sharp minor on March 3rd, 1802. They were both composed in 1801, the
happy year of the composer's love for Countess Giuletta Guicciardi.
The term _Fantasia_ by no means implies formlessness, but rather
a departure from the ordinary Sonata form. The first movement--an
_Andante_, full of light and shade--is held by purists to be wrongly
barred throughout, the first beat being the third, and so on. It is
followed by an _Allegro_ in C major which leads back to the return of
the _Andante_, this time varied. The _Allegro_, which takes the place
of the _Scherzo_, is full of imagination and vigour. The slow movement
is used as a bridge leading into the _Finale_. All the movements are
chained together in one whole. Just before the precipitant _Coda_,
Beethoven takes a final glance back at the subject of the _Adagio_.
14th SONATA, Opus 27, No. 2, in C sharp minor.
_Adagio sostenuto--Allegretto--Presto agitato._
The title page describes the work as _for clavecin or pianoforte_.
The nickname, "Moonlight," given to it by the poet Rellstab, has no
authority and only serves very faintly to define the peaceful charm
of this sensitive picture, which was more probably inspired by the
composer's romantic love for the Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. The
direction in Italian, "to be played throughout with the greatest
delicacy," is significant, although the term _senza sordini_ is
somewhat vague. It may have meant that it is to be played with the
sustaining pedal, i.e., without the dampers. It is probably a general
indication that the piece requires the pedal to sustain each harmony,
for nowhere is harmony put to such effective use as in the dreamy yet
placid opening _Adagio_. There is scarcely a stir, except where an
occasional minor 9th causes a slight emotional ripple.
A little _Allegretto_ takes the place of the usual Minuet. It might be
a dance of peasants, heard in the distance. The restless and passionate
_Presto_ is one of the finest movements in all the master's works.
Like the preceding Sonata, all the movements follow on without
break. But there is a definite organic connection between them, the
_Finale_, and the opening movement in particular. Compare the first
four semiquavers of the _Presto_ with the second quaver group of the
_Adagio_, and the quaver chords in the second bar of the _Presto_ with
the melodic figure in bars 5 and 6 of the opening movement.
The second subject of the _Finale_ has three well-defined sections,
the first melodic, the second dolorous expressive chords, the third a
souvenir of the first. The _Coda_ is one of the most deeply expressive
things Beethoven has ever written. It ends with a powerful gust of
unpent passion.
15th SONATA, Opus 28, in D major.
_Allegro--Andante--Scherzo--Rondo._
Dedicated to Joseph Eiden von Sonnenfels.
It was christened by the Hamburg publisher, Cranz, with the name
of "Pastoral Sonata." The autograph is dated 1801, and the work is
exceeding happy in mood, the last two movements almost boisterously so,
the _Finale_ being a mad gallop home. This Sonata has four movements,
and it is most probable that it was written before the two _Fantasia
Sonatas_. The first movement opens with a phrase of nine bars over a
gentle tapping tonic pedal. It is a splendid specimen of development by
elimination and condensation. In the middle portion, just before the
recapitulation, the phrase seems almost to disappear into thin air.
The _Andante_ in D minor, with its epigrammatic _Trio_ in the tonic
major, was once a great favourite with the composer. The _Scherzo_
which despite its title is really a _Minuet_, is one of his happiest,
and the Rondo is full of the joy of field and forest.
16th SONATA, Opus 31, No. 1, in G major.
_Allegro vivace--Adagio grazioso--Rondo._
This Opus contains three Sonatas--a favourite grouping with the
composer. Although No. 1 was published in 1802, this Sonata, so simple
in technique, has the feeling of having been conceived much earlier.
The _Adagio_, with its elaborate flowery passages of no particular
meaning, drops back to the Hummel style, and is developed to a
considerable length. The Rondo is bright and sunshiny throughout.
17th SONATA, Opus 31, No. 2, in D minor.
_Allegro--Adagio--Allegretto._
One of the most splendid of all Beethoven's Sonatas. The opening
movement is full of the most speaking of all Beethoven's sonorous and
passionate recitatives. The _Adagio_ is in full binary form. It is
very expressive, entirely evolved from a three-note figure, a little
Hummelian. The final _Allegretto_ is all spun out from the little
four-note germ said to have been suggested to the composer by the
cantering of a horse.
18th SONATA, Opus 31, No. 3, in E flat.
