Cinnamonbear - Beethoven Sonata Op. 49 No. 2 in G major 49/2: Message Board

Cinnamonbear's Comments

"The Happy Puppy"

In the first movement, Allegro ma non troppo, the happy puppy bounds about the house, chases his tail, encounters the cat, and chases his tail some more.

In the second movement, Tempo di Menuetto, the happy puppy tromps about the back yard and eventually settles in the shade for a nap.

Post your comments on Cinnamonbear's performance!

Name	Date	Comment
wouter79	2010-12-22 11:29:29	Good playing! Nice recording, no noise, no clipping, balanced. Piano sounds nice!
Andy Platt	2010-12-21 12:17:36	That is certainly one very happy puppy. The way you make the piece skip around is infectious.
Mattardo	2010-12-19 12:09:31	Fantastic playing, Andy! You really make that first movement dance! Good job all over - I think you've converted some Opus 79 haters hee hee! The happy puppy has appeared!
Cinnamonbear	2010-12-18 19:27:55	Wow! Thank you, guys! Inlanding, to oblige you, I just posted the theme and first variation of the 3rd mov. of Op. 109! : ) I sounds great in EBVT III!
Inlanding	2010-12-18 13:19:19	You bring out such magic with Beethoven's melodies. Your descriptors are to a "T". Such a skilled performance - completely entertaining. What a wonderful piano that allows you to capture such music. ENCORE, ENCORE!
jazzyprof	2010-12-18 01:06:08	Cinnamonbear, you've made me a fan of this sonata. Such joyous playing! I think you should put it up for sale on iTunes or something!
kck	2010-12-17 13:03:07	We have the Valerie Lloyd-Watts performance recording here too (my son studies Suzuki repertoire, among other things). Don't tell her, but I think yours is more fun and spirited! :-) I might swap hers out on my ipod.
LisztAddict	2010-12-17 06:04:45	Is this really you playing, Cinnamonbear?????? :) Awesome man!
Cinnamonbear	2010-12-17 02:18:57	Jeez! Thank you, eveybody! I am actually overwhelmed and profoundly grateful at the appreciation you're expressing for this simple little piece! (I can't wait to hear what Jason (Beet31425) thinks of this rendition, after declaring that he has disliked it for so many years.) Like kck's son, I played the first movement as a recital piece when I was a very young teen. I hated it. It didn't make any sense and just sounded like bangy chords followed by scales. I SO wanted to play Bach at that point in my life! (Still do...) Then, a year or so ago, when I came back to the piano after about 20 years of not playing regularly at all, I had a day where I got out every single piece I had ever learned and played through them. I discovered that, if played at a good clip, this little piece makes complete sense!!! I had a vision! I saw the puppy!!! AND the cat!!! @ChrisKeys--remember when we talked about humor in Beethoven? You can add this to your list! Ha-ha!! @gerg--WHAT? Staccato?! I guess it's a good thing I never listened to anyone else play this, before! I cannot imagine staccato. The second movement cries for calm, to balance the frantic first movement! I call 'em like I see 'em? And, I play 'em like I hear 'em in my mind's ear. I might could have taken the second movement a little faster, though... @John--I said in the PW thread that 49-1 is one of my FAVORITE Beethoven Sonatas, next to the Pastorale. After working on Op. 79 so hard for this e-cital, I will now get to work on 49-1!!! In my dreams, I can play Op. 109 and the Pastorale. Ha-ha!!! @liszt85--how to get a spinet to sound so good? Well, this little Lester is a gem that I lucked into as far as tone. It suffered a lot of abuse in a church preschool room, then was stored in a boiler room, and I rescued it for $300. It's a long story that I can share with you by PM if you're interested. So, long story short--Bill Bremmer just re-shaped the hammers a week ago, then put his pristine EBVT III on it. That's 90% of the answer right there. The other 9% is to add reverb to the mix when you practice your recording art. The remaining 1%-- Play like you MEAN it!!! Ha-ha!!! @kck and Carey--Thank you so much! I played this piece with my tongue out and my tail wagging!
liszt85	2010-12-16 21:29:25	I'll be honest: I came here right away (I would have come here eventually anyway) curious to check out why your performance already had 6 comments and mine didn't have a single comment. Haha.. but I now understand there's a reason for everything! This was such a treat.. how did you manage a spinet sound so good?! I'm buying the EBVT tuning concept after hearing this..
ChrisKeys	2010-12-16 20:32:23	Ha ha! This charming performance just makes me chuckle for pleasure. One of the most pleasing performances of this sonata that I've ever heard. Great job!
John	2010-12-16 18:54:16	This and the other Op. 49 sonata were early works, but because they appear between Op. 31-3 and Op. 53, just don't get the respect they would if they were Op. 1's. Your performance of this sonata was wonderful, and I have to admit, opened my eyes as to just how charming this sonata can be.
gerg	2010-12-16 18:35:17	Andy, I really, really like this Sonata, esp. the 2nd Movement. Sorry it took me so long to fix the title :/ It's fixed now, though, and also I put in the opus and number. Let's talk about your playing. You play the first movement almost effortlessly - fast, smooth, with straight and even tempo. This reminds me of a Valerie Lloyd-Watts Suzuki recording. It's that good. On the second movement, one of my FAVORITE Beethoven melodies. A MILLION THANK-YOUS for not playing the left hand in the second measure staccato. I don't understand why people do that, but this is a SMOOTH and SOOTHING piece and you played it thus.
kck	2010-12-16 18:18:57	We love it! What a great zippy tempo. I can tell you love this piece. Very happy puppy you have there. :-)
Carey	2010-12-16 12:48:32	The happy puppy struck gold with this one !!! I can't recall when I've heard the 1st movement played so well (seriously) and the 2nd movement is most elegant !! What a treat !! I also can't believe that an old 36" spinet can sound so good.
Cinnamonbear	2010-12-16 10:53:39	I meant to add in my written comments that this was recorded in my livingroom on my 36" Lester spinet, tuned by Bill Bremmer to his Equal Beating Victorian Temperament III (EBVT III). Also, I need to revise my comment about the second movment. The happy puppy "lolls about" the back yard. There is very little "tromping" going on here. Lots of lolling.