Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op. 106 "Hammerklavier" & 111
7/28/2023, 6 Tracks, 1:18:17
Featuring
Angela Hewitt
Ludwig van Beethoven
Did you know?
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Composition History
The opening theme of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in B flat major, Op 106 'Hammerklavier', may have originated from a choral work with the words 'Vivat, vivat Rudolphus!', dedicated to his patron Archduke Rudolph.
Compositional Technique
Beethoven's 'Hammerklavier' sonata is notable for the omnipresent interval of a third and a harmonic structure worthy of its own thesis.
Performer Biography
Angela Hewitt, a leading pianist, is especially renowned for her recordings of Bach's keyboard works and was the first woman to receive the City of Leipzig Bach Medal in its seventeen-year history.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in Kulturstiftung Marienmünster, Germany, in November 2020, featuring a Fazioli piano.
Interpretation
Angela Hewitt, the pianist on this album, only began learning Beethoven's Op. 111 sonata at age sixty, finding it one of the most sublime compositions to play.
Cultural Impact
The physical challenge of playing Beethoven's 'Hammerklavier' sonata was famously illustrated in Charles Schulz's Peanuts cartoons in the early 1950s.
Composer Biography
In 1817, Beethoven suffered from dreadful health, composed very little, and had meager earnings, compounded by the emotional strain of his nephew Karl's guardianship and worsening deafness.
