Before leaving home I’d found that there was a concert of Beethoven piano sonatas tonight at the Kammermusiksaal of the Philharmonie, the second of a series of seven concerts covering all 32 sonatas, performed by Rudolf Buchbinder. I had tried to buy a ticket in advance, but the Philharmonie don’t handle ticket sales for ‘guest promoters’ online, and the promoter in this case doesn’t take credit cards. Not in the 21st century anyway.
So from Niederkirchnerstraße I walked back to Potsdamer Platz and across to the Philharmonie to wait for the ticket office to open; it's open just 3:00pm till 6:00pm daily. My destinations today all conveniently close. The temperature was still below freezing and the pavements coated with packed snow, but all were well gritted (Berlin seems to manage the snow rather than trying to melt it with salt, or do nothing, as is the English custom). I bought a ticket without problem, and was back again later in good time for the 8:00pm concert.
The design of the Kammermusiksaal matches the dramatic, angular style of the Philharmonie. Designed at the same time as the Philharmonie by Hans Scharoun in the early ’60s, for financial reasons the Kammermusiksaal wasn’t built until 1984-1988. My seat was high up on the left hand side, directly behind the pianist. The hall turned out to be no more than 50-60% full, so I needn’t have worried about getting a ticket.
I confess to not being familiar with Rudolf Buchbinder’s playing. He is something of a Beethoven specialist, and an enthusiast for live performance rather than the recording studio: living dangerously! Tonight he played Sonata no. 5, opus 10 no. 1; Sonata no. 12, opus 26; and Sonata no. 22, opus 54; followed after the break by Sonata no. 4, opus 7; and Sonata no. 14, opus 27 no. 2 (‘Moonlight’).
I very much enjoyed these earlyish sonatas with their great contrasts and a certain feeling of experimentation on Beethoven’s part. Buchbinder had plenty of power when necessary, but also great delicacy. As an encore he played the final movement of another sonata, which I recognised but couldn’t place. My only slight niggle concerned the acoustic of the Kammermusiksaal (am I allowed to criticise?) which was quite lively up in my high seat, especially given the big sound of the Steinway; maybe the empty seats had an effect.
We were out of the hall at 10:15 into the cold night, and I was back in the warmth of my apartment by 11:00.
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