Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven ́s keys and the signs of the zodiac - 2 CDs
Audio
About this recording
Comparing the keys in which composers have expressed themselves is at the heart of my artistic and intellectual work.
The diversity and individual character of the 24 keys have by no means disappeared since Bach distributed the “Pythagorean comma”, √2, the square root of 2 (1.059463), around the circle of fifths (Bach, not Werckmeister!).
In my recording KEYS AND SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC, I demonstrated this in 2006. The connection with the zodiac is evident, and BEETHOVEN in particular played a major part in giving the 24 keys their spatial arrangement within the zodiac. This is why this recording concentrates exclusively on Beethoven’s language of keys.
To write a text about Ludwig van BEETHOVEN would be to “carry owls to Athens”.
So here is my approach:
Starting with his “Missa Solemnis” and the symphonies, I gradually made his entire repertoire my own over the years.
Although I began playing the piano very early, I avoided Beethoven for a long time. He always sounded too “noisy”, too overt, too coarse to me. Only at the age of 17 did I choose the Waldstein Sonata, Op. 53—going straight for the most difficult music—which caused me considerable difficulty, especially the first movement. The next work then came extraordinarily easily to me: the Fourth Piano Concerto. Then came Op. 109, Op. 57 and the Fifth Piano Concerto, and only after several years of “Bayreuth” did the invitation arrive from the BEETHOVENFEST BONN to work on, play and explain all the symphonies, “Prometheus” and “Egmont”, “Fidelio” and the “Missa Solemnis” over a period of several years.
Voilà…
Live recording at the Wiener Konzerthaus.
- E-flat major / C minor
- B-flat major / G minor
- F major / D minor
- C major / A minor
- G major / E minor
- D major / B minor
- A major / F-sharp minor
- E major / C-sharp minor
- B major / G-sharp, A-flat minor
- F-sharp, G-flat major / E-flat minor
- D-flat major / B-flat minor
- A-flat major / F minor
Total playing time: 115′24″.
Comparing the keys in which composers have expressed themselves is at the heart of my artistic and intellectual work.
The diversity and individual character of the 24 keys have by no means disappeared since Bach distributed the “Pythagorean comma”, √2, the square root of 2 (1.059463), around the circle of fifths (Bach, not Werckmeister!).
In my recording KEYS AND SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC, I demonstrated this in 2006. The connection with the zodiac is evident, and BEETHOVEN in particular played a major part in giving the 24 keys their spatial arrangement within the zodiac. This is why this double CD concentrates exclusively on Beethoven’s language of keys.
To write a text about Ludwig van BEETHOVEN would be to “carry owls to Athens”.
So here is my approach:
Starting with his “Missa Solemnis” and the symphonies, I gradually made his entire repertoire my own over the years.
Although I began playing the piano very early, I avoided Beethoven for a long time. He always sounded too “noisy”, too overt, too coarse to me. Only at the age of 17 did I choose the Waldstein Sonata, Op. 53—going straight for the most difficult music—which caused me considerable difficulty, especially the first movement. The next work then came extraordinarily easily to me: the Fourth Piano Concerto. Then came Op. 109, Op. 57 and the Fifth Piano Concerto, and only after several years of “Bayreuth” did the invitation arrive from the BEETHOVENFEST BONN to work on, play and explain all the symphonies, “Prometheus” and “Egmont”, “Fidelio” and the “Missa Solemnis” over a period of several years.
Voilà…
Live recording at the Wiener Konzerthaus.
CD I – 61′18″
1 E-flat major / C minor
2 B-flat major / G minor
3 F major / D minor
4 C major / A minor
5 G major / E minor
6 D major / B minor
CD II – 54′06″
1 A major / F-sharp minor
2 E major / C-sharp minor
3 B major / G-sharp, A-flat minor
4 F-sharp, G-flat major / E-flat minor
5 D-flat major / B-flat minor
6 A-flat major / F minor
Total playing time: 115′24″.