France Musique comments about Beethoven Piano sonata n30 :


Beethoven composed his last three piano sonatas between 1820 and 1822, while working on the Missa solemnis. The monumentality of the vocal work is contrasted with the more modest dimensions of the piano scores, which are no less ambitious in their conception. But here the invention does not need time dilation. What is striking, on the other hand, is the freedom in the treatment of form, as if the improviser were taking over. The first movement of Sonata No. 30 has barely begun when an Adagio espressivo episode of a cadential nature intervenes, acting as a second theme. Moreover, Beethoven abandons his customary authoritarian tone. The rhythmic vigour and symphonic textures that mark the opening of many of his works give way to a gentle cantabile and transparent sonorities. The central development does not smash the thematic material to proliferate its debris. It is more like a stroll along familiar paths, the atmosphere of which fades for a few moments before regaining its playful clarity.

It is in the second movement that the raging energy of the fighter is displayed. But the assurance of the two extreme parts disintegrates in the middle episode, with its rarefied material and strange harmonies. This Prestissimo is not called Scherzo, although it occupies its place, perhaps because it does not respect the symmetries and strays too far from the etymology of the term ("jest").

While the Vivace, ma non troppo and Prestissimo follow one another, a caesura precedes the finale, which alone is longer than the first two movements combined. These unusual proportions indicate that Beethoven placed the climax at the end: this gesture, increasingly common in Beethoven's work, shifts the centre of gravity of the score to the conclusion, while his contemporaries continued to give more weight to the first movement. Another peculiarity is that the finale here adopts the form of a theme and variations, which the composer had never before used to end a piano sonata, but which was already present at the end of the Symphony No. 3 "Eroica", the String Quartet Op. 74 and the Sonatas for violin and piano No. 6 and No. 10.


A model can be discerned behind this finale, which also plays the role of a slow movement: that of Bach's Goldberg Variations (reference to the same moment as the Diabelli Variations, see below), whose theme, entitled Aria, adopts the rhythm of a saraband. Beethoven takes up these rhythmic characteristics, also referring to the voice, as evidenced by the title in German, which means 'Very singing, with the most intimate feeling'. While the first variations respect the structure of the theme, the fifth, more contrapuntal, departs from its structure and introduces development techniques. The last variation, based on the vibration of the trill (an effect typical of late Beethoven, but already at work in the Sonata No. 16), precedes the return of the theme, as in the Goldbergs. The sonata does not end with a triumphant proclamation, but in a tone of confidence.



This performance is part of a magnificent complete set of Beethoven's sonatas. Louis Lortie offers a warm interpretation full of contrasts and dynamics.

0:00 I. Vivace ma non troppo — Adagio espressivo

3:55 II. Prestissimo

6:21 III. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo