Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Opp. 2, 101 & 106, "Hammerklavier"

Featuring

Paavali Jumppanen
Ludwig van Beethoven

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Performer Biography

Paavali Jumppanen, the pianist on this recording, studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and with Krystian Zimerman at the Basel Music Academy.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Beethoven saw nature as a path to inner balance, writing in 1820, 'the moral law in us, and the starry sky above us-Kant!!!'

Composition History

Beethoven's Op. 2 sonatas, dedicated to Joseph Haydn, were composed shortly after Beethoven completed his studies with Haydn.

Composer Biography

Beethoven was a keyboard virtuoso who impressed the Viennese with his energetic and brilliant playing, mastering techniques like the three-voice trill.

Recording & Production

This recording was produced with support from MES - The Finnish Music Foundation.

Composition History

Beethoven worked on his 'Hammerklavier' Sonata for nearly two years, completing it in 1818, a period when he was also working on the Diabelli Variations, Ninth Symphony, and Missa Solemnis.

Compositional Technique

The Sonata in A Major, Op. 101, is notable for its first movement not being organized by distinct themes in the classical sense, but rather flowing as a continuous transformation.