Dedicated to Antonio Salieri, the Three Sonatas for Piano and Violin, Op. 12 were published in 1798, and part of an extremely prolific period in which Beethoven wrote and published feverishly. It was a matter of establishing himself as a prolific composer of genius, and he somehow managed to maintain the quality of everything he wrote to great standards. It may seem as if the three new sonatas were modeled after Mozart’s mature works in the genre, but they already show distinct original traits. The partnership between the two instruments is appropriately balanced: the violin is no longer relegated to an obbligato role, and the dialogue between instruments integrates active melodic and contrapuntal exchanges. Unlike many of their 18th-century antecedents, a certain degree of technical virtuosity is essential in these works.
Beethoven preserves the traditional scheme in three movements, with sonata-form first movements, slow middle movements, and rondo-form finales. The first sonata offers a glimpse into innovative ideas, as its slow movement is a theme and variations. The third sonata, instrumentally the most ambitious, aspires to technical solutions that echo the richness of the orchestral textures found in the contemporaneous first symphony.
Violinist Paolo Ghidoni and pianist Marco Grisanti team up in this exciting album, the third of the complete cycle of Beethoven’s sonatas for piano and violin.
The recording was made by the producer Alessandro Simonetto with two pair of historical microphones Brüel & Kjæer, including 130 volts.