Paolo Ghidoni, Marco Grisanti – Beethoven: Violin Sonatas, Op. 30 Nos. 1-3, Vol 2 (2019)
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Beethoven opened the new century with the publication of his first symphony, but also with that of other important works, such as four piano sonatas (Opp. 26, 27, and 28) and two sonatas for piano and violin – in A Minor, Op. 23, and F Major, Op. 24. Originally, the two sonatas were published in 1801 as a set, under the opus number 23. But something as trivial as their having been mistakenly printed on different-size paper in their second reprint a year later compelled the publisher (and Beethoven) to present them as two distinct works, each with its own opus number – probably to save both face and money. Unlike its companion in F major, the Sonata Op. 23 is a rather stark work, remaining in the darkness of minor keys, and often in a contained, two-voice writing in the piano part. Success was granted to Op. 23, however, after a rather negative response to Beethoven’s three earlier works in the genre, published in 1798 as Op. 12. This achievement encouraged the composer to continue in the genre, with the publication of the Three Sonatas, Op. 30 a year later. Probably written during his sojourn in Heiligenstadt, Beethoven published the works in 1803 and dedicated them to the Tsar Alexander I of Russia. Op. 30 departs from the more traditional writing found in Opp. 12, 23, and 24: both violin and piano parts reach new levels of complexity, with expanded structures, florid virtuosity, and more sophisticated interactions between the two instruments. The final movement of the first of the three sonatas was considered too challenging, and was substituted by a simpler set of variations.
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