Performance Strategies of the First Eight Bars in Beethoven's Piano Sonata op.2, no. 1 – a Comparative Analysis of Thirteen Recordings Made in Different Periods

• Main Authors: Mirna Azevedo Costa, Ernesto Hartmann
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Associação Nacional de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Música 2018-04-01
• Series: Opus
• Subjects: Sonata para piano op. 2 nº 1 de Beethoven; conceito de sentença de Arnold Schoenberg; estratégias interpretativas; análise de registros de áudio.
• Online Access: https://www.anppom.com.br/revista/index.php/opus/article/view/556

In the present work we investigate the possible relationship between the structure (identified by Arnold Schoenberg as a "sentence") of the first eight bars of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata, op.2, no. 1 and the performance strategies perceived in thirteen audio recordings of the piece made by renowned pianists between 1930 to 2006. Comparing these two perspectives (analysis and performance), we sought to ascertain whether any guidelines were used, and if so, which ones, to direct the performance decisions of the group selected. A direct relationship was found between strategies to manipulate tempo and agogic accent that, although paradoxically contradictory when taken together, led to the conclusion that constructing tension towards a universally accepted point of climax was the determining factor behind performance choices.