BEETHOVEN THE COMPLETE 32 PIANO SONATAS, PART ONE / MIKKEL MYER LEE, Piano / Review

 

BEETHOVEN – THE COMPLETE 

32 PIANO SONATAS, PART ONE 

MIKKEL MYER LEE, Piano 

School of the Arts Concert Hall 

Tuesday (3 December 2024)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 5 December 2024 with the title "Piano prodigy is gifted, but needs time to mature".

After the stupendous feat of performing two Frederic Chopin piano concertos in a single sitting last year, one wondered what 12-year-old Mikkel Myer Lee would do next. The answer was the 32 piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), a journey that would normally occupy a pianist for a lifetime. 

Photo: Nathaniel

The first instalment showcased four sonatas, three of which were from Beethoven’s early period, dating before 1801. Lee chose to open with the ambitious Sonata No.11 in B flat major (Op.22) in four movements. Straight off, he had all the many notes within his fingertips, playing completely from memory with neither faltering nor hesitation. 

Photo: Munster

Admirable as this was, especially an at age when most children are preoccupied with toys, such facility had drawbacks. Being able to speed through three fast movements was mightily impressive, but one needed to ally that with deeper thought processes. However, it was in the less frenetic slow movement that had sparks of inspiration which would reveal themselves later. 

He took a middle-of-the road approach to Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor (Op.27 No.2), famously known as the Moonlight Sonata because of its dreamy opening slow movement. Some choose to step on the sustaining pedal and murkily swim around the notes, while others posture about with protractedness. 

Thankfully he did neither, instead letting the notes speak for themselves. The folksy Allegretto central movement seemed too fast, but the Presto Agitato finale was perfectly judged, stirring up the tumultuous storm that showed he fully understood the stakes. He was just getting warmed up. 

Photo: Nathaniel

The best performance was in Sonata No.6 in F major (Op.10 No.2), the earliest and shortest of the four. He simply reveled in its implicit humour, the opening chords delivered with a nice bounce, qualified by a nonchalant shrug of a reply. The playful finale, with its chattering fugal voices, was a joy to behold. He was now fully in the groove. 

Photo: Munster

One questions the inclusion of Sonata No.31 in A flat major (Op.110) from 1821, part of Beethoven’s famous final trilogy. Surely Lee has yet to achieve the maturity to convincingly pull it off. In that respect, the jury is still out. The opening movement’s lyricism was well handled, but there was little differentiation in the Scherzo’s two themes, based on popular folksongs, which flashed across with blinding speed. 

The third movement possessed the right gravitas, and there should have been a gradual build-up to the noble fugue (and its inversion) to close the work. Instead, he rushed headlong into its contrapuntal thickets, coming out gloriously unscathed. 

Photo: Nathaniel

Clearly the audience, which annoyingly applauded between every movement of all the sonatas, enjoyed it. They were rewarded with six varied Chopin Preludes as encores. Already an old hand in these, Lee was now unimpeachable. Here is a rare generational talent who is still a work in progress. With time and further study, he will become a world-beater.

Photo: Munster