Late Piano Sonatas (Beethoven)
Encyclopedia
The Late Piano Sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven
usually refer to the last five piano sonatas the composer has composed during his late period.
Some compilations may include Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90
as one of Beethoven's late piano sonatas.
Partial cycle (3 or more):
Of the five sonatas, the last one (in C minor) is the most often recorded, as heard in interpretations by Julius Katchen
, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
, Mikhail Pletnev
, Ivo Pogorelich, and Anatol Ugorski.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
usually refer to the last five piano sonatas the composer has composed during his late period.
- Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101Piano Sonata No. 28 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, was written in 1816 and was dedicated to the pianist Baroness Dorothea Ertmann. This piano sonata runs for about 20 minutes and consists of four movements:...
- Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier"Piano Sonata No. 29 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 is a piano sonata widely considered to be one of the most important works of the composer's third period and among one of the great piano sonatas...
- Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109Piano Sonata No. 30 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, composed in 1820, is the antepenultimate of his piano sonatas. In it, after the huge Hammerklavier sonata, Op. 106, Beethoven returns to a smaller scale and a more intimate character...
- Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven)The Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed in 1821. It is the central piano sonata in the group of three opp. 109–111 which he wrote between 1820 and 1822, and the thirty-first of his published piano sonatas....
- Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111Piano Sonata No. 32 (Beethoven)The Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111, is the last of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas. Along with Beethoven's 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, op. 120 and his two collections of bagatelles—Opus 119 and Opus 126 —this was one of Beethoven's last compositions for piano. The...
Some compilations may include Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90
Piano Sonata No. 27 (Beethoven)
The Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor is Ludwig van Beethoven's Op. 90. The work, written in the summer of 1814 in Beethoven's late Middle period, was dedicated to Count Moritz von Lichnowsky.- Form :...
as one of Beethoven's late piano sonatas.
Recordings
Complete cycle:- Claudio ArrauClaudio ArrauClaudio Arrau León was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning from the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms and Debussy...
(Philips Classics) - Vladimir AshkenazyVladimir AshkenazyVladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
(Decca Classics) - Wilhelm BackhausWilhelm BackhausWilhelm Backhaus was a German pianist and pedagogue.Born in Leipzig, Backhaus studied at the conservatoire there with Alois Reckendorf until 1899, later taking private piano lessons with Eugen d'Albert in Frankfurt...
(Decca Classics) - Daniel BarenboimDaniel BarenboimDaniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
(2 recordings: 1 on Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
, 1 on EMI ClassicsEMI ClassicsEMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed classical music releases....
) - Alfred BrendelAlfred BrendelAlfred Brendel KBE is an Austrian pianist, born in Czechoslovakia and a resident of the United Kingdom. He is also a poet and author.-Biography:...
(3 recordings: 2 on Philips Classics, reissued on Decca Classics; 1 on Brilliant Classics) - Annie FischerAnnie FischerAnnie Fischer was a Hungarian classical pianist.-Biography:Fischer was born in Budapest, and studied in that city at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with Ernő Dohnányi. In 1933 she won the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in her native city...
(Hungaroton) - Claude FrankClaude FrankClaude Frank is a German-born, American Jewish pianist whose career has included appearances with highly reputed orchestras, at major festivals, and in major recital halls around the world...
(Music and Arts) - Walter GiesekingWalter GiesekingWalter Wilhelm Gieseking was a French-born German pianist and composer.-Biography:Born in Lyon, France, the son of a German doctor and lepidopterist, Gieseking first started playing the piano at the age of four, but without formal instruction...
- Richard GoodeRichard GoodeRichard Goode is an American classical pianist, especially known for his interpretations of Ludwig van Beethoven and chamber music.Goode was born in East Bronx, New York...
(Nonesuch) - Glenn GouldGlenn GouldGlenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
(No. 28 on CBC RecordsCBC RecordsCBC Records is a Canadian record label, owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which distributes CBC programming, including live concert performances in album and digital format....
, Nos. 29-32 on Sony Classical)- Gould's performances of Nos. 30-32 were previously released on Columbia Masterworks
- Friedrich GuldaFriedrich GuldaFriedrich Gulda was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.Born in Vienna as the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano from Felix Pazofsky at the Wiener Volkskonservatorium, aged 7...
