Beethoven Piano Sonatas Op. 101 & Op. 106, Hammerklavier Mari Kodama

• 1 I. Allegro 11:12
• 2 II. Scherzo - Assai vivace - Presto - Tempo I 02:42
• 3 III. Adagio sostenuto, appassionato e con molto sentimento 15:53
• 4 IV. Largo - Allegro risoluto 11:36
• 5 I. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung 03:41
• 6 II. Lebhaft. Marschmassig 05:46
• 7 III. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll 02:27
• 8 IV. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit 06:56
• Total Runtime 01:00:13

Info for Beethoven Piano Sonatas Op. 101 & Op. 106, Hammerklavier

This latest release is part of the Beethoven series with Mari Kodama. The pianist has established an international reputation for her musical sensitivity and outstanding virtuosity.

Sonata in A major, Op. 101
Beethoven wrote his four-movement Sonata in A major, Op. 101, between 1813-1816, and dedicated it to his pupil Dorothea von Erdmann. The sonata was printed in Vienna in 1817 and possesses a high concentration of many of the characteristics asso- ciated with Beethoven’s late style: an expansion of the sonata form, the use of fugal techniques, and a highly developed lyrical expression. Furthermore, this is the first sonata to which Beethoven adds in the title the extra words “for the fortepiano”; the instrument in which the strings are struck by small hammers, and which had stood in Beethoven’s house since 1817 in the form of a grand piano supplied by the English piano-builder Thomas Broadwood. The work displays distinctive features straight away, due to its large dimensions. Thus, the second movement is not the usual scherzo, but a march-like structure. The Finale provides a substantial conclusion, with fairly long fugal sec- tions. It is preceded by a slow movement, which feels more like an introduction; consequently, the first movement in fact takes over the function of the slow movement, thanks to its reduced concise- ness. These few brief observations make it clear that Op. 101 is a highly individual composition.

Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 106
Despite Beethoven having already employed the term “Hammerklavier” (= fortepiano) when referring to his Sonata in A major, Op. 101, it is the Sonata in B flat major, Op. 106, composed during 1817-1819, that is known as the Hammerklavier Sonata, as the “clan- destine opus maximus” (Mauser). Lasting almost 50 minutes, this is not only the longest, but probably also the most monumental piano sonata to have emerged from the early Romantic period. It presents both a terrific summary of the history of the sonata to date, and an audacious preview of developments yet to come. Everything here forms a unified whole, and what is more, literal quotes are no longer a necessary requisite to ensure the flow of the move- ments in a cyclical manner. Beethoven goes into great depth here, hell-bent on the creation of the movement, so to speak, at the level of the composi- tional atoms. And he accomplishes this while at the same time dealing with the death of his brother, his increasingly rapid loss of hearing that finally leads to total deafness, and his dramatic financial problems! Beethoven needs money urgently – and so he simply pens this work, and sends it to his publisher with the following words: “Here is a sonata that will give the pianist something to really get his teeth into, that will be played in 50 years time.” And to his pupil Carl Czerny, who first performed the work in 1823-24, he wrote as follows: “I am now writing a sonata that will be my very greatest.”

Mari Kodama, piano

Recording venue: Concertboerderij “Onder de Linden”, Valthermond, the Netherlands (2/2013) Recording producer: Wilhelm Hellweg
Balance engineer: Jean-Marie Geijsen
Recording engineer: Jean-Marie Geijsen
Editing: Erdo Groot, Jean-Marie Geijsen

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Booklet for Beethoven Piano Sonatas Op. 101 & Op. 106, Hammerklavier