Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 “The Tempest”, Op. 31/2 | Kit Armstrong, piano

DW Classical Music
DW Classical Music
90,055
0
Published 2024-03-16
Wunderkind meets genius: When Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Opus 31, No. 2, he was a star pianist in Vienna. American pianist Kit Armstrong, who grew up as a “wunderkind,” showed a glimpse of the great composer’s improvising talent in re-interpreting the sonata in his own very personal fashion. His piano recital took place during the Beethovenfest in the Plenarsaal (plenary hall of the Bundeshaus) in Bonn in September 2023. And beware: the piece begins very quietly.

(00:00) Intro
(00:20) I. Largo – Allegro
(09:32) II. Adagio
(16:56) III. Allegretto

His ears were hurting, his hearing difficulties were getting worse and worse, and the psychological strain was unbearable. In 1802, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote a letter from Heiligenstadt, near Vienna, to his brothers, asking where – after consulting with a doctor – he should go to recuperate. He revealed to his brothers his worsening deafness, telling of his desperation and suicidal thoughts. It was around this time (1801/02) that he also created his Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor.

It is one of 32 piano sonatas Beethoven composed between 1795 and 1822. They are highly regarded and viewed as an extraordinary repertoire of piano pieces. Beethoven lived in Vienna as a composer and famous piano virtuoso. He was capable of masterfully improvising based on individual motifs, enjoyed experimenting and continuously shifted away from the classic sonata form in his later compositions.

Piano Sonata No. 17 is also known as “The Tempest.” Beethoven biographer Anton Felix Schindler claims Beethoven composed the piece based on Shakespeare’s drama of the same name. There is, however, no hard evidence to support this. Schindler was Beethoven’s secretary and first biographer, and he enjoyed being the center of attention. He later purported to be a good friend of Beethoven’s, but he didn’t necessarily always stick to the facts in his reports. It is even proven that he faked entries in Beethoven’s notebooks and other documents.

Out of this series of sonatas, Piano Sonata No. 17 is the only one in D minor (like his Symphony No. 9, by the way). The first movement starts out restrained and dark and then builds up dramatically, its sound reminiscent of a big “tempest.” Then an upbeat adagio and a rhythmic allegro. All three movements begin and end quietly – that was unusual, too. When Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata No. 17, he was 31 years old – the same age as American pianist Kit Armstrong when this recording was made.

Kit Armstrong intensely scrutinized Beethoven’s sonatas. The first musical theme in Sonata No. 17 builds up slowly and quietly, as though it were just in the midst of coming to be in the thoughts of the composer. You almost feel transported back into the room where Beethoven once diligently composed, as Kit Armstrong gingerly strings together one tone to the next in his interpretation, before pausing as though to think about what comes next and again and then – like he’s had a sudden realization – races over the keys.

Kit Armstrong, born in Los Angeles in 1992, is truly an all-rounder. By the age of five, Kit Armstrong was playing the piano and composing his own music. Besides elementary school, the very gifted student attended high school at the same time. He was then admitted as the youngest student to Chapmen University of California at the age of seven, where he studied composition and physics. At the age of nine, Kit Armstrong changed to Utah State University, where he studied music, mathematics, biology and physics, before going to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and completing a degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London with First Class Honours. In 2013, his first CD was released – with his own compositions and transcriptions of pieces by Bach. Since he turned 13, he has also been taught by Alfred Brendel. The world-renowned pianist referred to Kit Armstrong as a “child prodigy” in 2008, and as “the greatest musical talent that I have encountered in my life.” As a solo pianist, Kit Armstrong has worked with many of the most renowned conductors around the world, including Christian Thielemann and Robin Ticciati as well as orchestras like the Vienna Philharmonic and the NHK Symphony Orchestra.

Beethoven’s pupil Carl Czerny wrote that Piano Sonata No. 17 was perfect in form and that the greatest impact unfolded “when the player’s imagination is at the same level as his artistry.” Kit Armstrong fully taps into this “player’s imagination” in his interpretation of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31/2.

© 2024 Deutsche Welle

Watch more concerts in your personal concert hall:
   • LISTEN AND WATCH - your personal conc...  

and in our playlist with piano concertos:
   • PIANO CONCERTOS  

Subscribe to DW Classical Music:
youtube.com/dwclassicalmusic

#beethovensonata #beethovenpiano #beethovenpianosonata
All Comments (21)