Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Sonata No. 21 in C major, op. 53 (Waldstein)
Stefan Cassomenos, piano
Recorded by Deutsche Welle (DW) in the Collegium Leoninum in Bonn on September 15, 2014

Though pianist Stefan Cassomenos selected most of the pieces he performed at his Beethovenfest Bonn recital, festival organizers requested Beethoven's "Waldstein Sonata" - a piece new to the concert repertoire of the Melbourne native born in 1985.

Discussing the rehearsal process, Cassomenos told us that the differing temperaments of Beethoven's sonatas put the performer in front of a barrier "where one's initial ideas about the sonata need to be tried and tested." Along the way, he explained, "You see whether they fit or not, and then eventually a kind of truth crystallizes about how the sonata should sound."

At the time of its writing in 1803-04, the piece would have stood out to audiences for its expanded octave range and quicker repetition of notes, new technical possibilities opened up by a piano the famed instrument maker Sebastien Erard had given Beethoven.

As for performing the work in Bonn, Cassomenos shares a sentiment many Beethovenfest performers have articulated, saying that Beethoven's legacy is alive and well in the composer's hometown. "When I play Beethoven here, I really sense a special atmosphere emanating from the audience - in the way that they listen and the way they appreciate his music," he claims.