Pianist Kei Ito, one of Japan's foremost interpreters of Schumann and Schubert, has embarked on a new project to record Beethoven's piano sonatas.
The first disc in the series, which will be released on May 9 on the Fontec label, features two Beethoven sonatas: No. 21 "Waldstein" and No. 23 "Appassionata." In her performance of these works, Ito highlights the hidden tenderness of the composer.
Since winning the Munich International Music Competition in 1983, Ito has built her repertoire around works by Schumann, following the advice of her mentor, Hans Leygraf. In 2007, she completed the "Schumanniana" CD series featuring all the solo works by Schumann on 13 discs, considered to be one of the most significant achievements by a Japanese pianist.
She later released a highly acclaimed collection of Schubert piano pieces on six CDs.
As both Schubert and Schumann were greatly influenced by Beethoven, the great German composer has always been a significant presence for Ito.
"When I was faced with his high spirituality and profound world, I didn't have the courage to take the first step," Ito said.
That thought was further cemented when she heard a performance of Beethoven works by Alfred Brendel, whom she admires enormously. "That performance pierced the heart, as if he had staked his own life on it. There was no way I could emulate that," she recalled.
A turning point came one day when Ito was reading a Beethoven score. Although he tends to be regarded as having a fierce personality, she discovered that the composer frequently used expression mark "dolce," which means gentle and sweet, even in a tempestuous work like "Appassionata." When she played it in keeping with the instructions, it sounded very warm.
"Beethoven is depicted as having a stern image in portraits, with his hair standing on end. But I thought he might have actually been the most tenderhearted man in the world," Ito said.
Thus she found a clue to approach his music in her own way.
"I've passed the age [of 56] that he was when he died, so there's a part of me asking, 'May I finally play his music?'" she said.
Ito recorded the two sonatas late last year. She played them a little slowly overall, to emphasize subtle changes in sonority.
She played the first movement of "Appassionata" in a slow tempo despite the tempo mark "allegro assai" (very fast).
"The theme at the beginning is a question, 'What is it to live?' The rest of the marks have important meanings, which would lose their effect if played at a fast tempo," Ito explained.
She played the second theme, in dolce, as if it cherishes all things. This makes the explosiveness of the ensuing theme in the 16th notes all the more prominent.
In the development section of the first movement of "Waldstein," most pianists keep playing in forte (loudly), but Ito played the part in pianissimo (very softly). She didn't ignore what's written on the score, but took note of two separate forte marks and thought she should play the part between the two marks softly.
"There are many transpositions, and the music becomes increasingly separated from the initial C-major key. You need to play in piano [softly] to express its mystique. Because I'm a Schumann and Schubert specialist, I was able to see the other side of Beethoven, who is not only about sternness, I think," she said.
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