Beethoven: Sonata in D Major, "Pastoral" (Lewis, Biss)

The 15th Sonata is B. at his most beautiful: a thing of touching and generous serenity that’s nonetheless put together with a lot of skill and subtlety. Mvt 1 is notable for its timpani-like bass drone (which first pretends to be the dominant of G), murmuring like a heartbeat, and for the development, which builds into fury by radically compressing the sonata’s first theme and features 38 bars of unchanging harmony that does not(!) lead to the recapitulation. Mvt 2 begins in stately, profound sadness, and only grows in intricacy as it progresses: honestly, it’s just one of the loveliest things B. wrote. Mvt 3 trades on contrast between long and short notes, and its trio is just the same melody 8 times, though you wouldn’t even notice it, so cunningly (and subtly is it transformed) each time. Mvt 4 is a gently rolling rondo, warmly whimsical in a naïve sort of way. It’s also the first time B. writes ‘ma non troppo’ in any work. MVT I EXPOSITION 00:00 – Theme 1. Melody over tonic peda