Complete Works for Solo Piano - Volume 13
Rondo in C major, WoO 48 (1783) [2:30]
Rondo in A major, WoO 49 (1783) [2:41]
Rondo in B flat major, Kinsky-Halm Anh. 6 [7:10]
Rondo in C major, Op. 51 No. 1 (1796-97) [5:58]
Rondo in C major, Op. 52 No. 2 (1800?) [9:06]
Rondo a Capriccio in G major, Op.129 (1795-98?) [5:59]
Ecossaise in E flat major, WoO 86 (1825) [0:20]
Six Ecossaises, WoO 83 (c. 1806?) [2:09]
Andante in F major, WoO 57 (1809) [8:50]
Fantasie, Op.77 (1800?) [9:40]
Polonaise in C major, Op. 89 (1814) [5:21]
Klavierstück ‘Für Elise’ (1810, rev. 1822) [3:35]
Andante Maestoso in C major (1826) [3:11]
Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano)
rec. August 2013, Österåker Church, Stockholm
BIS BIS-SACD-1892 [68:28]
Ronald Bruatigam’s excellent series of Beethoven’s complete
solo piano works reaches volume 13 in a programme which spans the composer’s
entire life. This spans from the earliest of his works in the Rondo
in C major composed at the age of 13 to the Andante maestoso
in C major in C major given the grand subtitle ‘Letzter musikalischer
Gedanke’. The latter is in fact an arrangement, possibly by Anton
Diabelli, of music for string quartet bought at the auction which followed
Beethoven’s death in 1827. The original having been lost we don’t
know how much of the piece is actually Beethoven’s work. It joins
a fascinating feast of smaller works and infrequently heard rarities,
and deserves plenty of attention.
As with the other volumes, this release oozes with quality, with joyous
performances and the finest recording of some of the best fortepianos
to be found anywhere: two stunning reproductions by Paul McNulty. You
might expect Beethoven’s earliest work to be at the very least relatively
simple, but the first two Rondos are packed with surprise and
contrast, with Mozart-like twists of harmony. Even the dubious provenance
of the Rondo in B flat doesn’t detract from the deliciously
tricky little slides which pop up from time to time. The Opus 51
pair of Rondos are in fact entirely separate works in terms of date but
are the products of Beethoven’s maturity, performed with sensitive
dynamism by Brautigam. The tenderness of expression in the G major Op.
51 No. 1 is attributable to the composer’s making a present
of it to one of his flames, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, to whom the
‘Moonlight’ sonata is dedicated.
The Rondo a Capriccio in G major, Op.129 has the superb subtitle
“Die Wut über den verloren Groschen, ausgetobt in einer
Caprice” or ‘The Rage over a Lost Penny’. This
is certainly a forerunner of illustrative piano music for the early cinema,
and its humorous tantrums and virtuoso passagework suit the title perfectly
even if it was only a sales tactic added by Anton Schindler and used by
Anton Diabelli on its publication.
Kicked off by the miniature but genuine Ecossaise in E flat,
the set of dances WoO 86 are not definitively known to be by
Beethoven but are nevertheless great fun. The Andante favori
is one of the better known works in this collection, a divorcee from the
‘Waldstein’ sonata and treated to the later Conrad Graf instrument,
where the earlier tracks are played on a Walter & Sohn model from
around 1805. The softer, more modulated tone of this instrument might
lead you to turn up your volume a little, through which you will be rewarded
by its more generous depth, its dynamic contrasts explored to the full
in the dramatic and improvisatory Fantasie Op.77.
The Polonaise in C major Op. 89 is a fine example of the style,
and its story is ably outlined in Roeland Hazendonk’s excellent
booklet notes. These also outline the reasons for interest in this version
of Für Elise, which was tinkered with by the composer for
proposed inclusion in a collection of Bagatelles but never made it into
the Op.119 set. The differences between this and the famous original are
easier to spot if you’ve tried to play the piece but in any case
Ronald Brautigam manages to make it sound striking and original. The last
track is the Andante maestoso dubbed Beethoven’s ‘last
musical thought’ and, dated November 1826, was certainly sketched
not long before the composer’s last illness, but predates further
work on a tenth symphony and some other sundry jottings. It is an enigmatic
little fragment and a poignant close to a fine collection of Beethoven’s
piano pieces, played on a superlative instrument from his time by a performer
at the top of his game.
Dominy Clements
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