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Rating: We have always been accustomed to the representation of a perpetually frowning Beethoven, intent on scrutinizing with his intense and fiery gaze the painful wounds of human passion. Therefore, we usually think of him as a severe, rigorous man, and perhaps he really was. This does not detract from the possibility that among the folds of this reconstruction, other equally important elements of his personality may be hiding. Thus, one might be partially surprised listening to these Piano Sonatas of his (Ecm New Series - 2006), sublimely interpreted by the Hungarian pianist András Schiff, because they show us a Beethoven a bit different from the usual.
Composed between 1788 and 1800, therefore between the ages of 18 and 30, these works have the merit of highlighting some uncommon traits of his poetics. It is something I don't know how to describe except by speaking of a kind of innocence or perhaps more simply the freshness of youthful naivety, expressed with a style - now elegant, now charming - that was very fashionable in Vienna at that time. When these compositions came to light, the Titanic impetus of the mature Beethoven, capable of exalting the fury of romanticism, was still far off. Indeed, the themes, often sweet and singable, delineate lightness and freshness. Take, for example, the clarity of the main melodic theme of the "Rondo Allegro" of "Sonata No. 19": the piano flows through joyful and serene atmospheres that unfold smoothly, reminiscent of the pure classicism of Mozart and Haydn's teachings. However, that Beethoven was already gathering from the hands of the second the spirit of the first, as Count Waldstein had prophesied ("May you receive the spirit of Mozart from the hands of Haydn"), these sonatas remind us at various moments, showing some embryonic signs of spiritual unrest, which is felt from time to time in the background, almost lurking.
Among the refinement of pianistic construction, which Schiff unravels with absolute mastery, amid the invention, innocence, and lightness of the natural intertwining of melodic themes, then melancholically romantic insights emerge, sometimes appearing timidly, other times with more determination, letting us glimpse the restless soul of its author. As in the sharp stroke on the keyboard that splits the "Allegro, ma non troppo" of "Sonata No. 20" in two. A little jolt to the heart, a typical accent of Beethovenian musical color. A similar feeling then emerges in the subsequent "Minuetto", which for just over three minutes unfolds coquettishly, highlighting only in the finale a faint, very thin, transparent melancholy almost to dampen all the lightness of the sonata. Or similarly in the measured frenzy of the "Rondo. Allegro comodo" of "Sonata No. 9". Isolated brushstrokes, but not random and very significant in their strength.
Thus it is felt that at that time Beethoven was already metabolizing the experience of classicism to transform and enrich it with his soul, thanks also to an immense, constant, assiduous, daily work that led him to spend hours and hours at the piano. In this way, it is better understood that his music gradually evolved through continuous work of construction and deconstruction of classical forms, a work enriched and not constituted by inspiration. And being the piano the central element of his music, it is precisely the listening of the Sonatas that allows us to appreciate the measure of his genius and understand how he evolved throughout his earthly existence, finally reaching the point of giving new life to piano writing. Under this profile, Schiff's work, dedicated to the complete performance of the 32 piano sonatas and now at the third volume, can appear exemplary. The Hungarian maestro has demonstrated with his very expressive pianism to have the means and maturity to face this artistic itinerary, which will conclude in the next two years with the incredible "Sonata No. 32 op. 111". My advice is to follow him step by step in this difficult journey that will allow us to know and love every subtle nuance of these indispensable, wonderful, and immortal works.
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