Gould/Beethoven Sonata No.16 in G major, op.31 No.1

Beethoven's Piano Sonata no.16 was composed between 1801-02. Although it was numbered as the first piece in the trio of sonatas Op. 31 Beethoven actually finished it after Op.31 no.2, the Tempest Sonata. Due to his dissatisfaction with the classical style of music, Beethoven pledged to take a new path of musical composition and style. These works are amongst the first examples of Beethoven's new and unconventional ideas, an attempt to make a name for himself in the annals of music history. It is important to take into account that these pieces were written after the famous Heiligenstadt Testament of 1802. This sonata is light, breezy and has touches of humour and irony in its movements. The first movement begins in an animated fashion. The humorous main theme is littered with brisk, semiquaver passages, and chords written in a stuttering fashion, suggesting that the hands are unable to play in unison with one another. With long, drawn out trills and reflective pauses, the second movement is more sentimental. Apart from the Hammerklavier Sonata's Adagio and the 32nd sonata's second movement, this is the longest slow movement of Beethoven in the piano sonatas (around 11 minutes). According to many great pianists this movement is a parody of Italian opera; it is typical of the Viennese atmosphere, with its waltz-like rythm. The last movement is similar in character to the first movement: light, enthusiastic, and youthful. Here, a single simple theme is varied, ornamented, syncopated, modulated throughout the piece. After a brief Adagio section, the piece ends with a Presto coda. A typical performance lasts about 20 minutes, the exact duration of Gould's. I. Allegro vivace 4'14" II. Adagio grazioso 8'50" III. Rondo. Allegretto 6'48" Recorded in Toronto, August 1971/May 1973