THE FIRST STEPS
ON A “DIFFERENT PATH”

The Sonatas Op. 31, which were composed during the years 1801/02, occupy a special place in Beethoven’s sonata oeuvre, as they mark a new beginning for the composer, which he described to his pupil Carl Czerny as follows: “I am not content with the work I have written so far. From now onwards, I want to tread a different path.” Op. 31 is a direct first result of this “different path” (even though the Sonatas Op. 26, 27 and 28 already clearly deviated in form, especially from the basic cyclical sonata model). Literature justly points out that – in Beethoven’s oeuvre – the Classical sonata model at the beginning of this phase had, in fact, come to an end. And, to the same degree, just as the all-embracing scheme from now onwards became increasingly individual, so the individual types of movement were also caught in the wake of the changes. For example, the first movement based on the sonata form, which so far had been considered a valid basis for a first movement, was broken up structurally without, however, rigorously doing away with the traditional foil. And to that can be added – for the first time in Op. 31, No. 2 – the breakthrough of a truly extra-musical category in the content matter. The reference to Shakespeare’s Tempest – as expressed by Beethoven to Anton Schindler – represents a blossoming of thought behind the composition, which is also accompanied by the search for new solutions for the form.

According to Alfred Brendel, the first movement of the Sonata in G, Op. 31, No. 1 presents “a mixture of compulsive determination and absent-mindedness”. Perhaps he was referring to, for example, the rhythmic complications at the beginning, which allow equally for either a serious or a humorous interpretation. The right hand continually anticipates the left hand in a fractional syncopation – thus making a rhythmic setting almost impossible. During the rest of the movement, Beethoven continually surprises the listener: instead of the second theme, the first theme once again returns in the tonic; the second theme is then presented in the “forbidden” mediant of B major. During the development, the first theme dominates; in the recapitulation, the second theme; after which the movement resolves itself successively in the Coda in its different segments. The slow movement makes an artificial – although highly subtle – impression due to its serenade-like elegance (or is this more like an aria?) with numerous ornaments. As far as form is concerned, Beethoven mixes elements here from both the rondo and the sonata movement. The Finale is a Rondo with sonata-movement elements, virtuoso, dance-like. The ensuing Coda is striking, and presents perhaps one of the most unusual ends in Beethoven’s works: the Rondo theme is followed by a pause in the Adagio, which transforms itself into a stormy Presto, until the movement resolves into thin air following pauses and muted chords.
The similarities between the Sonata in G and the Sonata in E-flat, No. 3 are amazing. Whereas at the beginning of No. 1 the listener is deceived rhythmically, in the first movement of the E-flat work Beethoven undertakes an attempt to pull the harmonic rug from under the feet of the listener, c.q. does not allow for any clarity with regard to the determination of the tone. The search for harmonic certainty determines the corner stones of the entire movement. In the development, no attention is paid to the impertinent second theme (as is also the case in the G-major work). The following Scherzo is actually not a scherzo as far as form is concerned – neither in structure, nor in beat (2/4 time): However, as far as character is concerned, it most definitely is a scherzo, as Beethoven plays here with humorous motifs above a staccato accompaniment. The traditional Minuet in E flat is a lyrical zone of tranquillity after the tense and often dashed hopes of the first two movements. Legato cantilenas provide a sophisticated peace, until the Finale breaks loose with motoric vehemence. A tarantella rhythm now dominates the scene, which apparently can be halted only by two pauses at the end of the exposition and at the end of the perpetuum-mobile movement, until the motif from the beginning is transformed into an effectively virtuoso ending.

Whereas the G-major and E-flat-major sonatas still have clear parallels, the D-minor sonata represents a strong counterweight. The “different path” which Beethoven had begun to tread is demonstrated here in a clearer and even more pointed manner. As already described above, the only piano sonata written by Beethoven in D minor brings an extra-musical dimension to the appreciation of feeling for the music, which at least helps to explain the unusual expansion of the form, without forcing the listener to search for similarities in the dramatic content in the music. Here, the “poetic idea” has the effect of a characteristic element in the soul of the work. The form in the first movement appears to be resolved. Where does the sonata movement really begin? Which is the first theme, which the second? The comparison of the most varied elements – arpeggio triads in the Largo, dramatic series of quavers in 2nd intervals, the final note in the Adagio turn – does not give rise to any clarity in the strictest sense of the word. Only after this does a stable theme emerge in the bass, in the form of a dialogue. At the start of the recapitulation, the broken triads return, at that point expanded around a six-bar recitativo, which introduces a reflective moment in the otherwise so stormy course of the movement. The Adagio again picks up the dialogue principle between the (here, three) themes. In the Allegretto-Finale, the broken triads dominate during the course of the movement; the themes hardly exhibit any strong contrasts, encouraged by a perpetuum mobile-like movement, which appears to do away with time.