_Allegro--Scherzo--Minuet and Trio--Presto con fuoco._
In this characteristic work, where we find both a Scherzo and a
Minuet, the former in duple time, we again return to four movements.
The mood throughout is of unclouded happiness. It is extremely
interesting throughout, from the first bar which opens in an original
manner with the "added sixth" chord to the Coda which returns to the
same idea.
The _Scherzo_ is in one of Beethoven's freakish moods, full of
capricious turns and fun of all kinds. The third movement is a true
Minuet of the olden style, whilst the _Presto_ is one of those
cantering movements the germ for which must have been derived from the
hunting songs of the people.
19th SONATA, Opus 49, No. 1, in G minor and major.
_Andante--Rondo._
This and the following Sonata, although published in 1802, must have
been written much earlier; in fact, the theme of the G major Rondo was
the original of the Minuet of the _Septet_.
20th SONATA, Opus 49. No. 2, in G major.
_Allegro ma non troppo--Minuet and Trio._
This Sonata contains little of interest, both the Allegro and the
Minuet are in the olden style.
21st SONATA, Opus 53, in C major.
_Allegro con brio--Introduzione--Rondo._
This fine Sonata, too often made a mere piece of virtuosity, was
dedicated to Beethoven's early friend and patron, Count Waldstein.
The form is remarkable. A first movement, full of light and colour,
and the romantic _Molto Adagio_ forming an introduction to the final
Rondo with its magnificent _Coda_. Beethoven originally intended the
famous _Andante in F_ for the slow movement of this Sonata, but finally
discarded it in favour of the present slow introduction. The second
hymn-like subject of the first movement does not appear in the tonic
key, either in the exposition or in the recapitulation, but only after
the final development near the end of the piece. The simple subject
of the Rondo was the result as shown of six separate attempts in
Beethoven's note-books. The whole meaning of it is lost unless the low
C of the left hand is taken into the phrase. It will then be seen to
have a close connection with the opening figure of the introduction.
The Rondo is often played too fast, the full effect of the _Coda_ is
often lost by the preceding Rondo being taken too fast.
The _glissando_ octave passage in it is very difficult on modern
pianos on account of the deeper key fall.
22nd SONATA, Opus 54, in F major.
This remarkable Sonata, which appeared for the first time in April,
1806, is in two movements only--a _Tempo d'un Menuetto_, in full binary
form (more like a Sonata movement than a Minuet), and a _Allegretto
con moto_ (somewhat Etude-like), with a _Prestissimo_ Coda in which
the hands very easily get tied up. This Sonata is comparatively
little known, doubtless on account of its over topping neighbours,
the _Waldstein_ and the _Appassionata_. Bulow metronomed the opening
movement at the quite moderate rate of 104 to the crotchet. The octave
_bravura_ subject appears there in its full majesty. The _cadenza_ is
noteworthy.
23rd SONATA, Opus 57, in F minor.
(Labelled _Appassionata_ by the publisher Cranz).
_Assai allegro--Andante con moto with variations--Allegro
ma non troppo._
This Sonata, which was dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick, is
perhaps the most truly characteristic of all Beethoven's sonatas. The
usual portrait of Beethoven with the massive jaws firmly set, the
upturned eyes, the visage lined by suffering, the head of a Titan,
might be quite appropriately placed here in the volume of the Sonatas,
rather than at the beginning; for with the deep passionate note which
sounds ceaselessly throughout the first movement and the immense
vitality of the _Finale_, the calm beauty of the _Andante_ with its
variations, it holds the palm amongst all sonatas written for the
clavier. Hackneyed it certainly is, but even through the indifferent
temperaments of mere finger players, the immense force of the ideas
easily penetrates.
It is a superb example of the growth of Beethoven's immense creations
from two of the tiniest of germs (a) the first three opening
notes--_C_, _A flat_, _F_--(b) the _C_, _D_, _C_ in the third and
fourth bars. The whole sonata grows as naturally from these as the huge
oak from the acorn. Bridge subjects, second subjects, coda figures,
the chief theme of the _Andante_, as also the _impetuoso_ subject of
the _Finale_, are all derived from these two little germs. Lenz calls
the Sonata "a volcanic eruption, which rends the earth and shuts out
the sky with a shower of projectiles." The first movement and the last
movement have truly immense _codas_.
For a clue to this sonata, Beethoven told an enquirer to read
Shakespeare's _Tempest_.
