Beethoven's Opus 106 Leaves Reviewer Speechless (Almost)

Beethoven has such a vast quantity of music. There is such a vast library of work that it’s just fabulous. Some of his later piano concertos and string concertos were really out there in terms of introducing jazz elements and harmonies that are far removed from the traditional late- classical period harmonies. Opus 106“The Hammerklavier” is a fascinating work for the hands and displays the greatness of the piano and also the very feelings of the composer himself. I love the clanging B-flat major chord sequence that gives you that shattering blow that is produced when you just need to blow off some steam. It’s a fabulous finger flying work that takes a great deal of preciseness and precision to pull off. Your finesse must be top-notch. This piece is full of scale wise passages that somehow work their way back to their home keys in various guises. It makes me wonder what would happen to the world of music if Beethoven hadn’t been a big in it or in it at all for that matter. The way he used keys in the period of music he was in was indicative of what future composers would end up emulating and improving on. Enter the gongs of the beginning of the piece. I’m referring to the B-flat major harmonies that are such a huge opening to the piece. I could almost sense from those opening chords where Rachmaninoff got his lusciousness in harmonies from. It’s a huge outpouring. Take it from Beethoven himself, if you have deep feelings play them out on the piano, or write them out in a score, or just play this magnificent piece. Believe me, you will feel better afterward. One of the common things that many composers use in their works is the use of the left hand octave. The left hand octave is in use here as well in fabulous form. The over-arching harmonies start in B-flat then go to a D tonality, an F tonality and a B natural tonality. It is almost as though he’s using the circle of fifths to get his piece done to the highest dramatic degree. The harmonies in the piece alone are enough to make one speechless. Take your time and listen intently to this work and see if you can identify all the harmonic awesomeness going on here. It certainly opens up the ears. I’m only eight or nine minutes in. Stay tuned for the full 40:52 runtime and you’ll be on operation overload in your ears!