Sold Date: September 15, 2023
Start Date: October 15, 2022
Final Price: $36.01 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 10845
Buyer Feedback: 0

1973 Radu Lupu Plays Beethoven Sonata in C Minor Op 13 Vinyl LP Record VG+
Record Grade per Goldmine Standard: Vinyl is VG+; Jacket has a small notch punch-out upper right
Beethoven, Radu Lupu ‎– Radu Lupu Plays Beethoven: Sonata In C Minor, Op.13 ("Pathétique") · Sonata In C Major, Op.53 ("Waldstein") · Sonata In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 ("Moonlight")
Side One SONATA IN C MINOR, Op. 13 "PATHETIQUE" 1.I. Grave-Allegro molto e con brio (10:05) 2.II. Adagio cantabile (7:00) 3.III. Rondo-allegro (5:00) SONATA IN C SHARP MINOR, Op. 27 No. 2 “MOONLIGHT 4.I. Adagio sostenuto / II.Allegretto ( (9:40) Side Two SONATA IN C SHARP MINOR, Op. 27 No. 2 “MOONLIGHT 1.III. Presto agitato (7:40) SONATA IN C MAJOR, Op. 53 “WALDSTEIN" 2.I. Allegro con brio (10:55) 3.II. Introduzione-adagio moltoI III.Rondo. Allegretto moderate—Prestissimo ( ' 5.10) Taking over the genre from Haydn, to whom he owed a good deal, Beethoven raised the piano sonata to a pitch of poetic intensity and dramatic urgency undreamed of by his predecessors and never since approached. His 32 sonatas show an almost unbroken progression as regards breadth of style and depth of content. They mirror his spiritual growth and intellectual self-discovery with even greater completeness than the symphonies and quartets. SONATA No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 (Pathetique) This work is the high water-mark of Beethoven’s first phase of romantic expression in terms of the piano. It is the most emotional sonata to date. First movement -Crave leading to Allegro molto e con brio. The spacious introduction, with the theme stated in the tonic and then in the relative major, leads with a descending chromatic scale to the fiery Allegro. There arc shadows of Beethoven’s Op. 2, No. 1 in the first subject, but how far he has travelled in the search for dramatic verity! The tendency to develop themes in the exposition is marked in this piece, and the E flat major episode, following the E flat minor of the second subject proper, forms yet another extension. The return of the introduction at the start of the development section and again at its conclusion is poetically powerful and structurally fascinating (cf last movement of Fifth Symphony). Second movement -Adagio cantabile. This uncomplicated essay in romantic lyricism, with the main theme interrupted by episodes in varying keys, was to prove the last conventionally organised slow movement in the sonatas. Third movement-Allegro. This a Rondo of strong dramatic quality with richly developed episodes. Note the persistent use of up-beats to impart extra urgency. SONATA No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 (Moonlight) This work is complementary to its companion in E flat, but the improvisatory quality of the first movement is even more marked. First movement-Adagio sostenuto. Nowhere in his piano literature did Beethoven strike such a dreamily poetic vein as here. One can well understand the tales spun as to the origin of this movement, but the miracle of floating melodic line rising and falling from the ceaseless triplets is surely self-sufficient. The exploitation of deep bass sonorities looks ahead to the final phase of the Sonata saga. Second movement- Allegro. The three-four metre of earlier scherzi is softened into an episode of enigmatic lyricism. Bass sonorities are again explored in the Trio. The whole is a necessary stage of half awakening from the reverie of the Adagio before the plunge into the storm of the finale. Third movement -Presto agitato. As in the companion sonata in E flat, the finale is the movement of power. Nothing like this had ever been conceived before- nothing remotely approaching it has since been penned. It is a lightening flash of inspiration. The shackles of formal tradition are cast aside with total abandonment: true, there are first and second subjects here but the organisation of the whole is fused with electric currents whose course is answerable only to an inner impulse of passion. SONATA No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 (Waldstein) By 1804, when he composed this spaciously dazzling work, dedicated to Count Waldstein, Beethoven's formal mastery and technical command were at a fresh peak. Here virtuousity is deployed in the service of vision and design. First movement-Allegro con brio. The melodic progression of the rhythmically propelled main theme consists of the three rising notes sequence already often observed. That it is lightly disguised in no way impairs its structural and poetic significance. The two-fold second subject, in E, has the same kind of serenity as the corresponding section of the Kreutzer Sonata’s first movement. There is so much development within the exposition that the development proper has to be of high interest to balance it. All the time basic figurations, ideal for capable hands, are used to produce ever-mounting tension, and the striking coda, using the subject groups in reverse order, rounds off a perfectly proportioned unity. Second movement - Adagio molto. Beethoven scrapped the first draft of this movement, probably finding it too long. It is now known as the Andante favori. This replacement sub titled Introduzione, is a moving prelude to the finale. Note the rich sonorities, the constant modulations and, again, the three-note sequence, first appearing in the 10th bar. Third movement-Allegretto moderato. This is a large-scale rondo, and the tempo indication is vital to its effect: the music is mined if played too fast. The noble melody, first played by the left hand crossed over the right, dominates the whole, and the motion pattern of the accompanying arpeggio figures is sustained throughout almost the entire movement, though its substance is slightly varied from time to time. Great power is injected by the dynamic use of long trills and the episodes have immense dramatic quality. The long passage of preparation for the first triumphant return of the main theme is shot through with lightning strokes of imagination. Note especially the great chordal passage which suddenly arises from five repeated C’s and the tense, syncopated episode which follows. The prestissimo conclusion with the theme in diminished form, is yet another surprise. Geoffrey Crankshaw




LP600