Ever heard Beethoven with a backbeat? Pianist Austina Lee and drummer Gareth Dylan Smith got together in the studio to record their own take on Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 in C Minor Opus 13. Their unique piano-and-drums arrangement of the well-loved “Pathétique” sonata gives profound expression to the joy, turmoil and intimacy of the composer’s text. The connectivity with which the duo performs makes the seemingly unusual pairing of a Classical era composition and a drum kit feel completely natural.
The audio and video was recorded by Andrew Lawson at Fieldgate Studio in Cardiff, Wales and mixed and mastered by Max Liebman in Kingston, New York. The project is out on May 2, 2025 on Anthrophonic Records.
Austina Lee is a musician, educator and scholar with expertise in performing and teaching music in a range of styles. Her research interests include punk pedagogies, pedagogy of love and improvisation in music. Austina is passionate about cultivating caring relationships among students and community members to harness their unique strengths and create educational experiences and connections through music, celebrated in her forthcoming monograph: Vibrant Connections. Dr. Lee currently serves as Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education.
Gareth Dylan Smith is an English American drummer and Assistant Professor of Music at Boston University. He plays drums with Austina Lee, Stephen Wheel, Black Light Bastards, Oh Standfast, Dirty Blond, Zack Moir (Build A Fort), Dan Sheehan, Andy Krikun, Johnny Toonice and the Eruptörs. In 2024 Gareth released a solo album Permission Granted with Anthrophonic Records. A prolific author, Gareth’s books include I Drum, Therefore I Am (2013), A Philosophy of Playing Drum Kit (2022), and forthcoming monograph, Conversations at the Drums.
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