Maurizio Zaccaria - Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Op. 31 (2021)

As the nineteenth century began, Beethoven produced vast amounts of music, much of it involving the piano. A string of piano sonatas, all highly original compositions, were published between 1801 and 1803. The Three Sonatas, Op. 31, the culmination of this artistic outpouring, were part of an effort to bring new life to a form considered somewhat tired and old-fashioned. The first of the three Sonatas, in G Major, was the last to be completed. The opening movement, Allegro vivace, features an array of technical challenges (parallel scales and arpeggi) displayed in full force in the first theme and its different incarnations throughout the movement. However, the tendency is that of desynchronizing the hands in stuttering gestures, perhaps wittingly depicting a piano lesson in which the student’s inability to play evenly is met with irate retorts from the teacher. The second theme, dancelike, is in the key of B major/B minor – an unusual choice, which mirrors the tonal scheme found in first movements of earlier sonatas. The Adagio grazioso that follows is a delightful serenade, clearly modeled after operatic archetypes, with richly ornate cadenzas and arabesques. The closing movement, Allegretto, is a rondo defined by lyrical elegance. The material is characterized by frequent dialogues between the soprano and tenor registers, mode shifts, and cross rhythms. After a series of interruptions ...

Maurizio Zaccaria, piano