As the third of the three Opus 31 piano sonatas, Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 18 returns to sunnier moods and more playful days. The odd introduction soon launches into a delightful romp that frequently ventures into a variety of unexpected excursions.
#Beethoven250 Day 157
Piano Sonata No. 18 “The Hunt” in E♭ Major (Opus 31, No. 3), 1802
Czech pianist Slávka Vernerová-Pěchočová was supposed to play this sonata in a concert in March. Here she plays in unfortunate isolation.
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 18 is the only one of the Opus 31 trio that has four movements, but instead of a traditional slow movement and a minuet (or a slow movement and a scherzo as Beethoven had been prone to do), he made them a rowdy Scherzo and a lyrical Minuet.
The jaunty galloping rhythms of the Scherzo might lead you to think that this is what gives the Piano Sonata No. 18 the nickname of “The Hunt” but you’ll need to wait for the last movement to witness the horses and their riders recklessly galloping over hill and dale.
#Beethoven250 Day 157
Piano Sonatas 16, 17, and 18 (Opus 31, complete), 1802
If the Opus 31 sonatas together truly form an emotional arc, it might make sense to play them in sequence, as Romanian forte-pianist Ruxandra Oancea does here.