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Jean Muller | Beethoven: Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111
26:13

Jean Muller | Beethoven: Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111

Jean Muller, piano - http://www.pianistjm.com L. van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111 Sonata No. 32 Op. 111 is the last in Beethoven’s vast cycle of piano sonatas and one of his most mysterious works. It has always elicited interpretation, whether poetic (the most famous being that by Thomas Mann in Doctor Faustus, inspired by T. W. Adorno) or highly rational. Yet all these analyses are somewhat unsatisfactory and do not give plain justice to the extraordinary spiritual elevation this music provides. The first movement is often considered to be the last that Beethoven composed using the classical sonata form, and is ranked with his other major works in C minor. The pathos is reminiscent of that of the Pathétique and the 5th Symphony, though the tendency towards the disintegration of the traditional structure is undeniable. After a grave, majestic introduction, a long trill in the bass register leads to the allegro, where one can musically witness the genesis of the principal movement. There are several hesitating attempts to formulate a theme but there is no satisfactory result: too many pauses and ritenente indications halt the flow. Only after the short second theme does the entire main theme appear, and does so triumphantly in A flat major. After this very development-like exposition, the development itself is somewhat reduced, drawing us immediately back into the initial turmoil. The recapitulation, by analogy with the exposition, leads us to expect a final victory of the first theme in C major. But this is not to be, because the episode is now transposed to C minor. This is the key moment of the first movement, a simple transposition radiating exceptional energy and intensity. A brief coda concludes this drama and makes way for the second movement, diametrically opposed to the first. It is as if we move from darkness to light. The arietta theme seems to transcend the worldly dimension. The following variations, based on a diminution of rhythmical values, dissolve the melody, transporting us into the cosmic sphere. The logical goal of this process is a last rhythmic acceleration in the form of an extremely long trill as a final dissolution of the melody. The result is a moment of utter serenity, with time seemingly suspended. After the “motif seems to hover alone and forsaken above a giddy yawning abyss”, in the words of Thomas Mann, the melody of the theme reappears in its initial form after a brief modulation, creating a profoundly moving moment. After this "passionato" of the theme and the following crescendo, the music once again bears us to celestial spheres. Perhaps the trill in the highest register is also a response to the one bubbling in the bass in the introduction to the first movement. To conclude, I give the floor to Wendell Kretzschmar, alias Thomas Mann, “A return after this parting – impossible! It had happened that the sonata had come, in the second, enormous movement, to an end, an end without any return. And when he said “the sonata,” he meant not only this one in C minor, but the sonata in general, as a species, as traditional art-form; it itself was here at an end, brought to its end, it had fulfilled its destiny, reached its goal, beyond which there was no going, it cancelled and resolved itself, it took leave...the farewell of the sonata form.” recorded in Luxembourg (L) in December 2020 © Jean Muller 2020 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pianistjm Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pianistjm Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/54ymMT9NKlCfpcQGBBrIvC?si=90LMLKr2R_iS7G6sCigivw
Jean Muller | Beethoven: Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110
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Jean Muller | Beethoven: Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110

Jean Muller, piano - http://www.pianistjm.com L. van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110 Sonata Op. 110 in A flat major begins with a four-bar melody that, like a slogan, embodies the thematic substance of the entire work. Beethoven undeniably tried early in his career to bring thematic cohesion to his major works, but only with his last sonatas did he succeed in building a true coercive unity. The first movement continues where Op. 109 leaves off, in a state of melodic happiness amplified by numerous references to Mozart. The music strives towards absolute harmony, but this pure happiness is rudely interrupted by the allegro molto of the second movement. Brutality and maliciousness follow noble sentiments and light. The trio, composed of long sequences of quavers and accompanied by isolated notes that fall in pointillist fashion over the full range of the keyboard could be a piece of modern music. The sequences are closely related to the third theme of the first movement and seem to be sardonically mocking it. Just as in Op. 109, the powerful last movement brings the solution at the end rather than at the beginning. The recitative that opens the movement, followed by a plaintive chant, is a marvellous illustration of the sadness that follows the loss of the harmony of the first movement. At the end of this arioso dolente, all hope seems to be lost; the music is suspended. Then the unbelievable happens: a gentle, melodious fugue rises like a phoenix from its ashes, gaining in liveliness until it reaches a radiant culmination. At that very moment, just as the listener anticipates the final chord, the music falls again into the deep shadows with a repeat of the arioso transposed a half-tone lower. Beethoven’s indications read "Ermattend, klagend" (on the verge of exhaustion, plaintive). Despair and resignation fill the atmosphere; even the music seems to be decomposing as the chant disintegrates into isolated sighs. Just when the listener expects the minor chord, a sombre, definitive end, a pianissimo major chord is faintly heard from the lowest register and, repeated crescendo eight times, like an incantation, it leads to the inversion of the fugue. The fugue, "nach und nach wieder auflebend" (gradually regaining vitality) after many highly complex stretto in counterpoint style, gradually regains its original form – directly related to the beginning of the first movement – to conclude the piece with a moving, radiant final apotheosis. recorded in Luxembourg (L) in December 2020 © Jean Muller 2020 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pianistjm Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pianistjm Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/54ymMT9NKlCfpcQGBBrIvC?si=90LMLKr2R_iS7G6sCigivw
Jean Muller | Beethoven: Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109
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Jean Muller | Beethoven: Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109

Jean Muller, piano - http://www.pianistjm.com L. van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 Sonata No. 30 Op. 109 in E major is certainly the most accessible of Beethoven's last three piano sonatas. To paraphrase the german critic Joachim Kaiser, it appears to be the the reflection of an increasingly introspective, sublime and sheer melodic happiness. Despite the vivace tempo indication of the first movement, it begins with a tranquil dolce. After only eight bars there is a surprise: an expressive, almost as improvised adagio. The subtle dialectical tension created between the outward and inward movement is notable: vivace-dolce, adagio-espressivo. And this is interesting because Beethoven did not resort to such tension in the development he constructed using only the vivace. Despite the rise towards the recapitulation the development has less tension than the exposition. The recapitulation presents the main theme in the almost blinding light of the highest register of the keyboard just before the adagio (again introduced as if in parentheses) surprises us with a heightened expressivity and frequency of modulation. The last vivace is an attempt to reconcile the two principles, but to no avail, as the resolution is reserved for the last movement. The fortissimo and prestissimo of the second movement offers a shocking contrast with the dolce and espressivo of the first movement, increasing our awareness of the gentleness that preceded the halting, almost vulgar brutality that prevails here. Although it is composed in the traditional sonata form the second movement has the characteristics of a scherzo, but it is nevertheless far from being the pivotal point of the sonata. The centre of gravity lies, rather, in the last movement, taking the form of theme and variations. Immediately when the sublime theme rises, we feel that all that preceded it was no more than a preparation for this very moment. In the last movement, Beethoven also manages to resolve the antagonism between dolce and espressivo that was presented in the initial movement: the first part of the theme corresponds melodically and harmonically to the vivace section; the end of the second part resembles the beginning of the adagio. This analogy becomes increasingly clear in the remainder of the movement. The third variation metamorphoses the drama of the second movement into pure jubilation. But the veritable climax is the sixth variation, which reaches an ecstatic paroxysm after an accelerando using a systematic abbreviation of the value of the notes. The culmination is a twenty-three bar long trill – there is no stronger way of intensifying the movement and the expression. Such use of trills is typical of Beethoven’s later style. The cycle of variations concludes with a last presentation of the theme in its bare simplicity. This was atypical of Beethoven’s cycles of variations, and once again underlines the importance of the theme. recorded in Luxembourg (L) in November 2020 © Jean Muller 2020 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pianistjm Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pianistjm Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/54ymMT9NKlCfpcQGBBrIvC?si=90LMLKr2R_iS7G6sCigivw
Jean Muller | Beethoven: "Hammerklavier" Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106
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Jean Muller | Beethoven: "Hammerklavier" Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106

Jean Muller, piano - http://www.pianistjm.com L. van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier" “Now here is a sonata that will challenge pianists, that will be played in fifty years!” Beethoven sent off his great “Hammerklavier” Sonata Op. 106 to Artaria, his publisher, with this remark, one that is amply justified. Even today this sonata may be considered as the Mount Everest of the piano repertoire. It requires the most sophisticated virtuosity as well as intellectual and emotional understanding. This sonata is a milestone from the point of view of both its technique and its composition: even more than in the “Appassionata”, Beethoven’s prodigious compositional genius in conceiving his writing as a continuous process reaches its apotheosis. The entire work – and its sheer dimension is imposing – all stems in the most natural fashion from the initial fanfare, whose principal characteristic is formed by a sort of leitmotif, a rising third and a falling third. The dialectical tension between the rising and falling thirds determines the thematic, harmonic and formal substance of the work. This becomes even more notable in the final fugue, whose drama lies between the combat between the fugue subject and its inversion (thus between the rising theme and the same, falling theme). In the same way, the antagonism between B-flat major and B minor (Beethoven called the latter a dark tonality in his sketches for the Sonata), is only one of the facets of the conflict between rising and descending forces (the B minor tone is always reached through descending thirds). It thus becomes clear why the slow movement, described by Wilhelm von Lenz as the mausoleum of the collective suffering of the world, is written in F sharp Minor, enharmonically one third below B flat major, rather than in B minor. The basic conflict of this sonata is played out with such vehemence that it seems obvious that the dialectic between high and low is a vector of fundamental philosophical questions. At the end of the sonata, these questions remain unanswered. As Jügen Uhde pointed out, “Man thinks, but whether ‘God guides’ is left open, not denied, but also not affirmed here.” recorded in Luxembourg (L) in November 2020 © Jean Muller 2020 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pianistjm Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pianistjm Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/54ymMT9NKlCfpcQGBBrIvC?si=90LMLKr2R_iS7G6sCigivw
Jean Muller | Beethoven: Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101
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Jean Muller | Beethoven: Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101

Jean Muller, piano - http://www.pianistjm.com L. van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101 Beethoven entitled his Sonata Op. 101 in A major, composed in 1816, the “Große Sonate für das Hammerklavier”. Strangely enough, the term “Hammerklavier” has only remained in use for Sonata Op. 106, but already for this Op. 101, given the emerging nationalism in post-Napoleonic Europe, he specifically requested that his editor use “Hammerklavier” instead of “piano forte”. This sonata is both a masterpiece and a turning point in the history of music. It inspired not only the young generation of composers of Beethoven’s time, but also many much later composers. Mendelssohn used the same framework in his sonata Op. 7. Wagner considered that the ideal of the infinite melody was achieved in the first movement. Schuman was most enthusiastic about the second movement with its march-like character, an aspect found in many of his works. Even Hindemith’s third sonata has striking similarities with Op. 101. The appearance of the main theme of the first movement before the finale, prefiguring the 9th Symphony, as well as the presence of a fugue in the same finale (a compositional form that had barely been used since Bach) are surprising. Moreover, the fact that this fugue takes the place of the development in the finale, written in sonata form, heavily underlines the visionary aspect of this great musical fresco. recorded in Luxembourg (L) in November 2020 © Jean Muller 2020 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pianistjm Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pianistjm Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/54ymMT9NKlCfpcQGBBrIvC?si=90LMLKr2R_iS7G6sCigivw
Jean Muller, piano - Fantasia in C minor, K. 475 | Piano Sonata in C minor, K. 457 - W.A. Mozart
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Jean Muller, piano - Fantasia in C minor, K. 475 | Piano Sonata in C minor, K. 457 - W.A. Mozart

