Overview

The thirty-two Piano Sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven form one of the most important segments of piano literature. In this accessible, compact, and comprehensive guidebook, renowned performer and pedagogue Stewart Gordon presents the pianist with historical insights and practical instructional tools for interpreting the pieces.In the opening chapters of Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas, Gordon illuminates the essential historical context behind common performance problems, discussing Beethoven's own pianos and how they relate to compositional style and demands in the pieces, and addressing textual issues, performance practices, and nuances of the composer's manuscript inscriptions. In outlining patterns of structure, sonority, keyboard technique, and emotional meaning evident across Beethoven's compositional development, Gordon provides important background and technical information key to understanding his works in context. Part II of the book presents each sonata in an outline-chart format, giving the student and teacher ready access to essential information, interpretive choices, and technical challenges in the individual works, measure by measure, all in one handy reference source. In consideration of the broad diversity of today's Beethoven interpreters, Gordon avoids one-size-fits-all solutions or giving undue weight to his own tastes and preferences. Instead, he puts the choices in the hands of the performers, enabling them to create their own personal relationship with the music and a more powerful performance.

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9780190629175

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This friendly, helpful, refreshingly nondoctrinaire guide to performing Beethoven is quite far from what appears to be a hornets nest atmosphere in American musicology today. It is addressed to thinking pianists who wish to make up their own minds about what Beethoven may have wanted in his sonatas. It is a book of choices, reasonably argued. * Benjamin Ivry, International Piano *

Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas: A Handbook for Performers is an excellent reference book, which helps any reader to understand Beethoven's creative genius, his innovations during the time in which he lived, and unusual facets of his personal life and character. For serious piano students and performers, Gordon's Handbook is an inspiration for teachers and performers to play more of Beethoven's sonatas and to have more knowledge about each one to play them better for an audience. It also helps students who hope to be performers. Kudos to Stewart Gordon for a book that deserves to be in every library of musicians who love Beethoven and his compositions. --American Music Teacher This friendly, helpful, refreshingly nondoctrinaire guide to performing Beethoven is quite far from what appears to be a hornet's nest atmosphere in American musicology today. It is addressed to thinking pianists who wish to make up their own minds about what Beethoven may have wanted in his sonatas. It is a book of choices, reasonably argued. -- International Piano Magazine Although there are moments, here and there, that synthesize research and approaches to the sonatas (especially chapters 1-3), the rest of the book presentsan expanded version of the author's excellent and thoughtful critical edition combined with Romantic commonplaces about the universality of music, debatable claims about Beethoven's intentions, and peripheral background information. In order to appreciate Gordon's observations about Beethoven, performers and readers would be best served by paying careful attention to the extensive commentary --Notes

"""Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas: A Handbook for Performers is an excellent reference book, which helps any reader to understand Beethoven's creative genius, his innovations during the time in which he lived, and unusual facets of his personal life and character. For serious piano students and performers, Gordon's Handbook is an inspiration for teachers and performers to play more of Beethoven's sonatas and to have more knowledge about each one to play them better for an audience. It also helps students who hope to be performers. Kudos to Stewart Gordon for a book that deserves to be in every library of musicians who love Beethoven and his compositions."" --American Music Teacher ""This friendly, helpful, refreshingly nondoctrinaire guide to performing Beethoven is quite far from what appears to be a hornet's nest atmosphere in American musicology today. It is addressed to thinking pianists who wish to make up their own minds about what Beethoven may have wanted in his sonatas. It is a book of choices, reasonably argued."" -- International Piano Magazine ""Although there are moments, here and there, that synthesize research and approaches to the sonatas (especially chapters 1-3), the rest of the book presentsan expanded version of the author's excellent and thoughtful critical edition combined with Romantic commonplaces about the universality of music, debatable claims about Beethoven's intentions, and peripheral background information. In order to appreciate Gordon's observations about Beethoven, performers and readers would be best served by paying careful attention to the extensive commentary"" --Notes"

Author Information

Stewart Gordon is a Professor of Keyboard Studies at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California. He is the author of Etudes for Piano Teachers, Mastering the Art of Performance, Planning Your Piano Success, and A History of Keyboard Literature. He has edited the thirty-two Beethoven piano sonatas, the Debussy etudes, and is preparing an edition of the Mozart piano sonatas.

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