24th SONATA, Opus 78, in F sharp major.
_Adagio cantabile (4 bars)--Allegro ma non troppo--Allegro vivace._
This Sonata was composed in October, 1809 (considerably later than
_Les Adieux Sonata_, which was published in July, 1811) and appeared
for the first time in December, 1810. Thus an interval of five years
separates it from the _Sonata Appassionata_. It was dedicated to the
Countess von Brunswick, and the piece was a special favourite with the
composer. A delightful feeling of happiness pervates the whole piece,
and one cannot help feeling that this cheerful mood drew the composer
to the choice of this radiant key. The first four bars form a sort of
question to which the succeeding _Allegro_ supplies the answer.
The movements are succinct in form, almost epigrammatic, and whilst
very gracious and pleasing, are not hefty for all sorts and conditions
of hands. The opening phrase of the Finale is very striking, so, too,
is the coda with its wonderful disappointed cadence and its equally
marvellous finish. The intricate work of the arpeggios relates it to
the E major Sonata, Opus 109, and all the way through it, there is a
curious oscillation betwixt major and minor modes.
25th SONATA, Opus 79, in G.
_Presto alla tedesca--Andante--Vivace._
This is practically a Sonatina, and calls for little mention. Some
authorities regard it as an unfinished sketch, whilst others ascribe
it to a considerably earlier date although it was clearly completed in
1809. The term _Tedesca_ means "in the German style," and has reference
to the country dance, _Ländler_. Beethoven employs the term only
twice in his published works--here and in the fifth movement of the B
flat quartet, Opus 130, where he describes the movement in one of the
sketches as _Allemande Allegro_. In a Bagatelle, No. 3 of Opus 119, he
uses the term in French, _A l'allemande_.
The first movement gives some good practice in crossing the hands. The
second movement might easily be mistaken for a gondolier's song by
Mendelssohn. The third movement is a lively _Con Moto_ in simple Rondo
form.
26th SONATA, Opus 81a, in E flat.
_Adagio--Allegro--Andante espressivo--Vivacissimamente._
Styled by Beethoven himself, _Les adieux, l'absence, et la retour_.
(The parting, the absence, and the return). As such it is the finest
piece of programme music ever written. It is dedicated to his friend
and patron, the Archduke Rudolph, but it is not known definitely
that it was connected with the absence of the Archduke himself. The
general feeling seems to suggest a more tender attachment. The music is
Beethoven at his very best, and is truly representative of his mature
period. The interrelation of the whole of the music, its close affinity
with the opening musical motto of three notes, under which Beethoven
wrote _Lebe-wohl_ (Fare thee well) is astounding. Whether written in
clear notes or obscured subtly, this leading motive lies at the bottom
of every phrase. It is the generating idea, the essence of the whole
Sonata. Although we have styled it programme music, it would be the
greatest mistake, however, to regard it as something pictorial and
definite. The idea is only used as the generating impulse of each of
the three chief movements, and the work loses no whit (perhaps, even
gains) by being heard as a piece of absolute music. Those interested in
musical psychology will find it, however, a most interesting study to
trace the derivation of the various phrases of the opening _Allegro_ of
the _Andante_ (see bass chords), and even of the _Finale_ to one of the
two tiny cellules found in the first three bars of the introduction.
The movements are all in Sonata form. The _Andante_ has no development
section and runs into the _Finale_ without break.
27th SONATA, Opus 90, in E.
_Con vivacità a sempre con sentimento ed espressione--Non troppo
presto (Rondo)._
This work, completed on August 16th, 1814, appeared for the first time
in June, 1815. It is in two movements, and is one of the first works
in which Beethoven gave bi-lingual _tempo_ indications (Italian and
German), the other example being _Les Adieux_ Sonata, Opus 81. On one
occasion, in 1815, when the Englishman Neate was discussing the meaning
of music with Beethoven, the composer admitted somewhat vaguely that
he "never worked without a picture in his mind." Be this as it may,
the composer was always greatly enraged when other people attempted to
fix pictures to his music, as did the publisher who gave the title "La
chasse" to the unchristened overture, Op. 115. The first movement has
a tender wistful charm and romantic feeling; it is the very poetry of
sound. The first subject with its three themes is square-cut, exactly
24 bars in length, ending with a perfect cadence in the tonic key. The
development is closely knit, and the overlapping phrases with their
diminution and augmentation, which bring in the return of the first
subject, are as wonderful as they are convincing.
