Power, Passion and Ecstasy: Beethoven Piano Sonatas Virginia Black

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 "Tempest":
• 1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 "Tempest": I. Largo - Allegro 08:16
• 2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 "Tempest": II. Adagio 05:55
• 3 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 "Tempest": III. Allegretto 07:11
• Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique":
• 4 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique": I. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio 09:18
• 5 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique": II. Adagio cantabile 05:10
• 6 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique": III. Rondo. Allegro 04:32
• Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-Flat Major, Op. 110:
• 7 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-Flat Major, Op. 110: I. Moderato Cantabile, Molto Espressivo 06:44
• 8 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-Flat Major, Op. 110: II. Allegro molto 02:27
• 9 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-Flat Major, Op. 110: III. Adagio ma non troppo 09:27
• Total Runtime 59:00

Info zu Power, Passion and Ecstasy: Beethoven Piano Sonatas

Virginia Black returns to the keyboard and her lifelong love: Beethoven’s piano sonatas. The 3 sonatas programmed here afford us a window onto Beethoven’s life and his increasing struggle with hearing loss. We meanwhile experience Beethoven at his best: breaking the rules of the sonata form.​

"This collection of Beethoven piano works recorded by Virginia Black, the three sonata’s recorded (Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, and Sonata no. 31 in A-flat major), were chosen by Virginia as a expressing the Power, Passion, and Ecstasy of Beethoven’s work. “What an impossible task- to select for this recording just three out of Beethoven's extraordinary body of piano sonatas! I've settled on three from different periods of his life, both to demonstrate the striking originality of his output and to illustrate how the challenges of his difficult life and health are reflected in his music. These sonatas express so excitingly the elemental power of Beethoven's music and its impact on the human psyche. The three Sonatas are perfect examples of how Beethoven broke the rules of composition that preceded him, establishing his own trademark style. Loud, soft; fast, slow; dramatic key changes; silences ...harmonically daring, provocative, surprising. The uncompromising emotion and energy in Beethoven's music, combined with his propensity to break the compositional 'rules' of the day, is what leads to the visceral thrill these sonatas provide. No wonder the Pathetique reportedly had ladies swooning in the aisles at early performances by Beethoven himself! It's illuminating to listen to Beethoven's works with an awareness of his personality and mental state at the time of composition, and in the notes that follow, John Suchet sets the scene for us. I'm indebted to John for so vividly setting the piano sonatas in the context of Beethoven's life and times. PASSION is the word most associated with Beethoven and, ultimately, the only thing that really mattered to him was his music. For that reason, perhaps, the best way to listen to these sonatas is to allow yourself to be drawn into the music, and to be swept along by the emotion, to share in Beethoven's passion, and to be consumed by it!” Virginia Black"

Virginia Black, piano

Virginia Black
started playing the piano aged 7. Her talent was soon recognised and, through a subscription funding with family and friends, she was lucky enough to be given her first grand piano at age 12 – a Bechstein – which she still has and plays with pleasure. After winning many piano competitions in her early years, she made her ‘senior’ public debut at the age of 17, playing Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

She subsequently won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, with the piano as principal study, where she won the Lillian Davies Beethoven Prize and the Dove prize; she also gained the inter-college Raymond Russell Prize for harpsichord performance and was awarded DipRam for her final recital.

Whilst playing the harpsichord, which she had taken as a second study, her precocious talent was soon recognised and she made her debut as a solo recitalist at Wigmore Hall in London, at the age of 20, whilst still a student at the RAM. She received rave reviews from national newspapers such as the Times, Telegraph and Guardian and was much in demand from then on for public recitals, recording for CDs and for radio and TV, and appearances at international festivals notably the Prague Spring Festival and the York Early Music Festival. She has subsequently performed in many of the world’s major concert venues including London’s South Bank and Kings Place, Sydney Opera House and the Théâtre Grévin in Paris.

In 2010 Virginia decided to return to her roots as a pianist, initially playing some of the Baroque repertoire so familiar to her from her harpsichord career. Having been something of a pioneer on the harpsichord, she now champions bringing the solo keyboard repertoire of Bach, Mozart, Scarlatti and Rameau to the piano. She is passionate to show how the modern grand piano can be used to enhance Baroque music in particular through singing tone and tonal nuance.

She has significantly broadened her piano repertoire, which now includes keyboard works by Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin, Handel and Haydn in addition to her previous baroque repertoire, and she is adding some more modern works. Virginia continues to be much in demand internationally for her recitals, recordings and performance masterclasses.

In parallel with her performing career, Virginia continued her role at the Royal Academy of Music as a professor of harpsichord and in 1998 was appointed chair of postgraduate studies and senior postgraduate tutor. She also continued to give performance classes to advanced students of all instruments.

Virginia is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM) an honour limited to 300 members. It is “Awarded to alumni who have distinguished themselves within their field, commanding national or international recognition.”

Beginning in her early 20s, Virginia has pursued a dazzling worldwide performing career spanning nearly 5 decades, initially specialising in the virtuoso harpsichord repertoire (“…one of the world’s finest harpsichordists” – Daily Telegraph) and has made many critically acclaimed recordings, TV and radio appearances. “…her passion for the music shines through” - BBC Classical Music Magazine

Her harpsichord style was a dramatic change from that of the other leading players of the day, featuring the instrument itself prominently and consisting largely of the virtuosic repertoire. Reactions to her concert performances led to her playing being characterised as “…authoritative, elegant and with obvious enjoyment of the virtuoso passages.” and “…genuinely describable as exciting and thrilling…”

Virginia’s recording of the Goldberg Variations, perhaps the most famous and virtuosic of Bach’s compositions for the harpsichord, was “first choice” in Gramophone and “collectors choice” in Classic CD, in a direct comparison with recordings made by several acknowledged ‘greats’ of harpsichord performance – Andras Schiff, Wanda Landowska, Gustav Leonhardt and Glenn Gould. Her recording was described as a “…a superb, life-enhancing issue”. Since 2010 she has returned to her roots as a pianist and she travels the world playing both her previous Baroque harpsichord repertoire – including JS Bach, CPE Bach, Mozart, Rameau, Scarlatti and Soler – and also major piano works from later periods including Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin.

Her consummate musicianship has always captivated audiences and has been described as “intimate”, “thrilling”, “authoritative”, “communicative” and “gorgeously inflected”.

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