Inside the Hearing Machine: Beethoven on his Broadwood Piano Sonatas opus 109, 110 and 111 - Beethoven, Ludwig van 1770-1827; Beghin, Tom (Evil Penguin, 2017)
Piano Sonatas Opus 109, 110 and 111CD and booklet (96 pages), published by EPR-Classic, and documentaryCan we get into Beethovens creative mind, especially in the last phase of his life when he was coping with severe hearing loss? Tom Beghins new recording of Beethovens Piano Sonatas Opus 109, 110, and 111 is an artistic exploration of how Beethovens musicking was shaped by the work environment he created with the help of colleagues and friends.Not only does pianist Tom Beghin perform Beethovens trilogy of pianistic masterpieces on a magnificent new replica of Beethovens Broadwood piano, he uses a reconstruction of the Gehörmaschine that was mounted on the composers piano so he could continue to create music as his hearing declined.You do hear better when you bring your head under this machine, dont you?, André Stein asked Beethoven. Two centuries later, we too can bring our heads under the machine and wonder: Do we hear Beethoven differently? Beghin draws us inside the hearing machine, where we feel as well as hear the essence of Beethovens rambunctious and irresistibly poetic musical vibrations. Inside the Hearing Machine invites us into the multisensory playground of a deaf composer for whom the machine was more than a hearing aid and who interacted with his instrument through much more than sound.
Keywords: Broadwood and Sons (London, United Kingdom); 19th Century (1801-1900); Historically informed performance; Sonata; Piano; Keyboard music