Beethoven: Sparks of Joy – Op. 101 begins his \u00ablate period\u00bb sonatas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Opus 101 is generally regarded as the first of the \u00ablate period\u00bb sonatas, in which Beethoven takes advantage of the expanded range and sturdier construction of the \u00abHammerklavier\u00bb to produce works of extraordinary power and richness of effect. In fact, in the Opus 101 Beethoven uses the low \u00abE\u00bb for the first time – a note that didn’t exist on earlier instruments.
This is emphatically not a \u00abRomantic\u00bb work. The Romantic movement was unleashed after the Congress of Vienna in order to supplant artistic rigor and replace it with \u00abanything goes\u00bb licentiousness, in order to corrupt the musical tastes, and hence morality, of the public. Beethoven was always a Classical composer.
The sonata, which Beethoven jokingly suggested be called \u00abthe difficult-to-play A major sonata\u00bb is performed magnificently by Emil Gilels. [Notes by Margaret Scialdone.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n