Alban Berg - Piano Sonata Op.1 (Hamelin, Gould)

Hamelin: [0:00] Gould: [12:06] I could take to time to describe how much I love this piece and explain how the extremely logical and cerebral climaxes are calculated to create a painfully visceral, tragic and emotional sound, but that’d be pointless, since Gould already did that in the perfect way (rather simply, but effectively): “The expansive, pessimistic, and unquestionably ecstatic... Sonata, opus one.“ This is sadly the only piece written by Berg in the genre. The sounds here are nostalgic, menacing, tormented, parossistic, intoxicating... Surely one of the greatest pieces of piano literature that came out in early 20th Century. The Piano Sonata (German: Klaviersonate), Op. 1, was published in 1910, but the exact date of composition is unknown; sources suggest that it was written in 1909. Berg first studied under Arnold Schoenberg in the autumn of 1904, taking lessons in harmony and counterpoint. Later, in autumn 1907, he returned to begin studies in