I am having a look at the first movement of this sonata and I really like it. Something I really can't decide on is how to pedal, especially the alberti bass figures in the left hand like bar 56, and where this comes back. No pedal sounds quite detached, but certainly the pedal can easily blur those bits, especially as the chord changes on each beat. How do others do this?

Have you experimented with different touches of pedal? You could try using different depths but ultimately it will be your ears that tell you how successful you are. Also explore finger-pedaling. You can achieve a lot of different effects depending on how you depress the keys and when you release them.

Hope that might help a bit.

I assume by finger pedalling you mean holding some notes longer so they overlap. I tried that and it seems the most effective if I can get it right. I've tried light pedalling, it's hard to get exactly right. Changing on each beat isn't really practical here, which is where the problem lies. Your ears are always the final arbiter on what sounds right! Thanks.

I use no pedal in this passage, until bar 73 - the rh articulation suggest this.

From bar 73, I like the pedal to enhance the tone quality of the sforzandos, so I change the pedal on every melody note, plus on the third beat of every dotted minim to avoid blurring the lh.

Steve

Liek Steve, I tend to steer clear of the pedal, until the sforzani later in the passage. It then adds a depth to the note and thus emphasises the accent.

Since dabbling with the organ, I have found myself using less and less pedal. Its not that I don't use it, its just that I tend ti use my fingers to maintain a good legato, and vary the weighting of attack. This method brings a real clarity to my playing that I like. Try it out you may find you like it.