IDAGIO | Beethoven, L. Van: Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 6

Featuring

Ronald Brautigam
Ludwig van Beethoven

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Interpretation

Ronald Brautigam has developed a great passion for the fortepiano, performing with leading orchestras specializing in period instruments.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Beethoven pushed the boundaries between free expression and strict form to the extreme, influencing later composers who had to choose between sacrificing one or the other.

Composer Biography

Count Ferdinand von Waldstein, to whom Sonata No. 21 is dedicated, was Beethoven's first important aristocratic benefactor, providing financial support and crucial contacts.

Performer Biography

Ronald Brautigam, one of Holland's leading musicians, was awarded the Nederlandse Muziekprijs in 1984, the highest Dutch musical award.

Compositional Technique

In the 'Waldstein' Sonata, Beethoven departs from the traditional modulation to the dominant for the second theme, choosing the upper mediant, E major, to heighten tension.

Critical Reception

Ronald Brautigam's 17-disc Beethoven cycle on fortepiano has been called a "reference recording" and a "stylistic paradigm shift" by American magazine Fanfare.

Composition History

Beethoven's 'Waldstein' and 'Appassionata' sonatas were composed while he was also working on his opera, Fidelio, which was interrupted by these and other sonatas.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 12-15, 21-27

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 3

Beethoven: Sonates, Vol. 3

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 28-32

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 3: Sonatas Op. 22 & 26 - Op. 27 No. 1 "Quasi una fantasia" - Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight" - Op. 28 "Pastorale"