Barenboim: Beethoven – Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109

At Palais Rasumofsky, Vienna, 1983-1984 Daniel Barenboim – piano Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 0:20 I. Vivace ma non troppo 4:41 II. Prestissimo 7:19 III. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung: Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo Watch other Beethoven Sonatas performed by Barenboim: https://goo.gl/Z589Zz
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Though Beethoven’s Sonatas No. 30, No. 31 and No. 32 were promised to publisher Adolf Martin Schlesinger as a set, they would eventually be published separately in three successive years, beginning in 1821. The three works bear the hallmarks of Beethoven’s late style: complex, tortured counterpoint, challenging harmonic relationships and prominence of variations forms. In the case of Op. 109, the scale of the closing variations movement is such that it dwarfs the first two movements combined. The sonata was dedicated to Maximiliane Brentano, daughter of Antonie Brentano, whom Maynard Solomon has proposed was Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved”. In the case of Op. 110, delicates melodies are juxtaposed with elaborate counterpoint and in Op. 111 the fugue and variation forms reach their apotheosis. The Grammy award-winning pianist Daniel Barenboim has been active on the concert stage since the age of seven when he made his stage debut in his hometown of Buenos Aires. Well known for his work with the East-Western Divan Orchestra, a group of young Arab and Israeli musicians, he is currently the director of the Berlin State Opera, La Scala (Milan) and the Staatskapelle Berlin. Barenboim is described as “one of the few musicians in the world today who could accurately be describe as legendary”.