Beethoven Patreon Evaluation 22. Nathan Barnes

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Sonata no. 24 in F# Major, Op. 78 by Ludwig van Beethoven, as performed by pianist Spencer Myer. Recording used by permission.
Original performances:
Movt. 1: • Spencer Myer plays Bee...
Movt. 2: • Spencer Myer plays Bee...
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[@noelleggett5368]

Nathan: Thomas is right. This delightful orchestration reminds me of the infectious energy of Mendelssohn’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and Schubert’s 4th Symphony. Most of the intricate textures (delicate arpeggios through the woodwinds and strings) are brilliantly conceived, but one or two of the timbre combinations are not very well blended, and can be a little unconvincing.

[@enriquesanchez2001]

NATHAN BARNES: Sprightly is correct! Very easy and well thought out.

[@jadrianverkouteren3799]

Very cohesive. I really liked what you did here throughout. Craftsman-like and original.

[@edwardberden4752]

Nathan, what a really colourful and playful version.Maybe drop the F in the Timpani down an octave. I think it works better then. In bar 5 to 8, I love the eights in the oboes, but maybe doublecheck the Harmony because it conflicts in a way not "true" to the period.

[@scottjanssens9978]

Fantastic Job, Nathan. I will learn much from studying this.

[@peterbouma3943]

Great work, Nathan. I like many of your rewritings and additions, like the triplet answer in the low strings in the leggieramente, the imitation at the start of B, and the triplet ‘filling’ at the end of B. Pretty good natural horn writing, very effective. Also the piccolo solo is a pleasant surprise. Clever woodwind dovetailing in section B, and you even manage to keep the string parts fairly playable, although I think the many octave leaps in the second violins may not work that well (octave parallels are more a solo concerto thing). I think you could translate the piano figuration less literally. It’s not about the notes, it’s about functions you can separate.
On reh.B, you forgot to mark divisi in the violas. But actually, in the bar before B you don’t need divisi at all, you can easily reduce it to simple 4-part harmony. Piano composers (and Beethoven especially) tend to fill in chords for resonance. You don’t need all those doublings in a string section.

[@ConqueringFinale]

This is really cool. Love the triplets in the B section. Thomas mentioned Schubert... I totally get that!

[@allensbankmusic]

Very enjoyable Nathan. Thank you for sharing.

[@annadieckhoff]

Wonderful energy, Nathan! Great work.

[@herveorus7432]

Well done Nathan. very light scoring.

[@emilygclarinet]

I like your use of timpani and piccolo.

[@PeterRoos]

Very nice.