This Autumn, I am delivering a series of ten lectures on Beethoven’s piano sonatas at the Rothsay Education Centre ( REC) in Bedford. For more information and to book a place, please visit the REC website or drop me an email.
Course Outline:
Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas are one of the towering achievements of western culture. They are at once a diary of his musical development from his earliest years to his renowned “late” period; a crucible he used to experiment with new ideas; and a beacon for subsequent composers. We will look at them in detail, exploring the circumstances in which they were written and their impact at the time; their influence on two hundred years of musical history, and their central place in the piano repertoire, even today.