Baptiste Lopez / Maude Gratton LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Sonate No.3 - Sonate No. 7 - Sonate No. 10

Composed between 1797 and 1812, Beethoven’s ten sonatas for piano and violin are all masterpieces, among which it is not easy to choose. For our first disc in this repertory, we did not want to opt for the simple solution of unity of period, opus number or style, and in fact we built the programme by starting with the end: we very quickly realised we wanted to record the tenth and last sonata, which seemed to us the richest and most inspired.

Beethoven had forsaken the genre for nearly ten years when he composed this final opus, which stands apart from the others in its profundity and stylistic complexity. In our view, it belongs more with the late string quartets than with the violin sonatas: although its structure remains extremely Classical, the meditative, contemplative ambience and the gentle mood in which it bathes can sometimes make this piece less accessible for the listener. It is perhaps for this reason that it is less often played than the ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata, whose obvious brio and musical power make it more popular. Yet each detail of this final sonata is exceptionally beautiful, whether it be the twists and turns of the first movement or the hypnotic peace of the central Adagio. And it is impossible not to mention the last movement, a theme and variations rooted in popular music; its ‘divine vulgarity’, to quote Sándor Végh, unquestionably makes it one of Beethoven’s most visionary pieces.

Once this sonata had been put in place as the dramaturgical culmination of the disc, we had to choose the other two pieces, with the aim of making the programme as a whole tell a story, describe and shed light on different aspects of Beethoven’s language, and show the evolution of his style.