Beethoven's Complete Works for Piano: Part X
Is Beethoven’s music great? How do we know? Piano department chair Bruce Brubaker encourages curious concertgoers to celebrate and reconsider Beethoven’s music and legacy.
75 NEC pianists present every work for piano that Beethoven ever wrote over the course of 13 recitals in spring and fall 2020. Hear well-known favorites like the “Moonlight” Sonata alongside rarely-performed works and decide for yourself: what does Beethoven mean today?
A virtuoso pianist himself, Beethoven composed dozens of works for the fortepiano, often making use of the new musical resources of the instrument as it developed rapidly throughout the composer’s lifetime. Approximately 1/3 of each concert program will feature rarely performed sets of variations that may offer insight into Beethoven’s own performances as an improviser.
The NEC Piano Department dedicates this Beethoven 2020 project to Distinguished Artist-in-Residence Russell Sherman who celebrates his ninetieth birthday in 2020. Mr. Sherman was the first American musician to record all of Beethoven’s piano sonatas and concertos. He has been a member of the New England Conservatory faculty since 1967.
WATCH Concert STREAM:
Beethoven's Complete Works for Piano:
PROGRAM TEN
Thirty-two variations on an original theme in C Minor, WoO 80 (1806)
Artists- Xingrong Shao, piano
Sonata in E-flat Major, WoO 47 no. 1 (1782-83)
I. Allegro cantabile
II. Andante
III. Rondo vivaceArtists- Grace Yue Yu, piano
Sonata in D Major, Wo0 47 no. 3 (1782-83)
I. Allegretto
II. Menuetto: Sostenuto
III. Scherzando: Allegretto, ma non troppo
Artists- Rachel Nayeon Gu, piano
Seven variations on "Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen" from Peter Winter's opera Das unterbrochene Opferfest, WoO 75 (1799)
Artists- Yujin Han, piano
Sonata No. 30 in E Major, op. 109 (1820)
I. Vivace ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo
II. Prestissimo
III. Gesangvoll, mit innigster EmpfindungArtists- Evren Ozel, piano