Matthias Kirschnereit - Beethoven: Prelude in F Minor, WoO 55 (Official Music Video)

'There is considerable doubt as to whether this work was really written in 1803. The unmistakable stylistic affinity with the Preludes of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Wohltemperiertes Klavier strongly suggests that it was composed in the 1780s while Beethoven was receiving instruction from Christian Gottlob Neefe (1748-1798), organist at the Electoral court in Bonn. It is noteworthy both for its key of F minor and for the steadily advancing quavers of its harmony.'
Matthias Kirschnereit's album 'Beenthoven Unknown: Solo Piano Works' is out now - listen on your plattform of choice: bc.lnk.to/Beet...
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The Unknown Beethoven - does that even exist?
Ludwig van Beethoven is probably one of the most interpreted composers of all time. Especially in the Beethoven Year 2020 there are countless releases of his famous works: whether the nine great symphonies, the 32 piano sonatas or other instrumental masterpieces such as the violin concerto in D major. For his new album, pianist Matthias Kirschnereit has therefore set himself the challenge of exploring and recording Beethoven's piano music, the small but nevertheless no less ingenious jewels.
"For me, the aim of this album is to present works by Beethoven, which are often not in the general focus, in a new brilliance. This includes pieces that do not necessarily aim to change the world. I am not an archaeologist who rummages in attics or searches for and finds unpublished works in libraries and archives. Everything has long since been published. Then I set about putting it together - and couldn't get out of my head," says Matthias Kirschnereit.
The album gives both an overview of all the important forms of Beethoven's piano music, such as sonatas, sonatines, variations or dances, as well as an overview of the compositional development of the great master. Beginning with the musical beginnings, such as the Rondo in C major WoO 48, which he wrote at the age of just 12 or 13 years, to the last of the musical aphorisms, such as the piano piece in G minor WoO 61a from 1825, a notation of just 13 bars, which laments the deep sadness about the probably greatest loss of his life, the loss of his hearing. Matthias Kirschnereit considers it one of the most exciting tasks of an interpreter to interpret these emotions or music psychologically. "It is always a magical moment when the work 'speaks' to you!"
Matthias Kirschnereit found it particularly exciting to explore the emotional background of one work: the Prelude in F minor, which was probably composed around 1803. When you hear the piece for the first time, you don't really know how to classify it. The stylistic proximity to the Preludes from Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier is very noticeable, and at first glance it doesn't sound that much like Beethoven either. But if you listen more closely, you will recognize the depth and pain in this piece, which could only be realized in this way by Beethoven. "For me it is like a conversation between Beethoven and Johann Sebastian Bach by candlelight, full of pain, loneliness and melancholy," says Kirschnereit himself about this deeply moving work. One can vividly imagine how the work was probably composed at night and how it must have felt to Beethoven like an intimate conversation with Johann Sebastian Bach, the other great father of music.
The little moments from Beethoven's life run through the whole album and the sometimes very short works almost seem like excerpts or single lines from a diary. Beethoven's life was very much marked by emotions and setbacks, which is evident in many a work on the album. But not the whole album consists of dark, sad pieces. The beautiful everyday moments are also depicted in musical miniatures, thus providing a very large, varied overview of the life of the composer, who was born 250 years ago.
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