Jean Muller, piano Dublin International Piano Festival & Summer Academy 2016 Friday 29th July 2016 Hugh Lane Gallery Dublin, Ireland Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) Fantasia in C minor, K. 475 (1785) Piano Sonata in C minor, K. 457 (1784) I. Molto allegro II. Adagio III. Allegro assai ‘Enchanting Elegance’ will take place on Friday 29th July at 1pm in Dublin’s Hugh Lane Gallery, wherein Muller will be performing Mozart’s Fantasia in C Minor, Piano Sonata No.14 in C Minor and Piano Sonata No. 9 in D Major, as part of the 2016 concert series of the Dublin International Piano Festival & Summer Academy. From Luxembourg, Muller has been described by Gramophone as a ‘major talent.’ Following his initial training at the Conservatoire of Luxembourg, Muller continued his studies in various schools in Brussels, Munich and Paris. He has been the recipient of many prestigious international awards such as France’s Concour Poulenc (2004) and was most recently appointed Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre du Luxembourg. He has impressed on the international stage with performances in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Forbidden City Concert Hall Beijing and Alte Oper Frankfurt. He regularly performs with the Bavarian State Orchestra, the Münchner Symphoniker and the Norddeutshe Philharmonie Rostock among others. ‘We are exceptionally thrilled to have Muller’s participation in this year’s festival,’ said festival Artistic Director Dr. Archie Chen. ‘The ‘Enchanting Elegance’ concert promises to deliver exactly that - Muller has previously made a huge impact in Europe and Asia with his performances of Mozart and Liszt, and we are very excited to bring this experience to Dublin audiences.’ 2016 will be the fourth year of the Dublin International Piano Festival & Summer Academy and will run from the 23rd – 31st July inclusive. For its duration, a concert series of piano music spanning classical, avant-garde and jazz will take place in Dublin’s Hugh Lane Gallery and the National Concert Hall. The festival also houses a summer academy for advanced students of piano, wherein they avail of valuable tuition, seminars and masterclasses from some of the world’s most esteemed pianists and experts on piano tuition. Tickets for the concert series are available on eventbrite.ie and nch.ie. More videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsKWUQ0wE2LW-FG2rwX-HAw Visit our website: http://www.pianofestival.ie
Jean Muller, piano - Piano Sonata in D major, K. 311 - W.A. Mozart
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Jean Muller, piano - Piano Sonata in D major, K. 311 - W.A. Mozart

Jean Muller, piano Dublin International Piano Festival & Summer Academy 2016 Friday 29th July 2016 Hugh Lane Gallery Dublin, Ireland Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) Piano Sonata in D major, K. 311 0:32 I. Allegro con spirito 6:57 II. Andante con espressione 13:01 III. Allegro 20:25 Encore. Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9, No. 1 by Chopin ‘Enchanting Elegance’ on Friday 29th July 2016 at 1pm in Dublin’s Hugh Lane Gallery, wherein Muller performed Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 9 in D Major, as part of the 2016 concert series of the Dublin International Piano Festival & Summer Academy. From Luxembourg, Muller has been described by Gramophone as a ‘major talent.’ Following his initial training at the Conservatoire of Luxembourg, Muller continued his studies in various schools in Brussels, Munich and Paris. He has been the recipient of many prestigious international awards such as France’s Concour Poulenc (2004) and was most recently appointed Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre du Luxembourg. He has impressed on the international stage with performances in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Forbidden City Concert Hall Beijing and Alte Oper Frankfurt. He regularly performs with the Bavarian State Orchestra, the Münchner Symphoniker and the Norddeutshe Philharmonie Rostock among others. ‘We are exceptionally thrilled to have Muller’s participation in this year’s festival,’ said festival Artistic Director Dr. Archie Chen. ‘The ‘Enchanting Elegance’ concert promises to deliver exactly that - Muller has previously made a huge impact in Europe and Asia with his performances of Mozart and Liszt, and we are very excited to bring this experience to Dublin audiences.’ More videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsKWUQ0wE2LW-FG2rwX-HAw Visit our website: http://www.pianofestival.ie
Jean Muller - Reflets et symétries
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Jean Muller - Reflets et symétries

