III: This is the most complex motif i've ever seen spun into a genuine fugue. Can't say we're surprised it was Mendelssohn, the great promoter/resurrector of Bach.
I wonder how common it was at the time (if at all) to have such extended sections without bar lines, and then to constantly change tempo and time signature. And how in this world can anyone manage to READ such a frickin' score?! It's like Mendelssohn took a trip on a time machine to the 20th century. :-)
I enjoyed this even more than the B flat Sonata. That adagio was brilliant and demanding to hold together clearly and the technicaL VIRTOUSITY needed in the Allegro. Also hints of Arthur Sullivan's type of music Wow! Thank you Mr Chui for your wonderful performance and Mr Tujan for the upload.
Thanks for the upload! "The coda to the finale of Brahms' Third Symphony is an occasion for a return to the opening theme of the first movement, but this example of cyclic form is based on the practice of Mendelssohn, principally in the String Quartet in A minor and the Piano Sonata in E major." Sonata Forms, by Charles Rosen, Revised Edition, 1988, p. 352
@@alanleoneldavid1787 Good point! However, in Beethoven's Sonata No. 28 the material from the first movement is used briefly as a transition from the third movement to the fourth movement. In Sonata No. 31 the subject of the Fugue in the last movement only 'resembles' the first movement of the sonata. In neither of the two sonatas, the material from the first movement plays an organic role in the finale, the way it does in Mendelssohn's. You can see a similar treatment in Mendelssohn's Sonata in B flat major, Op. 106 (whose opening is inspired by Beethoven's Hammerklavier), except that in that case, Mendelssohn brings back the Scherzo (the second movement) about 2 minutes into the Finale.
This sonata must be strongly influenced by Beethoven. The first theme, and the whole sonata is structured and sounds like Beethoven's 28th Sonata. The transition at 0:50 sounds like the transition of Sonata No. 6 and 1:29 sounds like a part from the second movement of Sonata No. 27 :)
I think that's true, indeed, the whole sonata seems to be meant as a great loving reference to Beethoven... as if young Mendelssohn liked to hide hints to all of his beloved Beethoven favourites... He seems to have played all of B's late (or perhaps all) sonatas before 1825 when he composed this. And, by the way, also Schubert...
Dont forget Beethoven 15th sonata too (opus 28), i find that passage from about 1:10 to 2:05 (more or less) very similar to sone parte in 1st movement of op. 28. And also last movement reminds me of the third movement of Beethoven Les Adieux sonata!
played this for a recital. at the time, could not find any good recordings at all to help me out it was so underplayed...now we have this, absolutely fantastic playing!
@@ciararespect4296 i was just really torn between different tempi and some phrasing with the senza tempo in the recitative. sorry if thats supposed to be common knowledge?
@@b-louprint oh no problem at least you pinpointed where it could be interpreted differently. I prefer to just give it my own flavour and interpret it as I see fit Rather than copying
@@ciararespect4296 actually its not copying tho. all of us musicians want to interpret and also shed some light on our personalities and the emotions we've experienced through our interpretations...im no different. but hearing a tempo and comparing my thoughts and theres i can make a better decision because ive heard both options. listening to talented pianists is the best way to learn more for you to understand what you want for your own sound. we are not simply "copying."
This Sonata was a very conscious homage to Beethoven. It shows how Mendelssohn was aware of what Beethoven was innovating in terms of structure and harmony. He took a few concepts as guidelines for his own Sonata: a return of the 1st movement theme in the last movement, connected movements, 3rd movement fugue, and a tempo/meter-free slow movement, to outline the most basic. Check out Mendelssohn's Opus 106 in Bb for another homage, this time to the Hammerklavier. Much less successful as a work, but Mendelssohn was a couple of years younger! LOL