Beethoven: Sonata No.7 in D Major, Op.10 No.3 (Lortie, Jando) HD

B.’s 7th Sonata, much like the 11th, is one of those that belongs firmly in the “total masterwork that no-one listens to” category, and is the last of the relatively experimental Op.10 sonatas. For a start: how about the motivic economy of this sonata? Just listen to how often the first 4 notes in the 1st mvt (a simple scalar descent offset by a single beat across a bar line) recur in drastically different guises, or the first 3 notes in the 4th mvt. There is also the sheer wealth of ideas contained in the movements: the first contains between 7 and 12 themes in the exposition alone (depending on how you count), with yet another theme emerging in the development section. The 2nd mvt is one of the most profound and heartbreaking things B. wrote, comparable to the huge glacier of the Hammerklavier’s 3rd and containing some beautiful textures. The 3rd mvt features a punchy trio and a minuet that’s alternately beautifully melodic and very contrapuntal, and the 4th mvt is a marvel of careful construction: it sounds like a movement in continuous development, so cleverly is the main theme (and its recurrent motif) treated, and yet it sounds almost improvisatory. MVT I, Presto EXPOSITION 00:00 – Theme 1, opening four-note descending motif (M1) The theme is repeated 4 times, the second time in the LH, the third in broken 6ths, and the fourth with syncopation. 00:20 – Transition Group. New melody in B minor, followed by sequential movement from (iii) to (V). 00:44 – Theme Group 2, Theme 1, opening with M1. 00:55 – Theme Group 2, Theme 2. Note M1 in bass. As the passages progresses M1 becomes more prominent and its inversion appears in the RH, leading to an exquisite modulating sequence where the accent is placed on the last beat of each bar. Bb is reached, and then at 1:10 a strong cadential close on A. 01:16 – Theme Group 2, Theme 3. Based on Theme 1 01:25 – Theme Group 2, Theme 4. 01:32 – Tonic-dominant dialogue on M1, strongly recalling TG2, T2 DEVELOPMENT 03:23 – M1, 4 bars. Theme 1 enters in D min. 03:31 – Modified Theme 1 (rhythm preserved) in Bb 03:36 – Development Theme. D min, Bb, G min, Eb 03:56 – Dominant preparation RECAPITULATION 04:13 – Theme 1. At 4:24 diverted to E min 04:31 – Transition Group 04:53 – TG 2 CODA 05:42 – TG2, T4 extended for 4 steps 05:45 – Dialogue on M1. G/G min/Bb/Eb. The harmony thickens. 06:09 – Imitative treatment of M1 over tonic pedal 06:13 – Final crescendo over tonic pedal. Bass notes trace augmentation of M1 MVT II, Largo e mesto 06:25 – TG1, T1 07:30 – TG1, T2 08:27 – TG2, T1 09:26 – TG2, T2 DEVELOPMENT 09:53 – Episodic Melody 10:33 – Introduction of new demisemiquaver figuration (x), which alternates with preceding bar 10:46 – Dominant preparation RECAPITULATION 11:28 – TG1 12:57 – TG2 CODA 14:00 – TG1, T1 in extreme bass. D min, Bb, Eb min, then climbing in chromatic steps 14:46 – (x) over dominant pedal 15:12 – TG1, T1. Closing with Neapolitan flavor, before final cadences with dissonant upper tonic pedal e