(2 recordings: 1 on Decca Classics; 1 on Amadeo Records, reissued on Brilliant Classics and Decca Classics) - Eric Heidsieck (EMI Classics)
- Wilhelm KempffWilhelm KempffWilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertory included Bach, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well-known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, both of whose complete sonatas he also...
(2 recordings on Deutsche Grammophon) - Stephen Bishop Kovacevich (EMI Classics)
- Yves NatYves NatYves Nat was a French pianist and composer.-Biography:Yves Nat was born in Béziers and showed an early aptitude for both piano and composition. By the age of seven he was allowed to improvise each Sunday at the organ of Béziers' cathedral during mass...
(EMI classics) - Maurizio PolliniMaurizio PolliniMaurizio Pollini is an Italian classical pianist.- Biography and career :Pollini was born in Milan to the Italian rationalist architect Gino Pollini. Maurizio studied piano first with Carlo Lonati, until the age of 13, then with Carlo Vidusso, until he was 18...
(Deutsche Grammophon) - Sviatoslav RichterSviatoslav RichterSviatoslav Teofilovich Richter was a Soviet pianist well known for the depth of his interpretations, virtuoso technique, and vast repertoire. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Childhood:...
(various performances of each sonata on varying labels) - András SchiffAndrás SchiffAndrás Schiff is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist, who has won a number of awards including the Grammy and made numerous recordings.- Biography :...
(ECM Records) - Peter SerkinPeter Serkin-Biography:He was born in New York City and is the son of pianist Rudolf Serkin, and grandson of the influential violinist Adolf Busch, whose daughter Irene had married Rudolf Serkin...
(Musical Concepts) - Rudolf SerkinRudolf SerkinRudolf Serkin , was a Bohemian-born pianist.-Life and early career:Serkin was born in Eger, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire to a Russian-Jewish family....
(Sony Classical) - Artur SchnabelArtur SchnabelArtur Schnabel was an Austrian classical pianist, who also composed and taught. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura...
(EMI Classics) - Solomon (EMI Classics)
- Mitsuko UchidaMitsuko Uchida, born 20 December 1948, is a Japanese naturalized British classical pianist.-Career:Born in Atami, a seaside town close to Tokyo, Japan, Uchida moved to Vienna, Austria, with her diplomat parents when she was twelve years old, after her father was named the Japanese ambassador to Austria...
(Philips Classics)
Partial cycle (3 or more):
- Christoph EschenbachChristoph EschenbachChristoph Eschenbach , born February 20, 1940, Breslau, Germany is a German-born pianist and conductor. He currently holds positions in Washington, D.C. as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and music director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.-Early...
(Nos. 29-32 on EMI Classics) - Emil GilelsEmil GilelsEmil Grigoryevich Gilels was a Soviet pianist, widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.His last name is sometimes transliterated Hilels.-Biography:...
(Nos. 28-31 on Deutsche Grammophon)
Of the five sonatas, the last one (in C minor) is the most often recorded, as heard in interpretations by Julius Katchen
Julius Katchen
Julius Katchen was an American concert pianist, possibly best known for his recordings of Johannes Brahms's solo piano compositions.-Early career:...
, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was a virtuoso Italian classical pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, as well as one of the most important Italian pianists along with Ferruccio Busoni and Maurizio Pollini.-Biography:Born in Brescia, Italy, he began...
, Mikhail Pletnev
Mikhail Pletnev
Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev is a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer.-Life and career:Pletnev was born into a very musical family in Arkhangelsk, then part of the Soviet Union; his father played and taught the bayan, and his mother the piano...
, Ivo Pogorelich, and Anatol Ugorski.
See also
- Diabelli VariationsDiabelli VariationsThe 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120, commonly known as the Diabelli Variations, is a set of variations for the piano written between 1819 and 1823 by Ludwig van Beethoven on a waltz composed by Anton Diabelli...
, another piano work composed during Beethoven's late period - BagatellesBagatelle (music)A bagatelle is a short piece of music, typically for the piano, and usually of a light, mellow character. The name bagatelle literally means a "trifle", as a reference to the innocent character of the piece.-Earliest known bagatelle:...
Op. 119 & Op. 126 - Schubert's last sonatasSchubert's last sonatasFranz Schubert's last three piano sonatas, numbered 958, 959 and 960 in Deutsch's catalogue of Schubert's complete works, are the composer's last major compositions for the piano. They were written during the last months of Schubert's life, between the spring and autumn of 1828, but were not...