Song Of The Day: Oct. 24, 2018

Well, not a song, but a sonata. Perhaps the most difficult notable sonata ever written.  By a guy named Beethoven. But not difficult in a showy way. This, from Quora:

But the “Hammerklavier” is deceptive nonetheless, since it doesn’t sound like a flash-technique showstopper. That is what makes it Beethovenian: all its extreme demands subserve its musicality at all times. Beethoven seems to have disliked displays of virtuosity for their own sake; he wove difficulties into his musical structures instead of piling tricks on top of them. This is why op. 106 requires not only a very advanced pianist, but an artist, to pull off. Difficult as the sonata is, it is also extraordinarily beautiful, with what may be the greatest adagio sostenuto in the literature — a haunting, oceanic thing no lesser mortal could have produced.

I love music that strains against strictures and succeeds. This does that. Well worth 47 minutes of your life: