With this release, pianist Angela Hewitt concludes her cycle of Beethoven's piano sonatas. Listeners may have disagreed with her interpretive decisions along the way, but the set has commitment and technical facility that make it impossible to ignore, and so it is with the Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 ("Hammerklavier"), and the Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111. The most distinctive music here comes in the first movement of the "Hammerklavier," where Hewitt runs counter to type with a reading that ...
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With this release, pianist Angela Hewitt concludes her cycle of Beethoven's piano sonatas. Listeners may have disagreed with her interpretive decisions along the way, but the set has commitment and technical facility that make it impossible to ignore, and so it is with the Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 ("Hammerklavier"), and the Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111. The most distinctive music here comes in the first movement of the "Hammerklavier," where Hewitt runs counter to type with a reading that tones down the sense of struggle and of being at the limits of a player's capability that the work usually has. Taking it relatively slowly, she places emphasis on the quieter passages, with the material in the big opening chords taking on the character of punctuating exclamations. She makes her ideas work, for the genius of the movement lies less in its Ninth Symphony-like extremes than in its density and its sudden turns of mood. The fugal finale in Hewitt's hands becomes not a...
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Angela Hewitt released her first CD of the Beethoven piano sonatas in 2006. It consisted of the "Appassionata" opus 57 together with opus 7 and opus 10, no.3 Sixteen years later, in 2022, Hewitt released the final volume of her Beethoven sonata cycle. It consists of two of the late five sonatas: the sonata no. 29 in B-flat major, op. 106, the "Hammerklavier", and the last sonata, no. 32 in C minor, opus 111. These are daunting, difficult works from the depths of the piano. It is moving to hear Angela Hewitt's performance as well as to hear the conclusion of the Beethoven cycle which occupied her for many years.
Hewitt writes extensive liner notes for her recordings, which offer insight into her performances. She discusses both sonatas in detail, but what I found most revealing was her discussion of learning these pieces. Hewitt came to them late in her career. She began to learn opus 111 in 2018 at the age of 60 and began with the "Hammerklavier" even later. This is inspiring for pianists at any level who learn new pieces at an advanced age. Hewitt points out that there were aspects of the opus 111 sonata she heard when young that did not move her to learn the piece, including the "jazz" or "be-bop" variation in the final movement. She came in time to regard the work as "one of the most sublime compositions a pianist can play". It is a work she reserves in recital for rare occasions. Hewitt says of the "Hammerklavier": "You need incredible stamina and power to play this piece, It's not surprising that Beethoven, once he wrote it, never penned anything quite like it again."
Hewitt plays both these monumental works, with reflection, thought, and passion. The listener hears Beethoven through the performer. Hewitt is best known for her performances of Bach, and her knowledge of fugue and counterpoint serve her well in her performances of late Beethoven.
The "Hammerklavier" is an enormous work. The opening movement is a thing of grandeur with Hewitt capturing its dissonances and outcries, and contrasting them with more lyrical, reflective sections. The short second movement features a trio which Hewitt says in her notes is a throw-back to the third movement of the opus 7 sonata, included in her first Beethoven CD. The long, deeply sad and meditative adagio sostenuto is the heart of Hewitt's performance of the "Hammerklavier". It requires concentration and repeated hearings. The finale passes through many moods before the notoriously difficult and triumphal fugal conclusion. Hewitt offers a memorable rendition of the "Hammerklavier".
The two-movement opus 111 sonata is concise where the "Hammerklavier" is expansive. The tension-building opening "Maestoso" recalls the opening "Grave" of the "Sonata Pathetique". The "Appasionato" "Allegro molto e con brio" also has echoes of the "Pathetique" in its driving, fateful character. It is a combination of both sonata form and counterpoint. Opus 111 concludes with a lengthy "Arietta", a simple song-like theme with four variations and an extended ethereal coda. Hewitt's interpretation of this movement owes a great deal to her performances of Bach. It is a moment of reflection, finality, and transcendent beauty.
Many gifted pianists have recorded Beethoven. Some listeners try to "rate" their favorites, but that seems to me largely futile. Each combination of performer and Beethoven stands on its own. I loved listening to Angela Hewitt play these two sonatas of late Beethoven. Listeners will be moved by her performances, whether these works are new to them or whether they have heard them many times by many performers.
