Beethoven Bookends
Antoinette Perry piano
Navona Live and pianist Antoinette Perry are proud to present BEETHOVEN BOOKENDS. The album takes listeners from Opus 7—Beethoven’s personal favorite of his early sonatas—through the Bagatelles of Opus 119, and culminates with the composer’s final sonata, Opus 111. BEETHOVEN BOOKENDS is rich with the passion and dynamic range for which Beethoven is renowned; Perry applies what Le Dauphine Libéré has called her “irreproachable technique” to these legendary compositions. Her performances reveal a profound appreciation for Beethoven’s genius, as well as his iconoclasm. With careful attention to nuance, Perry exhibits both Beethoven’s mastery of classical forms and his desire to rebel against them. BEETHOVEN BOOKENDS, recorded at the Aspen Music Festival, puts listeners in the concert hall with one of the great living performers of Beethoven’s music.
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"Perry brings her inimitable vision to the classic compositions"
Track Listing & Credits
| # | Title | Composer | Performer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-Flat Major, Op. 7 "Grand": I. Allegro molto e con brio (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 8:57 |
| 02 | Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-Flat Major, Op. 7 "Grand": II. Largo, con gran espressione (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 8:50 |
| 03 | Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-Flat Major, Op. 7 "Grand": III. Allegro (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 5:29 |
| 04 | Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-Flat Major, Op. 7 "Grand": IV. Rondo. Poco allegretto e grazioso (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 8:02 |
| 05 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 1, Allegretto (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 2:58 |
| 06 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 2, Andante con moto (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 1:02 |
| 07 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 3, À l'allemande (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 1:37 |
| 08 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 4, Andante cantabile (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 2:00 |
| 09 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 5, Risoluto (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 1:19 |
| 10 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 6, Andante - Allegretto (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 2:07 |
| 11 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 7, Allegro, ma non troppo (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 1:20 |
| 12 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 8, Moderato cantabile (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 2:01 |
| 13 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 9, Vivace moderato (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 0:50 |
| 14 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 10, Allegramente (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 0:18 |
| 15 | 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: No. 11, Andante, ma non troppo (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 2:38 |
| 16 | Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111: I. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 9:56 |
| 17 | Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111: Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile (Live) | Ludwig Van Beethoven | Antoinette Perry, Piano | 18:03 |
Live from the Aspen Music Festival and School in Aspen CO, recorded at Harris Concert Hall: July 29, 2005 (Opus 7), July 25, 2008 (Opus 111), and August 14, 2009 (Opus 119)
The Edgar Stanton Audio Recording Institute
Edited and Mastered by Arthur Alexander
Forensic audio and final assembly by Michael Aarvold
Produced by Michael Patterson
Cover art by Maureen Perry
THANKS
These performances would remain forever buried in archives without the insistence and efforts of my dear friend and producer Michael Patterson, the Renaissance musician!
Many thanks also to my beloved daughter Maureen Perry, graphic designer par excellence! Deciding which of her three beautiful designs would grace this cover was close to impossible….
I am grateful also to the Aspen Music Festival and School community, providing my family with a quarter century’s worth of blissful summers. — Antoinette Perry
Executive Producer Bob Lord
Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
A&R Chris Robinson
VP, Audio Production Jeff LeRoy
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Sara Warner
Artist Information
Antoinette Perry
Antoinette Perry, born into a family of professional musicians, gave her first public performance at the age of 4. Since then she has concertized extensively throughout the United States, Germany, France, England, and in over 15 cities of the People’s Republic of China. She has been heard often on NPR and the Bravo! Channel, and has recorded for the Crystal, Harmonie, Pacific Rainbow, Pacific Serenades, Excelsior, and Navona labels. Her first solo album, BEETHOVEN BOOKENDS, was released under Navona Records in 2021.
Notes
Can one ever tire of Beethoven? I have lived much of my life blissfully exploring the nooks and crannies of his art. Even after working with one of his pieces a full year I could still discover something new each day: a motivic relationship, a philosophical meaning, a more complex and greater depth of feeling…. He is undoubtedly the Shakespeare in the world of sound.
Beethoven Bookends illuminates the breadth of his genius, guiding the listener from Opus 7, Beethoven’s personal favorite of his early sonatas, through the charming and varied Bagatelles Opus 119, culminating in his transcendent final sonata, Opus 111.
The “Grand Sonata,” so nicknamed by Beethoven, is rooted in the classical sonata tradition, though one can already see his impatience with the limitations this tradition placed on his myriad paradigms of expression. In Opus 7 we see an expanded form to accommodate the varied sounds and broader expressive palette of the symphonic orchestra. The nobility, depth, and spaciousness evoked in the second movement creates for us a new and profound experience.
Beethoven’s Bagatelles Opus 119 are best described in Berlin’s Allgemeine musicalische Zeitung review at the time of Germany’s first publication of the score: “A rapid glance shows us eleven pieces of music on a small scale; but an infinite amount lies bewitched in their magic circle!….veritable little pictures of life…” Some lyrical and introspective, some energetic, some humorous, these no doubt were the inspiration for Romantic era composers’ “character pieces.” The last piece of the set, sublime in its simplicity, was my personal farewell to many inspirational years at the Aspen Music Festival.
Opus 111, Beethoven’s final sonata (what could follow?) is thought by many to be the greatest work ever written for the piano. With it he has thrown structure as it had been known completely to the winds. The first movement (in c minor) portrays the tumultuous struggle between fate and humanity’s powerful emotional responses, transforming at the end (C major) into a feeling of reconciliation with what’s presented to us in our lives. There are no greater contrasting keys than c minor and C major. The second and final movement immediately lifts us beyond the turmoil of our earthly existence into the spiritual realm. It is ineffable, mystical, and without end, the piece seeming to continue without sound as the final rest lifts us to heaven…. Enjoy!
— Antoinette Perry
