Beethoven - Sonata No.8 in C minor (Pathetique) - Op.13 - (complete piece)

This is one of the most famous and iconic pieces in all piano repertoire, and it was probably the one piece that made me fall in love with Beethoven's music, when I was still an 8-year-old kid. This sonata stands right in between the classical and romantic era, and was possibly one of the earliest examples of Beethoven's signature style, breaking free from the rigid classical features and starting to use some of the innovations from the romantic period.

The first movement has a striking contrast between the slow, solem, Grave section and the fast, lively and somewhat furious Allegro. The left-hand octave tremolos in the Allegro part were extremely challenging to me, and also, the fast, staccato-like, double-note passages in the right hand were quite tricky. The second movement has an iconic theme, with its slow, tender, and warm melody, which is definitely my favorite melody from Beethoven. To me, it feels like a sea of tranquility and peace, and perhaps, with some nostalgia from contemplating beloved memories. It is not technically difficult but requires great musical maturity, cantabile touch and careful voicing, to be played well. The third movement is a lively fast-paced rondo that is actually quite fun to play. It has a bunch of fast runs, but also some contrasting slower sections, in particular, with a chorale-like, contrapuntal, middle section that is absolutely lovely. In my opinion, it is nowhere near as difficult as the first movement, but great care must be taken with articulation and pedaling.

I dreamed about playing this piece for a long time, but to be honest I never actually believed that I would ever be able to do that. Even though this is probably the easiest named Beethoven sonata, it is still a very challenging piece, especially for casual amateur players like myself. I tried learning this piece before a couple of times and I failed. The 1st movement was just too difficult. Now I felt that my skills would be enough to do at least a mediocre interpretation of this piece, so I decided to give it another try. I prepared the whole piece for a live recital (which I did 10 days ago), and in that preparation process, I made this recording. I tried to do the full sonata in a single take, as I would play in the recital. However, due to the continuous recording time limit of my smaller camera, I had to stop and restart the recording in between movements. I tried to preserve as much material as possible from a single take, but I actually did some minor editings with parts of another take in the 1st movement. Overall, I think this is a good recording and I can finally move on and start working on other pieces.

As always, I am happy to hear your feedback in the comments. Also, let me know what is your favorite Beethoven sonata. This one was actually my favorite for a long time, but now it is probably his last sonata, Op.111 (no way I will ever be able to play that one haha).