The opening movement of the second of Beethoven Opus 10 piano sonatas has a similar fragmented and agitated nature as the first sonata, but it soon becomes apparent that we’re now in the realm of wit and humor rather than tempestuous passion.
The 2nd movement Allegretto minuet and trio is unexpectedly more serious, but the Presto finale is (in William Kinderman’s words) a “fugal burlesque,” and Kinderman cites German writer Jean Paul’s definition of humor as that which “inverts the sublime.”
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Piano Sonata No. 6 in F Major (Opus 10, No. 2), 1798
Young pianist Su-ah Ye performs at Kumho Art Hall in Seoul.
The second sonata of Opus 10 was apparently one of Beethoven’s own favorites among his piano sonatas, and one of several examples of Beethoven’s sense of humor.
#Beethoven250 Day 100
Piano Sonata No. 6 in F Major (Opus 10, No. 2), 1798
Hungarian pianist Zoltán Fejérvári performing in Montreal.