Beethoven: Late Works for Flute & Piano

Contrast and Continuity: Beethoven's Late Works for Piano and Optional Flute (ad libitum) This release focuses on a unique selection from Beethoven's late period: works for piano with an optional flute part - ad libitum - that reveal a rarely explored, yet all the more fascinating side of the composer. Framing Beethoven's monumental Hammerklavier Sonata, the two sets of folk song variations form the greatest conceivable contrast to this pianistic summit work. While the sonata, with its formal and technical radicalism, is considered the epitome of Beethoven's late style, the surrounding pieces are characterised by cantabile lines, accessible virtuosity and a sense of chamber-like lightness.

This publication sheds light on the role of the flute as an ad libitum instrument - an aspect rarely explored in the reception of Beethoven's music. It marks the beginning of a two-part series, the second of which will present Beethoven's early works for flute and piano - offering a compelling panorama of this instrumentation across the arc of his compositional development.