Beethoven's Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, is dedicated to Maximiliane Brentano, the 19-year-old daughter of the Brentano family, who were friends of the composer.
Performer Biography
Pianist Freddy Kempf first gained national recognition at age eight, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto K.V. 414 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at London's Royal Festival Hall.
Composer Biography
Ludwig van Beethoven's health was affected by a prolonged bout of jaundice and an attack of rheumatism while he was composing his Sonata in A flat major, Op. 110.
Compositional Technique
The first movement of Beethoven's Sonata No. 30, Op. 109, includes a self-quotation from his opera Fidelio, with a motif originally set to the words 'Nun bin ich bald des Grabes Beute' ('I shall soon be the grave's booty').
Performer Biography
Freddy Kempf's third prize at the 1998 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow caused an outcry in the Russian press, which hailed him as 'the hero of the competition'.
Compositional Technique
Beethoven's Sonata No. 32, Op. 111, has only two movements, a structure also found in some of his other piano sonatas (Opp. 54, 78, and 90).
Compositional Technique
Beethoven's Sonata No. 31, Op. 110, incorporates motivic elements from two popular tunes of the era, 'Unser Kätz häd Katzln ghabt' and 'Ich bin lüderlich, Du bist lüderlich,' in its second movement.
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