Gould/Beethoven Sonata in B-flat, “Hammerklavier“

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 29 in B♭ major, Op. 106 (known as the Große Sonate für das Hammerklavier, or more simply as the Hammerklavier) is a piano sonata that is widely viewed as one of the most important works of the composer’s third period and among the greatest piano sonatas of all time. Completed in 1818, it is often considered to be Beethoven’s most technically challenging piano composition and one of the most demanding solo works in the classical piano repertoire. The first documented public performance was in 1836 by Franz Liszt in the Salle Erard in Paris. The Hammerklavier also set a precedent for the length of solo compositions (performances typically take about 40 to 50 minutes, depending on interpretative choices). While orchestral works such as symphonies and concerti had often contained movements of 15 or even 20 minutes for many years, few single movements in solo literature had a span such as the Hammerklavier’s third movement. The sonata’s name comes from Beethoven’s later practice of using German rather than Italian words for musical terminology. (Hammerklavier literally means “hammer-keyboard“, and is still today the German name for the fortepiano, the predecessor of the modern piano.) It comes from the title page of the work, “Große Sonate für das Hammerklavier“, which means “Grand sonata for the fortepiano“. The more sedate Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101 has the same description, but the epithet has come to apply to the Sonata No. 29 only. “Hammerklavier“ was part of the title to specify that the work was not to be played on the harpsichord, an instrument that was still very much in evidence in the early 1800s. The work also makes extensive use of the una corda pedal, with Beethoven giving for his time unusually detailed instructions when to use it. Surprisingly, Gould did not like the Hammerklavier. He wrote...“It is the longest, most inconsiderate, and probably least rewarding piece that Beethoven wrote for the piano.“ Fellow Austro-Canadian pianist Anton Kuerti, a Torontonian -he and Gould met a few times (“he was at one time a friend of mine“) was not at the end a fan of Glenn Gould. After a long and detailed analysis of Gould’s recording of Kuerti concludes...“He makes a point of disobeying just about every instruction given by the composer. Where Beethoven writes short, Glenn plays long; where the composer demands legato, Glenn plays staccato; where loud is indicated, soft is played, and so on.“ Sonata in B-flat, “Hammerklavier“ I. Allegro 11’09“ II. Scherzo/Presto. Assai vivace 2’51“ III. Adagio sostenuto 20’56“ IV. Largo/Allegro 13’52“ Recorded in Toronto (CBC Studio) in 1967.