CONCERT 1 – Appassionata Saturday 28 February 2026, 11:00am
Driving up the freeway in the morning rain to Mount Barker may not be a usual Adelaide Festival experience, but sometimes we need to stretch our boundaries and try new things, geographically and diurnally.
Turning into the road to UKARIA (a portmanteau of the centre’s founder – UK – and Aria – a song for solo voice within an opera or oratorio) you may wonder if you are heading in the right direction, and if you need a 4WD to get up the driveway, however this is deceiving and will ample parking and the beautiful surrounds, it is a refreshing change from manic city parking.
The gardens in the reverse amphitheatre that surround the building are full and blooming with plants and flowers that lightly brush past you, like a live action Alice in Wonderland movie, as you walk up the path to the beautiful theatre.
The Beethoven Sonatas are three concerts as part of this year’s Adelaide Festival Program. The first Appassionata, then Les Adieux, and then Moonlight. This trio of recitals traces Beethoven’s piano sonatas through time exhibiting his voice and style but also his transformation through time.
The first of the three concerts focuses on Beethoven’s rapid artistic ascent culminating in the emotional Appassionata.
Piano Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1, 1. Allegro is straight in with a staccato passage then joined by comforting support in the left hand, rounding out the articulation. This quickly builds into a paced and lightly dramatic development of the four not motif. This sonata is condensed (perhaps an early version of a pop song in a way) and is an example of Beethoven’s experimentation with short cells of music and how they can be manipulated with other musical dimensions.
How cadences are used over the four movements is varied, but the importance in the piece is common, often holding off on perfect cadences for final punctuations of phrases and the end of movements.
Olli Mustonen is effortlessly absorbed in the pieces, sitting against the stunning Steinway and Sons piano. The sheet music, the piano, and the player form a perfect trinity of execution, each equally contributing to bring these pieces to life. It is fascinating to see the little details of his interpretation, a little twill of the fingers in preparation for the next measure, a subtle point to the sky between phrases, and flexion of the fingers when lifted from the piano, leaving it until the very last moment to place an open hand on the keys.
Mustonen learnt piano and harpsichord from a very young age and has played at Carnegie Hall. With a career of international acclaim, he flourishes through the performance with passion but also a certain ease and familiarity.
Menuetto: Allegretto brings the drama to an already engaged audience with a very fast descending run. A grand opportunity to hear the lower register at modest volume exhibits the beautiful sound of the stunning piano.
Moving through the four sonatas, 13 movements in total, the program is a great collection of Beethoven’s works.
Next is Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2 No. 2. The first movement is full of joyous ascending runs like a cat bouncing through a field of flowers. The fast and even staccato jumping pattern in the left hand is exemplary and demonstrates Munstonen’s emotion and ease with the music.
Fundamentally diatonic, Beethoven’s music uses clear key centres and the classical relationships, however pushes the boundaries beyond Haydn and Mozart, testing the rules and creating colour through chromatic elements and modulations.
As the soft sound of the rain comes in perfect timing with Largo appassionato, it was almost as if the sound of the rain was cued in providing ambient and beautifully complementary sound in the soft moments of the movements.
Scherzo: Allegretto, the cutest movement of the program. This movement is so cheeky yet so heartwarminging playful. Finishing with a punctuated full stop it dances around the playful and sincere.
The theatre is silent and the audience is totally enthralled and absorbed in Mustonen’s performance, a culmination of all the people who worked so hard to put on a performance of this kind. Not least Mustonen and Beethoven themselves. But also to all those in Beethoven’s life who allowed and enabled him to spend his time creating such canonic pieces. Such is the importance of composition and performance – so keep buying those concert tickets, audience!
After the interval we are welcomed back with Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54 (i. In tempo d’un Menuetto ii. Allegretto), and the namesake of the program: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 Appassionata (i. Allegro assai ii. Andante con moto iii. Allegro ma non troppo – Presto).
The development of musical motifs becomes more dramatic and more complex throughout these Sonatas. The bold variations in dynamics create such drama exacerbated by the beautiful acoustics in the room.
The program builds to the Appassionata, the name of the concert. It was composed in 1804-05 and is one of Beethoven’s most dramatic and engaging works. A definitive statement of Romantic virtuosity, this piece was written as Beethoven struggled with the reality of his hearing loss.
With the final cadence of Allegro ma non troppo – Presto, and almost ejecting himself from the piano stool, the previously silent audience erupts into applause which builds into a standing ovation. The audience were blessed with a short encore.
CONCERT 2 – Les Adieux Saturday 28 February 2026, 2:30pm
Most stayed for the afternoon’s program but others also joined to form a full house. Les Adieux is the second of the three concerts. And the rain has cleared for now.
The second program, Les Adieux, follows an arc from youthful elegance to deeply felt narrative and drama. Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 15 No. 1 and Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10 No. 3 set the scene with their clarity and Beethoven’s development beyond traditional restraint. The compact Op. 78 and Op. 79 sonatas brought a burst of brightness and invention, the former glowing with lyrical ease and the latter dancing with rustic charm. Les Adieux provides a resonant finish, its journey of parting, longing, and return shaped with emotional directness and architectural sweep, reminding the listener just how bold Beethoven’s works can be. The recital culminates in Sonata No 26 in E-flat major, Op. 81a, the famed Les Adieux, a sonata built on farewell, absence, and joyous return.
Mustonen is totally absorbed in his playing, almost as if each breath is notated in the score. This absorption extends to the audience who again are captivated by the performance. There are many aesthetically pleasing things about this performance, the views of the gardens and hills surrounding UKARIA, the reflection of the hammers hitting the strings in the glossy black underside of the large and immaculate piano, and the occasional soft bird sound in the background.
Again the audience erupts into applause and receives two encores, even a piece from Bach was snuck in.
A stunning series of performances, and surely just the start to the varied Adelaide Festival Program.
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