Beethoven impression

Hello everyone. 
I tried to compose a Beethoven impression.

Any feedback is much appreciated.

Thank you very much. 

This isn’t really so much of a direct or specific feedback, but, In my opinion, this piece showcases what people tend to think of when they think Beethoven.

However, it is a common misconception that Beethoven’s music is all loud and fast. From what I read years ago, that is only true around 10-20% of the time. Even in the fastest passages such as the 3rd mvmt of the C# quasi una fantasia piano sonata, the dynamic stays at piano most of the time.

Hey @Bjarke,

Talk about this music alone, it's amazing! What a fiery power it has! My favourite part is b.89 when the B minor section is returning to c minor. What a modulation you have there combined with power!

To talk about Beethoven quotation, this is definitely dominanted by the fate motive. B.26 reminds me of the first movement of Waldstein. B.33 reminds me of his Appassionata. B.47 reminds me of the fugue subject of the Hammerklavier. B.97 is a quotation of Bee's op.2 no.1, last movement right?

Talking of Beethovanian cliche, however, I agree with @PCC. People always think Beethoven a loud and sf guy like an angry emperor. Just listen to his slow movements of his late quartets, or the last three piano sonatas, or Missa Solemnis. He's much more than fast and loud. This piece is no exception, but it's just an impression so it's fine since Bee does give that impression to many people.

The accents in b.5,7, 46, 48 etc in LH is literally unplayable with this kind of speed. It maybe playable for a computer rendition but not for a hand!

Thanks for sharing!

Henry

Thank you very much both of you. Good points. It made me realize that to do a good impression you should probably go a bit deeper into the composers music rather than staying on the surface. It's actually really valuable feedback.

Thanks! 🙂

Despite I agree with Henry and PCC on the Beethoven cliché, I would say that I really liked the frenetic mood your piece gives. 

Kind regards,
Daniel–Ømicrón.

To me the mp3 is really quiet and hard to discern the bass notes.  But this style of incessant intensity would be even more grating and harsh (at least to me) if it was louder.  I hope that I don't need to mention that collections of scales and arpeggios aren't very substantive musical material.  I don't find that this piece has any essence that it's trying to communicate to the listener.  Perhaps besides its constant propulsive drive which is its defining characteristic.  If combined with a melodic sensibility and formal structure this could however be quite exciting though.  So keep composing and thanks for sharing!

It is precisely how he keep things soft for more time that the loud moments become especially capturing

Really good stuff here! Your second half really killed it in my opinion. I'm imagining how this would sound in a live performance, and I think it would do very well on stage. The only thing that may worry me are the lack of pauses and continuous fast playing for a 3 minute piece. Chopin had a presto prelude that went on for about a minute nonstop. And his Scherzos are difficult, but they do still have pauses. However, a 3 minute piece with constant playing like this at one pace is quite a different story. I'm conflicted though because this sounds soooo good.

You should watch my Beethoven videos actually. I feel like I am spamming you with my YouTube videos lately lol, but I actually talk about Beethoven and his craft around his rhythms which you may find interesting, especially if you are into Beethoven. Feel free to check them out at your own leisure:

• The Intricacies of Beethoven's Rhythms
• A Fur Elise Time Lapse

Both videos talk about Beethoven and his usage of rhythms, and the reliance upon a metronome in order to play his music correctly.