Möller Brings Passion, Power, and Sensitivity to Beethoven Piano Sonatas

I woke up this morning with sections of the first 11 piano sonatas by Beethoven romping in my brain. What an earworm! But hardly surprising. After all, I am close to halfway through the Beethoven Complete 32 Piano Sonata Cycle, with Stephan Möller, a pianist of breathtaking vision, energy, and sensitivity, thanks to the Downtown Concert Series (DCS) in Freehold, N.J.

The highly regarded German pianist, who also conducts, records, teaches, and leads the Vienna International Pianists Association and Academy, has been enthralling large audiences each night in St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, founded in 1702 (quite a bit before Beethoven). At this writing, Professor Möller has completed the first 11—including the driving Pathétique—since Saturday, May 16. The seven-night series (no concert Friday) will end with two complete recitals on Saturday, May 23, featuring what many consider the greatest works composed for the piano, Beethoven’s Late Sonatas.

In brief remarks after an intermission, Möller warmly described the 32 sonatas as unique personalities, each having a distinctive character, moving the development of Western art music far along a trajectory that leaves classicism behind and forges new pathways into the future of music. Under Möller’s touch, each sonata speaks in its own voice. His style may be brisk and dynamic for some tastes, but there is no doubt, he knows exactly how to present these sonatas—works of three or four movements—in a way that newcomers to classical music as well as seasoned scholars can appreciate and enjoy. It is a joy to see and hear a pianist who plays with such relish and abandon. He understands the great shape and forms of these works, and because of this, is free to express and interpret with impunity, with the assurance that form is the servant of art, not its master.

Performing a Beethoven Cycle is the ultimate accomplishment for a great virtuoso, and a challenge of unimaginable proportions. To translate this into the art of drama, imagine an actor playing the lead in each of Shakespeare’s 37 plays in sequence over, say, a month in time. And of course, Shakespeare is in English, not the complex language of musical notation.

I hope to write more about this remarkable event, enthusiastically received by music-lovers from far beyond the Freehold city limits. But now I must prepare to hear the 14th sonata and enjoy some of the greatest music that ever issued from an individual intelligence. Great work DCS and Professor Möller! --Linda Holt

Remaining concerts are 7:30 p.m. May 19, 20, 21, and at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. May 23. Tickets at the door are $15 per concert, with a special rate of $25 for the two Saturday performances. St. Peter's Church is located at 33 Throckmorton St., Freehold, N.J. http://downtownconcertseries.org/#beethoven-the-complete-sonatas