http://www.pianistjm.com/ "His playing is guaranteed to bring chills and thrills” - Fanfare Born in Luxembourg, Jean Muller is a pianist of the stature of the great pianists from the past. Achieving “miracles of virtuosity with apparent relaxed ease”, he imbues his performances “with his very special brand of magic” delivering interpretations “of the very highest quality” and “guaranteed to bring chills and thrills”. The unique mix of originality and authenticity allows Muller to treat the classics of the piano repertoire in a “revelatory” way: his Chopin has been described “as inhabited by Chopin himself” and his Liszt as “exactly as Liszt would have imagined it”. Jean Muller crafts his interpretations with the utmost care and dedication, approaching the great masterworks with humility, “recreative urgency” and as “a poet, colourist, architect and virtuoso” resulting in “some of the most phenomenal playing you could wish for”. In the words of the president of the ICMA, Remy Franck: “Muller has authority. Muller is an authority”. “Superlatives exhausted!” Hailed as a „major talent“ by Gramophone, Jean Muller has shown exceptional musical talent since his earliest childhood. At age seven, he assembled his first Chopin Etude and has been performing on stage ever since. Following his initial training at the Conservatoire of Luxembourg in Marie-José Hengesch’s class, he was exposed to varied pianistic schools in Brussels, Munich and Paris under the guidance of, among others, Teofils Bikis, Evgeny Moguilevsky, Gerhard Oppitz, Eugen Indjic and Michael Schäfer. Having received further advice by distinguished artists Anne Queffélec, Leon Fleisher, Janos Starker and Fou T’song to quote but a few, Jean Muller became a master craftsmen who combines “savage technical voltage” (Gramophone) with a capacity for bold and interpretive risk. He thus achieved the rare stacked-deck of every pianist’s dreamed triple-threat ability: “Everything is there: fingers, head and heart” (Jean-Claude Pennetier). More than a dozen first prizes at international piano competitions stand witness to the extraordinary impact of Jean Muller’s interpretations. At age 19, Muller became Lauréat of the prestigious “Tribune internationale des Jeunes Interprètes”, hosted by the European Broadcast Union in collaboration with the UNESCO, thus labelling him one of the most promising artists of his generation. In 2004, Muller won the “Concours Poulenc” in France by unanimous vote of the jury, collecting all available prizes. As a cultural ambassador of his country, he is regularly invited to play recitals during official state visits of His Royal Highness Grand-Duke Henri of Luxembourg. Among others, he has been performing in front of the King of Belgium, the King of Norway and the King of Sweden. As reward for outstanding merits he has been elevated to the rank of “Chevalier de l’ordre du mérite civil et militaire d’Adolphe de Nassau” by H.R.H. the Grand-Duke. Jean Muller has one of the largest repertoires of his generation. He has already performed the complete cycles of Beethoven’s and Mozart’s Sonatas for piano in concert. His discography won numerous awards, such as the Gramophone’s Critic’s Choice, International Piano Choice, DeutschlandRadio Kultur CD of the week, Pizzicato’s Excellentia, etc. He receives outstanding reviews from the industry’s leading media (Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, International Piano, Fono Forum, Diapason, Classica, Fanfare, etc.) and has been a featured cover artist for International Piano Magazine. His recordings are regularly broadcasted around the globe, and he has on several occasions had the opportunity to perform live on the famous programme InTune on BBC Radio 3. Appearing on the world’s most prestigious stages (Megaron Athens, Forbidden City Concert Hall Beijing, Konzerthaus Berlin, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Philharmonie Luxemburg, Culture and Congress Centre Luzern, Salle Cortot Paris, Arsenal Metz, Philharmonie München, Carnegie Hall New York, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Konzerthaus Wien, Musikverein Wien, etc.), he is also regularly invited to international festivals (Dias de Musica Lissabon, Münsterland Festival, Mosel Musikfestival, Festival A*Devantgarde Munich, Festival Echternach, Festival de Saintes, KotorArt, DKMF, PianoTexas...). He performs extensively with orchestras such as the Bavarian State Orchestra, the Heidelberger Sinfoniker, the Münchner Symphoniker, the Orchestre de chambre du Luxembourg, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, the Solistes Européens Luxembourg, the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock etc., under the conducting of chefs such as Pierre Cao, Frédéric Chaslin, Jack-Martin Händler, Christoph König, Florian Krumpöck, Zubin Mehta, Ludovic Morlot, Vasily Petrenko, Markus Poschner, David Reiland, Bramwell Tovey... Jean Muller’s next project in concert and on record is the complete set of Mozart Piano’s Sonatas. Jean Muller has been appointed as Artistic Director of
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