano sonata.
Among the three famous piano sonatas of his middle period (the others being the
Waldstein, Op. 53 and Les Adieux, Op. 81a), it was composed during 1804 and
1805, and perhaps 1806, and was dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick. The
first edition was published in February 1807 in Vienna.
Unlike the early Sonata No. 8, Pathétique, the Appassionata was not named during
the composer's lifetime, but was so labeled in 1838 by the publisher of a
four-hand arrangement of the work.
The Appassionata was considered by Beethoven to be his most tempestuous piano
sonata until the twenty-ninth piano sonata (known as the Hammerklavier), being
described as a "brilliantly executed display of emotion and music". 1803 was the
year Beethoven came to grips with the irreversibility of his progressively
deteriorating deafness.
The Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp major, Op. 78, nicknamed "À Thérèse" (because
it was written for Countess Thérèse von Brunswick) was written by Ludwig van
Beethoven in 1809. It consists of two movements.
Maynard Solomon notes that this and the "Appassionata" sonata, op.57, were
Beethoven's favorite of his piano sonatas prior to the "Hammerklavier."
The Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major, Op. 79, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven
in 1809. It consists of three movements.
It is one of Beethoven's shorter sonatas with an approximate performance time of
only eleven minutes, if Beethoven's prescribed repeats are all observed. It is
also the shortest of his sonatas with more than two movements.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major, Op. 81a, known as
the Les Adieux sonata, was written during the years 1809 and 1810.
The title Les Adieux implies a programmatic nature. The French attack on Vienna,
led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1809, forced Beethoven's patron, Archduke Rudolph,
to leave the city. Yet, there is some uncertainty about this nature of the piece
- or at least, about the degree to which Beethoven wished this programmatic
nature would be known. He titled the three movements "Lebewohl," "Abwesenheit,"
and "Wiedersehen," and reportedly regarded the French "Adieux" (said to whole
assemblies or cities) as a poor translation of the feeling of the German
"Lebewohl" (said heartfully to a single person) (Kolodin, 1975). Indeed,
Beethoven had written the syllables "Le-be-wohl" over the first three chords.
On the first 1811 publication, a dedication was added reading "On the departure
of his Imperial Highness, for the Archduke Rudolph in admiration".
Hear Beethoven as you have never heard it before, getting lost in the world of
invigorating ideas and emotional virtuosity that has made Sebastián Forster one
of the outstanding interpreters of the classical repertoire currently working on
the world stage today.
