Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
I recorded at least a dozen of Beethoven's piano sonatas and I still (fortunately) have most of the tapes.
This is the Sonata in F sharp major, op. 78 (the first movement). Although it's one of his lesser known sonatas (and one of the shortest) it was among his personal favorites. It was written in 1809, when Beethoven was already completely deaf.
This has always been one of my favorite Beethoven sonatas. It is not only technically brilliant, it's also extremely satisfying to perform.
I recorded this in Los Angeles when I was in my early 20's. I remember that, at the time, I had bronchitis and a strep throat.
(in my flaming youth I could work when I was sick. Nowadays I have trouble navigating when I'm well)
I recently transferred the old original tape to a WAVE file. Unfortunately there are a few annoying "skips" and "jumps" that weren't in the original recording, but I don't think it sounds too bad.
(I posted this on SoundCloud)
