“Beethoven wrote everything in the score!” – some insiders would certainly affirm that. And it is true.
But most pianists seem to forget, or at least, to let expression completely aside when playing Beethoven.
The musical power of communicating was the real language that Beethoven consequently used to express all thinkable human emotions. From anger to serenity, from sadness to happiness, from pain to freedom, from resignation to joy. Each Beethoven sonata is a reflection of his spirit at that particular time of the Opus number and year thereof. When a pianist is playing his sonatas, then he is reading his musical diary. When a pianist has understood those works, then he is experiencing Beethoven.

Meeting Beethoven means facing his spirit. This can be possible only when letting go the inspiration through the expression of his works. Interpretation is not just textual fidelity to the score, it is far more than that. It is discovering the truth between the notes, understanding the meaning of an abstract language like black lines and signs and points on the paper, it is finally enhancing the human power of expression to reach the spiritual need of the soul.
That´s Beethoven, force of spirit.

Unfortunately, most pianists are not aware of this, they prefer to stay attached to the music text, thinking this is interpretation.

A look inside this topic in the upcoming essay on Artist’s thoughts.

The musical titan, his force of expression, his masculine character, his spirit, his work, his piano sonatas: all these attributes led me as an artist to be devoted to Ludwig van Beethoven´s work.
I didn´t really know why I was going to engage myself with it, as I began to be intensively involved in the study of the 32 piano sonatas.
But I felt with the power of spirit that I have to go on this journey. Those compositions were “sleeping” in myself for a long time, just waiting to awaken, so I did it and let them come out.

Since I feared his most difficult work, the Hammerklavier Sonata, I had first the intention to study it when I would have finished the work with all the other sonatas.
But this turned out as a false conclusion.

An inner voice was suddenly speaking to me and saying: „Start immediately with the Hammerklavier Sonata! Don´t wait! This piece will be like a „love-hate“ relationship until you will be able to really understand it.“
Hereupon I began to study the work very intensively, the Hammerklavier sonata became my daily bread and butter, I never hated the piece for a single moment, and I was obsessed particularly with the final Fugue.

I discovered that this sonata is the key to all other Beethoven´s sonatas. Once the Hammerklavier has been understood, the musical message of Beethoven has been disclosed.

This is certainly one of the most demanding tasks for a pianist, but to approach labyrinthine and complicated things is a perfect challenge for me, trying to reveal the quintessence of them.

As a woman I feel a big duty coming closer to Beethoven´s musical message.

By all means I do not intend to compete with other male colleagues, but rather to create another way to experience Beethoven´s music.
This has nothing to do with ego, it rather leaves out egocentrism to reach selflessness.
Thereby the identification with Beethoven happens.
As an artist it is a mission for me to perform this wonderful symphonic piano music for the people and to make it hearable as the Master himself was able to hear it only with his heart and inner ear.

„ Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.” (L.v.Beethoven)

Beethoven used these words to make a clear statement to the people of his time and to posterity. He considered music as the highest form of expression.
As a composer he was absolutely conscious about the strong influence of his art to other people. Beethoven had particular preference for the instrumental form of the string quartet, he also declared that his way of imagining the sound was always symphonic.
Nevertheless he found the perfect expression of all his emotional feelings through the piano sonata form.

A similar huge work cannot be found in the whole piano literature like the 32 piano sonatas compendium, which is still a difficult enterprise for a pianist, even today, about 200 years later. Mastering them requires to grow and to mature as a musician for a deeper understanding of Beethoven´s style and sound.

These works belong as well to the concert programs of pianists and complete recordings are normal practice in the classical music market.
This mammoth program contains, anyway, some special touch in its own character.
Those interpreters who are venturing to the „New Testament of piano music“ (Quote by H.v.Bülow) are praised and admired for this gigantic artistic undertaking.

This repertoire can be certainly considered as a men-dominated field.
I believe that the complete piano sonatas cycle has been performed by at least ninety percent male pianists. By comparison, female pianists perform this complete work quite rarely.
So men are contending the majority.

Are then Beethoven´s sonatas an absolute „big boys-repertoire“?
Does his music have such a strong masculine character?

The answer is not in the gender, but in the absolute identification with Beethoven and his music. Through this identification a woman can unleash a new power from these wonderful piano works, and maybe she can even suggest a totally new interpretation of Beethoven´s piano sonatas.