In a letter to poet Friedrich von Matthisson, Beethoven wrote: “You yourself are aware what changes a few years may produce in an artist who is constantly progressing. The greater the strides he makes in his art, the less is he satisfied with his earlier works.” (4 August 1800)
Of his Piano Sonata No. 11 (Opus 22), Beethoven wrote “Diese Sonate hat sich gewaschen” which has been variously translated as “This sonata is a first-rate composition” (Emily Anderson, Letters No. 44), “This sonata is really something” (Maynard Solomon), “a terrific piece” (Lewis Lockwood), “turned out splendidly” (William Kinderman), “takes the cake” (Donald Tovey). Literally, the phrase means “This sonata has washed itself” so perhaps George Grove makes the best compromise with “This sonata will wash.”
In his discussion of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 11, Charles Rosen warns against playing the 2nd movement 9/8 Adagio too slowly. Yet, when it is played slowly, it seems to reveal itself as the predecessor of romantic 19th century nocturnes of John Field and Chopin.
#Beethoven250 Day 132
Piano Sonata No. 11 in B♭ Major (Opus 22), 1800
Yugoslav-born pianist Ivo Pogorelić takes the 2nd movement much slower than most pianists, but quite convincingly so.
The 3rd movement Minuet and Trio of Beethoven’s 11th Piano Sonata is also interesting for its contrasts. Eric Blom notes that
it shows Beethoven in the twofold act of looking back upon the music of the eighteenth century and predicting that of the nineteenth. Broadly speaking, the minuet itself is music of the past, the trio music of the future … The stormy trio in G minor, with its angry rumblings in the continuous 16th-note left-hand passages and the cutting accents off the beat in the right-hand chords, is like a gathering of revolutionary forces. In a musical sense, it certainly is subversive: a violent overthrow of the placid courtliness of the minuet.
#Beethoven250 Day 132
Piano Sonata No. 11 in B♭ Major (Opus 22), 1800
South Korea-born pianist Eun Young Lee nicely captures the turbulent contrast of the Trio (at 14:50).
In his book on Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, Charles Rosen writes:
Opus 22 demonstrates Beethoven’s control of all the conventions of Viennese style. The works that follow are more openly radical. This sonata is his farewell to the eighteenth century.