Soloist: Giltburg, Boris

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Composer: Beethoven, Ludwig van

Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-Sharp Major, Op. 78

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Venue: Fazioli Concert Hall, Sacile

Date of Concert: 2020

Playing Time: 00:10:31

Television Director: French, Stewart

Catalogue Number: NVF1243

UPC: 730099624312

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The darkness which held us in its grip in the Appassionata could not be counteracted more completely than it is by the sound of Sonata No. 24's opening. Like a hymn rising above the deep octaves in the left hand, these four bars seem to come directly from the heart, devout and almost in awe of being in the presence of something exceedingly pure and beautiful.

The sonata's nickname, A Therese, is a simple reflection of its dedicatee, the Countess Therese von Brunsvik, Beethoven's former piano student. Beethoven was much attached to the family: Therese's brother, Franz, was a close friend and the dedicatee of both the Appassionata and the later Fantasy, Op. 77, while Therese's younger sister, Josephine, has often been suggested as the addressee of Beethoven's letters to an 'Immortal Beloved'. (While this hypothesis remains unproved - and perhaps unprovable, barring a discovery of additional documents - we do know that Beethoven was passionately in love with Josephine, writing her at least 14 love letters between 1804 and 1810, in which he called her 'angel', 'my everything', and his 'only love'.)

https://beethoven32.com/