I just started in on the Appassionata by Beethoven,
and I do not see many pedal marks. Should I
stick to the music or should pedal as I see fit.

I have not played much Beethoven and his music
is sort of new to me.

Opinions ??

Thanks

Jim

In article comcast.dca.giganews.com>, John Rethorst nowhere.net> wrote:

:> I just started in on the Appassionata by Beethoven,
:> and I do not see many pedal marks. Should I
:> stick to the music or should pedal as I see fit.
:>
:> I have not played much Beethoven and his music
:> is sort of new to me.

Beethoven was well-known in his time for pedalling far more frequently than
he indicated in the scores to his music. You have to play it in the way
that makes the most musical sense to you, which is basically the option that
he was leaving to the performer -- despite his having in general given a
*lot* more specific instruction to the performer regarding interpretation
than was customary prior to his time.

I am a little surprised, however, that you have managed to develop a technique
sufficient to be able to play the "Appassionata" without having encountered
much Beethoven previously. You really ought to play more of his sonatas,
even the non-famous ones, for your own sake.

: I would get Rubenstein's CD of the Appassionata, Moonlight, Pathetique and
: Les Adieux sonatas.

Thanks for the reply.
Did some Kulu, Mozart and a few others but most
of Beethoven kinda boring to me. ( now don't start
throwing things) I am by no means a pro, but I do OK.

What I seem to find with Beethoven as compared to Mozart or
Chopin is you can see where he is going a lot easier. No right angle
turns. Fingering is easier as well. I really like this one a lot, and
I hope I am technically up to the challange. I'm sure going to find out. If
I finish it and
like it, I'll post a link to a preformance for all you pros to stick
pins in. It's going to take a few months however.

Regards,

Jim

On Feb 11, 7:58 pm, "Jim Z" tricomachine.com> wrote:

I assume you are asking about just the damper pedal. Following is some
information to help you get better at using it.

I refer to pieces by their actual title, here Beethoven Piano Sonata
23 "Appassionata" rather than Beethoven's Appassionata, which is too
informal.

"Neil" aol.com> wrote in message
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"albert landa" dodo.com.au> wrote in message
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"Neil" aol.com> wrote in message
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Pedals in Professional or non-professional uprights have NOT the same
functions as in a grand piano (WTF is a professional upright ?).

The left pedal in a grand is "una corda" and shifts the piano action so one
or two strings are hit by the hammers (instead of two or three) - so the
sound (timbre) is altered (rather than being softer) . In the uprights the
left pedal moves the hammers closer to the strings - affecting the
"loudness".

The middle pedal in a grand is the "sostenuto" pedal - it keeps off the
dampers of the keys played at the moment the pedal was pressed. In some
cheap grands, the middel pedal is a "sustain" pedal for the bass "register".
In the uprights, the middle pedal is engaging the "silencer".

The right pedal is usually called "sustain" pedal.

And, breaking news, the Fazioli 308 grands have a forth pedal - the pedal
moves the hammers closed to the strings so the volume is softer.

"Radu Focshaner" writeme.com> wrote in message
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