A 3 B's Evening - Till Fellner at The Austrian Embassy

How should Beethoven be played?

How did Ludwig van 

want his music to sound?

And what responsibility does the artist have 

in interpreting a composer's works? 

These are some of the questions

that were running through my head 

as I listened to 

Till Fellner at The Austrian Embassy

earlier this evening. 

Till is in the midst of presenting all of the Beethoven Sonatas

and tonight he performed 

No. 9, 10, 8, 11, & 26. 

As I listened to him perform 

the words

clarity,

and purity

came to mind.

Till played with a firm and gentle purpose.

With a calculated and calibrated precision. 

The concert was beautiful 

and

 Mr. Fellner is obviously very, very talented. 

BUT is this the way to play Beethoven?

When I think of Beethoven

I often think of 

forceful playing,

spontaneity,

capriciousness,

and music that might teeter on the brink. 

There was little if any of that this evening. 

I really have loved Fellner's recordings of Bach's 

Well-Tempered Clavier

and 

Inventionen und Sinfonien

and feel that his approach is better suited to this composer. 

I think his style might work well with Brahms 


and look forward to hearing that in the future.