Klaviersonate Nr. 29 B-Dur op. 106 – 1. Teil

The “Hammerklavier” sonata is reckoned to be one of the most demanding of all Beethoven’s piano works. It was composed between 1817 and 1819 – following two years of crisis in 1816 and 1817 that contributed to Beethoven going completely deaf – while the composer was living at Landstrasser Hauptstrasse 26. One factor that makes this piece particularly difficult is its rapid tempo; it is the only sonata for which Beethoven stipulated specific metronome settings. Even back in the 19th century, there was some debate as to whether the setting prescribed for the first movement was correct and, by extension, whether it was actually playable.

The Austrian pianist Artur Schnabel (1882–1951) made one of the fastest recordings ever made in 1935, but he still fell short of the tempo Beethoven had demanded. Schnabel had made his public debut as a soloist in Berlin in 1903, which was followed by a number of international concert tours. In 1924 he published an annotated edition of Beethoven's piano sonatas, which he performed in full for the first time over seven ground-breaking concerts beginning in 1927. In 1932, he began work on recording Beethoven’s complete sonatas and piano concertos for the “His Masters Voice” (HMV) label. After the Nazis took power, Schnabel emigrated via the UK and Italy to the United States, where he worked primarily as a teacher.
(Constanze Köhn)