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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) 1st half of the sonata in F major, opus 5 No.1 0:03 Adagio sostenuto 3:04 Allegro Božo Paradžik, double bass Hansjacob Staemmler, piano Recorded live in Freiburg (D) on January 26th, 2012 in the large concert hall of the Musikhochschule Freiburg, on a recital where five Beethoven's sonatas were performed. About the piece: Domenico Dragonetti, the greatest double bass virtuoso of his time played in Vienna around 1800 together with Beethoven (who played the piano part) Beethoven's sonata in G minor, opus 5 No.2. This historical fact has inspired me to play my first Beethoven's cello sonata ( in A major, back in 1999) and after that I've performed one by one also another five cello sonatas by Beethoven, including composer's cello version of the sonata , that is originally composed for horn and piano. Pianist Hansjacob Staemmler and myself have performed on this recital five of those six Beethoven's sonatas (all except in A major, as it needs a different tuning). This is the first performance of sonata opus 5 No.1 in F major on double bass, as much as I know. Beethoven was going for extremes in his music- and I was going after them, besides the highest performance quality which was always my first goal. These sonatas don't sound natural with modern cello and piano anymore, the reason is obvious: the evolution of these instruments changed their sound in opposite directions since Beethoven's lifetime. Cello won louder and sharper A string, but the rest got thinner and weaker. All large cellos, common during Beethoven's lifetime (also Beethoven's cello was the large one), have been meanwhile reshaped and cut to a smaller form. At the same time, pianos became much louder and more massive than before. Negative volume balance and a sharp sound on the cello side was the result. A problem for the interpretation on cello is the big influence of numerous famous cellists who recorded all Beethoven's sonatas, because too few of them have spent enough time as orchestra players. I think it is extremely difficult, maybe even impossible to feel the core of Beethoven's composing without performing all his symphonies at least couple of times as an orchestra player. In the real life, it takes years of playing in an orchestra until one performs all the symphonies just once. Lack of that experience can barely be compensated- the power of Beethoven's extreme dynamics pushes the players until the limits, especially in chamber music. I have used here tuning higher than usual (with high C string) which makes out of double bass a natural baritone instrument. Its compass is perfect for Beethoven's cello sonatas, so everything is preserved in original octaves, however the volume of this instrument in middle range and at the low end is a stronger than any cello and can match fully open Steinway D played with a full sound. I tried to use extremely soft pianissimos and extremely powerful sforzandos, the way I know it from 14 years of playing Beethoven's symphonies in the orchestra. It resulted in an interesting interpretation, different than anything I knew from listening cello recordings. I am gladly sharing it here, I think this is a nice and refreshing alternative to listen at- and I hope some will like it. Tools: Double bass made by Derek High, 2000 Scordatura: c-G-D-A contra (high C tuning, in fourths) Bow “sunlight“ made by Milan Oubrecht 2007 Gut strings model “Drago“, hand-made by Gerold Genssler 2010 Audio recording: Schoeps microphones, MOTU firewire interface, PC with Samplitude by Magix and Cuebase by Steinberg software Video recording: mainly hacked Panasonic GH1 and GH2 mirrorless cameras with vintage Nikkor and Canon lenses and various camcorders Special thanks to Kim Go-Un (herself a very talented pianist) for turning us the pages of the piano score during this long recital. Find more our videos with Beethoven sonatas in the playlist “Double Bass Goes BEETHOVEN“: #doublebassgoesbeethoven #classicalmusic #doublebass #bow #uprightbass #beethoven #integral #virtuoso #beautifulmusic #bassist #soloist #bozoparadzik