MARI KODAMA

Mari Kodama was born in Osaka, Japan and began playing the piano at the age of three with her mother. Her family moved to Europe when she was six. Eight years later she entered the Conservatoire National Superieur de Paris aged 14, where she studied piano with Germaine Mounier and chamber music with Genevieve Joy-Dutilleux. Three years later, she obtained the premier prix and completed her studies with honours (cycle de perfectionnement) at the age of 19. While still a student, she won prizes at several international competitions (including Jeunesse Musicale de Suisse, Viotti - Valsesia, Citta di Senigallia, and F. Busoni in Bolzano).
After completing her studies, she was immediately invited by the London Philharmonic Orchestra to play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3, followed by a recital at the Southbank Centre. Gramophone reviewed her later recording of this work under conductor Kent Nagano as follows: "Mari Kodama's tone is beautifully shaded and she makes a lovely, liquid sound… piano playing of a distinctive sensitivity…It all adds up to a genuinely fresh, and refreshing view…" Since then, she has given concerts in Europe, USA, Singapore and Japan, where she made her orchestral debut in Tokyo under Raymond Leppard in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G.
Major orchestras with which Mari Kodama has performed include the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Norddeutsche Rundfunk, Dutch Radio Chamber Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, American Symphony Orchestra and the NHK. She has played under the baton of conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Frans Brüggen, Raymond Leppard, Kent Nagano, and Bernhard Klee. She has also performed at the festivals in Salzburg, Evian, Aix-en-Province, Montpellier, Verbier, Aldeburgh, Ravinia and Aspen, as well as at the Hollywood Bowl (USA), Midsummer Mozart (USA) and Saito Kinen (Japan) festivals.
Her chamber-music activities include concert tours with Mstislav Rostropovich, and this summer (June 2003) sees the opening of her own festival in San Francisco, in which she is playing with the Trio Plus from Vienna. Mari Kodama has also worked with pianists Tatiana Nikolaeva and Alfred Brendel.
Highlights of recent seasons include recitals at Mostly Mozart Festival (Lincoln Center), the Bard Music Festival (playing Schoenberg) and the Midsummer Mozart Festival (with Mozart Piano Concertos in San Francisco, Berkeley and Stanford). In her New York recital debut, Mari Kodama played in Carnegie Hall. She also performed in the Ravinia Festival’s Rising Stars Series and at the Aspen Music Festival, and gave concerts with orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic (at the Hollywood Bowl) and the San Diego Chamber Symphony. In autumn 2000, she began her second complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle in Los Angeles and Pasadena. The Los Angeles Times reviewed her Beethoven as follows: "She has an elegant touch, an admirable sense of quality and a rhythmic scrupulousness. She thinks in keyboard colors and has a rainbow of tints at her disposal. There is a feline grace to her phrasing. Also feline is the way she will pounce on a percussive passage -- suddenly, boldly, precisely, as if for the kill -- and from that comes her most dramatic playing. Her tone (…) was rich and gorgeous."

With an air of authority yet delicate in touch, Kodama plays with passion and fire….The sound is absolutely to die for.
Richard S. Foster HiFi+ Magazine

“Recorded 26-29 April 2004 at the Doopsgezinde Kerk, Haarlem, the Netherlands, these three sonatas reveal Ms. Kodama - as part of her ongoing Beethoven project - as a virile, probing musician with an articulate, flowing technique…..Very quiet, integrated, piano sound with no extraneous sound effects”.
Gary Lemco, Audiophile Audition

“Her playing is lucid and straightforward, conspicuously bombast-free. The slow movements are bright and lyrical, and without trying to reinvent the wheel, she subtly emphasizes the haunting beauty of the finale to the "Tempest" Sonata (No. 17) and the good-natured energy of "The Hunt."
---Mary Kunz Goldman, The Buffalo News

“I know that after listening to sonatas 16 – 18 on the most recent issue, PTC 5186 063, I will probably want to go back and hear if her previous installments are nearly as impressive as this one. ..She may not have a name that registers, nor record for a label that is able to plaster her (very pretty) face on billboards across the continents, but her playing, coupled with the excellent, rich sound….Immeasurably enjoyable.”
---Jens F. Laurson, Ionarts

“Kodama (like Kempff, in his more Classical manner) rescues this music from self-parody, and the “Moonlight” is the best thing here: a real chase through a stormy night on the moor, Brontë style. An unusual coupling, but further evidence for the seriousness with which the current generation is re-appraising the greatest Western music we have.
---Paul Ingram, Fanfare

“The piano sound is exemplary, especially as a piece like the G Major Sonata exploits contrasting registers in quick succession, and the high trills and bass tones neither ping nor shatter….Kodama meets Beethoven's hurdles with a healthy, driven panache, a real sense of brio throughout.”--Gary Lemco, Audiophile Audition