On Sunday February 16, Ronald Gorevic and I will complete our year-long project of performing all ten of the Beethoven Violin Sonatas, which we began last March. It has been a great journey, letting us discover new perspectives on familiar works and familiarize ourselves with works that we had not played before.
It was wonderful to realize that there are no “lesser” works in this canon; the ones that are infrequently played are actually unjustly neglected, but every sonata is great Beethoven, full of his power, intensity, gravity, tenderness, and humor (actually, a surprising amount of humor!).
They are challenging but enormously gratifying to play, and we are eagerly looking forward to sharing this final trio of works: Sonatas 3, 5, and 10, representing early, middle, and late styles.
The performance is in Kellogg Music Center on the campus of Bard College at Simon’s Rock, and as usual for faculty concerts, admission is free.
Come help us celebrate Beethoven’s 250th Birthday Year with works both familiar and unfamiliar, but all great!