BEETHOVEN 200: Moonlight and Metamorphoses

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Christen Bergs Allé 5,
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BEETHOVEN 200: Moonlight and Metamorphoses

Description

With sonatas Nos. 12, 13 and 14 we move into one of the most exciting periods of Beethoven's development. Around the year 1800 he begins in earnest to challenge the classical sonata form and to seek new paths for the piano's expressive possibilities. The three works show a composer in motion, where tradition and renewal meet in a musical landscape marked by experiments, surprises and deep poetry. The natural centrepiece of the concert is Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2, the famous Moonlight Sonata . Its dreamy opening movement is among the best-known pieces of music ever written, but the sonata contains far more than its famous prelude. Here Beethoven turned the traditional sonata form on its head and created a work that moves from quiet contemplation to one of the most dramatic finales in the sonata literature. The two accompanying sonatas show other sides of the composer. Sonata No. 12 is full of imagination, humour and surprising contrasts, while Sonata No. 13, with its unusual forms and shifting moods, points ahead to the artistic freedom that would become one of Beethoven's most important hallmarks. Together they paint a portrait of a composer who constantly transforms his musical language and paves the way for Romanticism. This evening's pianist is Jesper René , who has for many years made his mark as pianist, concert organiser and committed communicator of classical music. He is known for his ability to make the music present and alive for his audience, while exploring the historical and artistic context of the works. With a strong belief in curiosity, initiative and personal communication, he has created his own path in musical life and works purposefully to bring classical music out to new listeners. With Jesper René at the piano, the audience gets a guide through three sonatas that show Beethoven in the midst of an artistic transformation. From the playful experiments to the timeless beauty of the Moonlight Sonata, the concert becomes an encounter with a composer who again and again surprises, challenges and delights. Everyone is welcome, and admission is free. BEETHOVEN 200 A journey through 32 piano sonatas In 2027 it is 200 years since Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) died. The anniversary year is marked at Timotheuskirken with a major Beethoven festival, where throughout the year the audience has the chance to experience all of the composer's 32 piano sonatas. Beethoven's sonatas are counted among music history's greatest masterpieces and are often referred to as the piano literature's "New Testament", while Bach's Das wohltemperierte Klavier is called the Old. Together the sonatas paint a fascinating portrait of a composer who again and again moved the boundaries of what music could express. Most of the works are performed on the church's new concert grand, a Steinway Model D, but a few concerts also offer the chance to hear the sonatas on the fortepiano, the instrument Beethoven himself knew. The American fortepiano specialist Gilbert Martinez takes part in these concerts and gives an exciting insight into how the music may have sounded in the composer's own time. The festival brings together a number of prominent pianists from both Denmark and abroad. The audience can meet musicians from the USA, Armenia, Japan and Argentina, who all put their personal stamp on the interpretation of Beethoven. In addition to the sonatas, the festival offers a few special bonus programmes. Here you can hear, among other things, the Eroica Variations, Op. 35 and Beethoven's own four-hand version of the monumental Grosse Fuge, Op. 130. Beethoven is also put in perspective through works by other composers: Mauricio Kagel's virtuoso piano étude An Tasten (1977), which contains numerous nods to Beethoven, as well as Jan Ladislav Dussek's Sonata in D major, Op. 31 No. 2 from 1800. The sonata was written five years before Beethoven's Pastoral Sonata, Op. 28, and the connection between the two works is clear. Today Dussek's sonata is rarely performed, but both works point ahead to Romantic music and mark the transition from the classical style to a new musical age. Timotheuskirken's Beethoven festival runs from 24 January to 14 November 2027. All concerts take place on Sundays at 16.00. Admission is free to all concerts.