LDV80

THÉO FOUCHENNERET 21 The ‘Hammerklavier’ is legendary both for its title, chosen by the composer, and for its duration – more than forty-five minutes! Beethoven wrote very precise metronome marks. If they are respected, the piece can be played in forty minutes. Ambitious and monumental though it is, this sonata remains within relatively normal dimensions. Schubert elongated time, Beethoven less so. In fact, I think he heard speed in this work. The pulse is often too tight. If you calm it down, you adjust the musical time. Organisation and musical time are central points in Classical music. Yes, it was Beethoven who chose the title, and he was keen on using the German word ‘Hammerklavier’. It conjures up very directly the hammers of the piano and the Germanic spirit that emanates from this work. He had already tried to call the Sonata op.101 ‘Hammerklavier’ . . . The publisher refused. So I suppose he thought he’d try again here? (laughter) What’s your personal story with the ‘Hammerklavier’: a love story, or something more spiritual? Oh, love. Yes, it was love that guided me. Especially thanks to the slowmovement. For me, it’s the most human music that exists. It exudes a fraternity, a universality that touch me and speak to me enormously. The ‘Hammerklavier’ is often thought of as a very intellectual sonata. For me, it’s not like that at all . . . In the fugue, there’s a life force that just sweeps everything along with it. Beethoven develops this complex architecture the better to explode the material. It’s not so much sentiments as these energies that built my story with the ‘Hammerklavier’.