February 2009

On the one hand you have a serious conductor and musician insisting that this Piano Sonata is a send-up / parody. At the same time some Beethoven scholars claim that it’s a legitimate effort by him! If you review compilations of Beethoven’s sonatas, you’ll find that not many pianists play this one. Isn’t that a clue? … that if it’s not a “joke” – then at least it’s not one of his better works. I feel that everything  Anton Kuerti says about this sonata rings true. (in fact I laughted out loud several times while listening – don’t see how anyone could take it seriously) What do you think/feel/hear?!

See  below for Kuerti’s negative assesment, and others who disagree

Piano sonata 22 in F major Op. 54 / First Movement tempo d’un menuetto

piano-sonata-no-22-in-f-major-op-54-tempo-dun-menuetto

Second movement: Allegretto

piano-sonata-no-22-in-f-major-op-54-ii-allegretto

Kuerti lays waste to this ‘thing’!

1. In tempo d’un menuetto: Anton Kuerti refers to this piece as a parody of uncreative composers. The melody commences, but grinds to a halt, and after doing this again, it decides to suddenly end the phrase in an attempted friendly way, which is anything but friendly, and nothing but awkward. This piece gradually redeems itself (but not much) when it garners variations for its main theme. Only at the coda does a virtuoso performance take place.
2. Allegretto: “If the first movement was constipated, then the second movement suffers from the opposite ailment.” (Anton Kuerti) This is shown in the piece, as the main melody has a non-stop continuous, sixteenth-note pattern that does not stop for even a second in this piece. The piece gradually gets more and more agitated in the coda, almost similar to a mechanical mixer going out of control and splattering its ingredients throughout the entire room.

A full article including the opposing view:

http://raptusassociation.org/son22e.html#1