Gilles Vonsattel Piano Recital
Presented in Partnership with Music@MenloPianist Gilles Vonsattel and Music@Menlo embark on a landmark presentation of Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas, spanning eight concerts across the Bay Area. This installment at Stanford Live includes two highlights from his early sonatas, as well as the iconic Hammerklavier Sonata that set course toward his late style. Together, these pieces trace Beethoven’s growth as a composer, from youthful brilliance to bold, deeply personal expression.
Visit www.musicatmenlo.org for more information on the Beethoven cycle.
The long preparation to perform the Beethoven sonatas has left me filled with awe. Profoundly original and often eccentric, he is the polar opposite of creativity by imitation and rapid assimilation—and yet, musically, he is always methodical, organized, and extremely knowledgeable and versed in precedent. The fundamental approach of industriously following, bending, and breaking rules from a position of great knowledge and supreme musical talent yielded his incredible output and explains its depth. Tracing the evolution of Beethoven’s creative project is to explore what the human mind can achieve at its highest level, beginning from the humblest elements.
Acknowledgements:
The Piano Series is generously supported by Trine Sorensen and Michael Jacobson, and David Wollenberg and The Wollenberg Foundation.
Program
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN:
Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat major, Op. 26, Funeral March (1800–1801)
Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28, Pastoral (1801)
Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54 (1804)
Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57, Appassionata (1804–1805)
