Lugansky Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ( Tempest)

Ludwig van Beethoven (17701827) Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2 (Tempest) (1802) Nikolai Lugansky, 2021 From Mariinsky Theatre 0:00 I. LargoAllegro Dev. 4:31 Recap. 6:15 9:28 II. Adagio. Recap. 12:52 18:00 III. Allegretto Dev. 20:53 Recap. 22:44 Coda 24:19 The final movement, allowing for no such letup of forward thrust, moves inexorably in perpetualmotion fashion, gathering intensity from its oftrepeated opening motif (an austere threeshortsandalong), and finally dissolving in tranquil, cleareyed resignation. This is Beethovens only piano sonata in the key of D minor (the key of his Ninth Symphony), and the troubling ending in minor might be a confirmation of the composers frame of mind. In 1802, when he wrote the Dminor Sonata, awareness of his progressive and incurable deafness had sent him to the depths of despair, an abyss from which only his vast moral courage rescued him. Clearly, however, he was functioning on t