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Re: [F_minor] Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 3:58 PM, Houpt, Fred <fred.houpt@rbc.com> wrote:
> Very interesting and penetrating comments. I am a bit taken aback by
> GG's that...."none of these celebrated sonatas provided landmarks in
> Beethoven's creative evolution". What? He must be kidding? The third
> movement of the Moonlight is not unlike a cannonade from Napoleon's forces
> as they try to storm Vienna. I beg to differ with GG here, but he would be
> hard pressed to find an example of anything as unanticipated as the 3'rd mvt
> in all of Mozart and Hadyn's solo output. It is pure Beethoven in its heart
> and soul, as revolutionary and individual as his contribution to music
> was.
>
He prefaces this statement with the qualifying clause "with the exception of
the "Moonlight" (a daring experiment in organizational balance) and of "Les
Adieux" (perhaps the most resourceful of those studies in motivic
compression that effected the transition to his later style), and then later
called the 3rd movement "one of most imaginatively structured and
temperamentally versatile of all his finales."
As for the tempo, I'm not entirely sure what to make of Gould's approach
here, especially in light of his expressed admiration of the third movement
-- although I like the tempo of the first movement very much, I agree that
the third seems a bit too fast. I tried to find some unifying relationship
between the three tempi in hopes that this might elucidate things, but had
little success, and am inclined to think that this was not a case in which
Gould carefully planned a single consistent "pulse" to carry through the
various tempi of the piece. But FWIW, here are the approximate tempi I
calculated (using a stopwatch to time the first four or eight bars and
calculating thence):
1. Adagio Sostenuto (4/4 time): quarter note = 74
*however, the ritard takes us to an ending approximate speed of
quarter=42
2. Allegretto (3/4 time): dotted half note = 86 (approximately twice the
ending speed of the first mvmnt -- this is very possibly just coincidence/me
trying to find a pattern where none exists, though, and not a conscious
tempo choice)
3. Presto Agitato (4/4 time): quarter note = 208 (??? can't see where this
tempo could have come from the other two)
Etha
> It is interesting, now that I think of it, the explosive ending of the
> Apposionata in contrast to the Moonlight......often encourages the same
> break neck (literally) and reckless traversal of the musical map as I have
> thought GG's approach was. Often pianists (usually the guys) say, heh, B
> wants prestisimo? then watch this: zooooooooom! It's overdone and showing
> off rather than emotive. In my view speed must be one of the most difficult
> turns to show. The first difficulty is getting your fingers NOT to slur.
> The second is to get them to not make a mistake and the third is to create
> an "effect" without distortion, unless distortion is intentionally invoked.
> The slowest speeds offer other challenges, not the least is what some
> pianists have succumbed to with the Moonlight, which is heart on the sleeve,
> heavy doses of schmaltz and artery clogging syrup. That is one reason GG's
> usually bare bones manner of playing is so attractive. Often it is clean of
> artifice. But here in the M piece his tempo has me puzzled and mildly put
> off; a rare event for me.
>
> As far as forms go, Beethoven was already blazing a way into new territory
> in his first 10 sonatas. I cannot remember which number off hand (as all my
> music is at home) but there is an early sonata where the final movement has
> what became a hallmark of B's thunderous eruptions, sometimes referred to as
> his rocket theme. It is unmistakable and again there is nothing in Mozart
> of Haydn like it. B was a very bold experimenter.
>
> Regards,
>
> Fred
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Etha Williams [mailto:diftorhehsmusma@gmail.com]
> *Sent:* Monday, June 23, 2008 4:07 PM
> *To:* Reinhold, Christiane
> *Cc:* Matthew Harding; Houpt, Fred; f_minor@email.rutgers.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [F_minor] Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
>
> [snip]
>
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