In November, YVC Music Instructor Darin Kaschmitter performed live at The Seasons Performance Hall, celebrating Beethoven’s 250th birthday after a year’s delay.
While Kaschmitter was initially planning to perform in a joint concert with Bruce Walker (cello) of Columbia Basin College in 2020, the pandemic forced its cancellation.
“When the pandemic began, like many musicians and performers, my concert series was cut,” he said. “I shelved the whole project dejectedly and focused my attention on other pursuits. When those pursuits also began to become tenuous, I turned again to the Beethoven determined even more to perform these monumental works; this time alone.”
The program consisted of two grand piano sonatas: Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 “Pathetique” and Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 “Waldstein”. The concert enabled Kaschmitter to showcase the piano sonata as a form in tandem development with the technical advancements of the piano itself during Beethoven’s lifetime.
“To surmise, what technical advancements were being discovered in piano building (register, sound production, and tone, etc.) and how did those advancements affect the compositional process of Beethoven when composing his piano sonatas,” stated Kaschmitter.
“What a joy it was to breathe life into that music and to share it with an audience, bringing to life sentiments and expressions put down from pen to paper over 200 years ago.”
— Darin Kaschmitter
