Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Any advice? I want to learn Beethoven's Waldstein sonata

Hi everyone,

Well, anyway before I left canada, I asked my teacher to assign me pieces. She did and said specifically that she wanted me to learn Beethoven's sonata op.10 no.2 before anything else, then highly recommended that I do a study on his works and learn a few others as well.
She did'nt specify which other ones, she just said not the last 4.

so I have decided to learn Waldstein, my reason being that I really love this sonata and would like to challenge myself, not to the extreme end but something that would be within my grasp even if it may take a little longer.

any advice as to how I should go about learning this sonata? this will be my hardest piece that i've learnt so far if I do suceed

I've only done the first movement (and still working on it). The most difficult technical part for me is getting the left hand multi-note tremelos up to speed. In a couple spots I have played the final tremelo note with the right hand thumb so the left hand can jump down to the next note on 1. Has anyone else tried that?

When I told my teacher I wanted to work on the Appassionata, he said, "well, you've studied 3 or 4 Beethoven Sonatas already - but you need to do a couple more before you're ready to tackle that one" so I'm working the Tempest right now. The only advice I have for the Waldstein or any other you might do first is to get the Henley edition. I have the entire collection in the Schirmer two-volume set and apparently the editorial markings in the Schirmer are not very good (taking a lot of inappropriate license), and some of the recommended fingerings are bizarre.

I used to be a Schirmer fan until I discovered Henley. They are far superior to any other publisher I have used because the printing is very clear, they don't take a lot of liberties editing, the pages are thick and sturdy and the binding holds together well. I try to buy Henley for all composers. It's a bit expensive but, I think, worth it.

Henle, please.

Pricey, but worth it.

I agree.

I never heard of "Henley" which two other posters mentioned.

I recommend the Liszt Etudes as a special deal- 40$, but the print is extremely clear and easy to read. Beautifully displayed.

Amy,
If your teacher assigned you Op 10 No2, going straight to the Waldstein is a big leap. I would recommend studying some more of his earlier works before moving onto the later ones. Not only is the Waldstein more demanding technically, but also expressively. What other Beethoven have you done?

Look at the Bagatelles. You might find something familiar there.

Actually, they are great exercises for his Sonatas. They range in difficulty from some of his easiest pieces to his most difficult, and they come in bite-sized pieces.

Oops sorry you guys. Henle!

I agree with Morodiene. Some sonatas to consider after doing Op. 10 #2 but before doing the Waldstein include (but not limited to) Op. 2 #2-3, Op. 7, Op. 10 #3, Op. 22, Op. 26, Op, 27 #1, Op. 28, Op. 31 #1-3, and Op. 81a.

I have learnt the 1st&2nd movt of pathetique and op.2 no.2

actually i've started op.2 no.3 before but i switched it to op.2 no.2 and never finished it, i wonder if i should finish it now but I want to learn something else. I would love to learn op.10 no.3 but i'm afraid that I won't be able to cope with all the octaves especially in the 1st mvt

Oh, Op. 2 No., 3 is great fun! And the 2nd mvt is gorgeous! So orchestral. The 3rd mvt has some challenging fast moving chords that would be great for you to work on. I think you should do that instead of the Waldstein for now.

Have you sightread through parts of the Waldstein to see how it feels under your hands? I remember doing this every once in a while for a very long time before I judged myself ready to try it.

Especially look at some of the hardest passages in the sonata. For me, the toughest bits were (no bar numbers because I don't have a score handy at my current location):

First movement:
- the second half of the development - pay attention to which notes need to be held in the left hand
- the reappearance of the second theme (and its related themes) in the recapitulation was trickier than in the exposition, the key change seems to make it less comfortable for my hands
- the fast scales in the coda

Third movement:
- all the parts where the theme has to be played above a trill (there's quite a few)
- the section in c-minor, that alternates between octaves in one hand and a fast triplet passage in the other - this was very troublesome for me
- the section before the coda, where the "B" theme returns but continues differently from its first appearance
- pretty much all of the coda, especially the infamous octave glissandi

If you feel confident that you can tackle these parts, I think you can handle the technical aspects of this work.

yes, I did actually a few times before but I could'nt handle it when it was just a matter of 3-4 months ago.
I tried that again yesterday and to my suprise I found it so much easier this time. Everything just seemed to fall under my hands, i did find a few spots difficult but i just worked at them and I could sense the improvement. My teacher told me last year when i was learning Beethoven's op.2 no.2 that i'm a natural at Beethoven but I found that hard to believe because at that point my technique was weaker.

Now I know what she means. I've actually heard her teaching this piece to another student quite a number of times and now i've seemed to just be able to pick it up.

Practised it for 3 and a half hrs today and i really enjoy working on it so i'm going to stick to it.

Has anyone played the F# Major? I cant remember the opus number. But I know its his 24th one...

Op. 78. I just finished it and am hoping to perform it in recital this winter.

Funnily, that was the sonata I learned just prior to the Waldstein!

Good luck DameMyra, for some reason (mabe it was just me) I found the last movement of the Op. 78 a real b**** to memorize.