Beethoven and more 2011 podcast #3: With humor and charm

Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata No. 3 in E-flat Major for violin and piano, op. 12, No. 3: 1st movement: Allegro con spirito
Julian Rachlin, violin
Itamar Golan, piano
MP3 recorded by Deutsche Welle (DW) in the chamber music hall of the Beethoven House, Bonn, on September 17, 2011

When Beethoven wrote his first violin sonatas, the genre was just half a century old. Generally, the works were composed for piano with the violin lending an accompanying voice. Mozart, as an accomplished violinist, was the first to forge the duet form within the genre, letting the two instruments take the stage as equals. Beethoven wrote his violin sonatas in the same spirit, as the Viennese composer and music writer Ignaz von Mosel recognized: "Beethoven is a worthy follower of Mozart's, although a completely new spirit and taste breathes in his works!"

"We've been working on the violin sonatas for years," said pianist Itamar Golan, "And although we probably know every single note, we always discover something new. It's a never-ending search."

In the three sonatas published in op. 12, Beethoven largely sticks to the convention of the violin as accompaniment. But he begins to play with that tradition.

"Okay, in the first and last movements of the third sonata, the piano does indeed have a brilliant upper hand, but the violin takes center stage more and more during the melodic passages," Golan added.

Author: Marita Berg / gsw
Editor: Rick Fulker