Michelangeli - Beethoven,Sonata No.12 Op.26 - II Scherzo...

Scherzo. Allegro molto.


Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major, Op. 26 in 1800--1801, around the same time as he completed his First Symphony. He dedicated the sonata to Prince Karl von Lichnowsky, who had been his patron since 1792.

Consisting of four movements, the sonata takes around 20 minutes to perform. 1. Andante con variazioni
2. Scherzo, allegro molto
3. Maestoso andante, marcia funebre sulla morte d'un eroe
4. Allegro

The structure of the sonata is unconventional in that the piece opens with a relatively slow movement in the format of theme and variations. In contrast, the remaining movements of the sonata proceed according to classical principles in fast-slow-fast alternation. The third movement of this sonata incorporates a funeral march, clearly anticipating the watershed of the Eroica Symphony that Beethoven wrote the following year. One can only speculate upon the identity of the hero to whom Beethoven's funeral marches were addressed.

In Schubert's Impromptu in A-flat major, Op. 142 No. 2, the main theme is strikingly similar to the theme in the first movement of Beethoven's sonata. The four-bar phrases that open these pieces are almost identical in most musical aspects: key, harmony, voicing, register, and basic as well as harmonic rhythm. Another, less immediate connection, exists with the main theme, also in A-flat major, of the Adagio movement in Schubert's piano sonata in C minor, D. 958. Indeed, Schubert may have borrowed these themes from Beethoven, as he often did in his compositions.

This sonata was greatly admired by Chopin, who repeated its basic sequence of scherzo, funeral march with trio, and animated, resolving finale, in his own piano sonata in B-flat minor[1]. His first movement, however, is also animated and in sonata form, unlike Beethoven's Andante con variazioni.

This particular piece was used widely in the 2007 film Joshua and was learned and played by 12 year old Jacob Kogan who stars as a 9 year old boy who exhibits very unusual evil traits after his sister is born, then proceeds to tear the family apart. No soundtrack has been made available for this film.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• scherzo
• allegro
• molto
• arturo
• benedetti
• flat
• live
• recital
• variation

[afertyus1000]

bravo,difficult thirds

[wrgpiano]

It cuts off before he's finished! Very disturbing...

[HoboSuperstar]

@afertyus1000 Yeah. The first set of thirds are easy, its that second set. But when you play it up to speed, playing them a little choppy doesn't seem to matter. I hope this helps your confidence in this piece a bit.

[HoboSuperstar]

I'm glad that this guy gets it. In the main Scherzo section, the fast eighth notes are a background to the main melody's brilliance. A lot of pianists think it's the melody. Silly. Great performance here.

[the1stpianoplayer]

such concentration i love it

[ardaardaarda2]

saçlar da peruk galba

[ardaardaarda2]

niye durdun topoş

[ardaardaarda2]

ibne mi ya bu götü başı oynuyor. ellere bak top ya

[ardaardaarda2]

bu ne ya kuru gürültü yapmış

[TheSacredSound6]

Sad that it's not all there. Great piece though, very hard to play. It would be amazing if I could play it half as good as he can! Also, love the eyebrows at 1:53!

[miciog79]

Che tocco ...

il MAESTRO ... semplicemente sublime il tatto con cui ogni nota è studiata nella più perfetta sfumatura ...