Why Beethoven is Great

For years I have had a fear about studying and playing Beethoven because for one thing he is such a rock star in the history of classical music; for another I always felt intimidated by the intensity of his music. As a revolutionary composer, he gave something very uniquely different from his predecessors - the personal emotions, the power, and the compelling visual images conveyed by his music. It is grand, it is serious, and it is serene.

I first came across Beethoven's piano sonata No 17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2 " The Tempest" when I was a teenager. It was the catchy opening that made my melancholic high school days filled with wonders, emotions, and energy. My overall feelings for the opening was "overwhelming and unbearable but intriguing". Such power from playing the music was something not like anything else - utterly different from romantic Chopin, sweet Mozart, or calming Bach. I have not really figured how to define Beethoven until many years later.

Lately, I believe it is time for me to dive into Beethoven's piano sonata and get to know him as a musician, as a human being, as an innovator, and as a life coach. The challenges of studying the Tempest relate to the technical side and the mental side. Technically, the basic "classical style" fingering work has to be very strong, at the same time it is essential to understand the structure, the harmony and the musical ideas he is trying to say. Mentally, it takes a lot of strength, belief and dedication, as well as, I would say, maturity. Beethoven certainly demands a mind that is serious. He almost enforces you to face the essential issues in life that is universal.

His music is inspiring.

For listening, I like the recording by French pianist Helene Grimaud. In her recording, I was astonished by how dramatic the dynamic contrast is executed throughout, especially for the third movement, which has always been my favourite part. I think my interpretation will be less rough but more romantic. One can learn a lot by how she interprets it in terms of voicing, tempo, contouring, visual effect and level of emotional involvement. The emotional involvement is something I often feel is hard to describe but critical - there are probably pianists whose playing is perfect but not emotionally connecting and there are ones who are not only perfect but also very, very moving.

For Beethoven's life, why not quickly get a glimpse of his life by watching the movie Immortal Beloved played by Gary Oldman.

Helene Grimaud's recordings can be found easily in Spotify.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/0VkQgzGZUmazUc7ouT5S79

For Beethoven fans who wish to know in-depth knowledge about his piano sonatas, I love the Audible (Amazon) audio book "Beethoven's Piano Sonatas" lectured by Professor Robert Greenberg under "The Great Courses". It is never boring to listen to Greenberg talking about music. This particular audiobook however is for listeners who already have intermediate knowledge about music theory.

On the technical side of Beethoven's piano sonatas, pianist Andras Schiff's audio lectures on complete Beethoven piano sonatas are invaluable and could be found digitally on YouTube. Click below link to listen to his lecture on "The Tempest"

https://youtu.be/KVZ9rND0bxE