Beethoven: The Last Sonatas Leopoldo Erice

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109:
• 1 Beethoven: Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: I. Vivace ma non troppo. Adagio espressivo 03:48
• 2 Beethoven: Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: II. Prestissimo 02:21
• 3 Beethoven: Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: III. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante. Molto cantabile ed espressivo 13:24
• Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110:
• 4 Beethoven: Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110: I. Moderato. Cantabile molto espressivo 05:21
• 5 Beethoven: Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110: II. Allegro molto 02:31
• 6 Beethoven: Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110: III. Adagio ma non troppo – Recitativo – Arioso dolente – Fuga – L’istesso tempo di Arioso – L’istesso tempo della Fuga poi a poi di nuovo vivente 11:46
• 7 Beethoven: Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: I. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato 09:23
• Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111:
• 8 Beethoven: Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: II. Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile. 16:51
• Total Runtime 01:05:25

Info for Beethoven: The Last Sonatas

Versatile Spanish pianist Leopoldo Erice offers fresh new interpretations of Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas, Nos. 30, 31 and 32, in which the composer stretched the boundaries of convention to breaking point. Erice performed these works to mark Beethoven’s 250th anniversary celebrations in 2020, alongside a talk entitled ‘Beethoven’s Deafness: from Silence to Creation’. Leopoldo Erice, who grew up in Spain and is now resident in Canada, has deep and lifelong love of Beethoven’s music, which has come to fruition in his roles both as an academic and as an award-winning pianist. His approach to these three great sonatas is to perceive them through the filter of Beethoven’s deafness, which was complete by the time he composed these sonatas, but, crucially, regarding that deafness not as an impairment as much as a means to an exceptionally rich inner music that found an outlet in works such as these.

Leopoldo Erice, piano

Leopoldo Erice
Spanish pianist Leopoldo Erice enjoys a performing and teaching career, which has brought him to Europe, the two Americas, Asia, and Africa. Among his performances, the recitals with cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, clarinettist James Campbell, the Cecilia, Quiroga, Vega, and Penderecki String Quartets, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Radio Televisión Española are especially noteworthy. He is a faculty member at the University of Ottawa (Canada), has been a member of the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada), has held the position of Associate Professor of Music at the American University of Sharjah (UAE), and also has taught at Middle Tennessee State University (USA). Leopoldo has been guest faculty at Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio (Spain) and at Middlebury College (USA). ​

In 2006 Leopoldo founded the Festival Internacional de Música Clásica de Ribadeo (Spain), a summer chamber music festival and workshop whose mission is to offer high quality programming, to bring culture closer to the general public, and to develop the artistic abilities of its students. The FIMCR has established itself as one of the cultural references of Northwestern Spain (www.fimcr.com) ​

Leopoldo has won several prestigious awards, including first prize at the Ciudad de Albacete National Piano Competition, and the prize for the best collaborative pianist at the Acisclo Fernández International Singing Competition, which he won by a unanimous jury vote. He has also made recordings for television and radio programs in Spain, Argentina, Syria, and the USA. ​

Leopoldo studied music in his home country with José Ramón Martínez Reyero, Beata Monstavicius, and Joaquín Soriano (Real Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid), and in Holland with Rian de Waal (Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague). As a Fellow of the prestigious “la Caixa” Foundation Fellowship Program (Spain), he studied at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University (Bloomington, USA) under Leonard Hokanson, Menahem Pressler, and Emile Naoumoff. While at IU, he won by a unanimous faculty vote the coveted and rarely awarded Performer’s Certificate in recognition of his outstanding performance. He holds the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (USA), where he studied under Christina Dahl. ​

In 2021, Leopoldo Erice became a citizen of Canada. He currently resides in Ottawa-Gatineau.

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