Schindler relates that Beethoven, referring to these two movements,
said: "The first might represent 'Combat between Heart and Head,'
and the second, 'Dialogue with the beloved one.'" Be this as it may,
the Rondo, judging from the interior evidence, was written first.
In many of his sonatas the only connection apparently aimed at
between the various movements is that of right contrast and suitable
key-relationship.
28th SONATA, Opus 101, in A major.
_Allegretto ma non troppo--Vivace alla Marcia--Adagio ma non
troppo--Allegro risoluto._
Dedicated to Freund Dorothea Ertmann and performed for the first time
as new on February 18th, 1816; it was not published until February,
1817. With this Sonata we reach the third period of Beethoven's works,
that in which reflection and philosophy play such a great part. Many
passages in some of his latest works reach such a massive spaciousness
that they seem to lose all touch of human comprehension. Beethoven was
seeking a new style, in striving after which his music became more and
more contrapuntal. One cannot help connecting his use of the fugue
in many of his later works with this new phase. But it was not the
fugue of Bach, but one filled with sublimity and mysticism in which he
attempted to render the spiritual force more and more concentrated,
the meaning sometimes becomes completely dissipated in his attempt to
grasp and hold it. Such is not the case, however, with the fugue with
which this Sonata ends. It grows out of the chief theme of the Finale
and forms the development portion in this combination of the Fugue and
Sonata form proper.
The martial feeling in the first movement seems to have produced a
substitute for the _Minuet_ or _Scherzo_ movement. The _trio_ with its
prolonged coda is in deep poetic vein. The _Largo_ is permeated with
profound feeling and is connected with the _Finale_ by a reminiscence
of the first movement. The whole work is entirely happy and presents an
untroubled frame of mind.
29th SONATA, Opus 106.
_Allegro--Scherzo--Adagio sostenuto--Fugue._
The first two movements were finished in April, 1818; the two last
were composed in the summer of that year. The Sonata was ready for
publication in March, 1819, but did not appear until September, 1819.
It carried the sub-title "Sonata for the Hammerclavier."[89] It is
dedicated to the staunch friend and patron, the Archduke Rudolph, and
is the longest of all Beethoven's sonatas, being about twice as long as
the longest of the others. The first movement (over four hundred bars
in length) is evolved from the two little germs contained in the first
two bars. There is a long bridge passage in which derivative themes
occur before the second subject in three sections. A long development
follows and a superb return with a powerful coda. In the three bars
preceding the return, all the "A sharps" are usually misprinted
"natural." This A sharp should be the enharmonic of the following B
flat.
The _Scherzo_ is fantastic in the extreme. From the playful mood of
the first part it is suddenly plunged into the inexpressible anguish of
the minor trio. A short _Presto_ unison phrase of eight bars brushes
this aside, a tremor on a minor ninth preceding the happy return of the
Scherzo.
The _Adagio_ is one of the sublimest things in all music. It certainly
reaches heights which transcend the limits of the piano. A remarkable
bridge, which changes mood no less than six times, forms a sort of
prelude to the final fugue which is drawn from the opening germ of the
work. It is a struggle of giants, unbridled in its onslaught. _Fuga
a tre voci, con alcune licenze_ Beethoven marked it, and its great
licenses and amazing contortions have puzzled many minds. The heavenly
interludes, however, transport one into the pure air of the _Sanctus_
of the Mass in D. The similarity of the opening phrases of the
_Allegro_, the _Scherzo_ and the _Adagio_, should be noticed. It was by
such means that Brahms later on strove to unify the separate movements
of his longer forms.
30th SONATA, Opus 109, in E major.
_Vivace ma non troppo--Prestissimo--Andante and Variations._
Dedicated to Maximiliana Brentano.
Written at the age of fifty, it seems possible that he poured into
these later instrumental movements much that he felt was beyond the
vocal forms of the great _Mass in D_ which was occupying his thoughts
at this time. The rhapsodic first movement with its light and happy
figures, repeatedly broken in upon by the deeply expressive _Adagio_
phrases; the remarkable uncouth Scherzo with the subject in the bass
and the angelic variations, one in fugue form, and the other a _tour
de force_ with its thrilling pedals, the beatific return of the theme
at the end, given this sonata a high place amongst the happiest
conceptions of the master.
31st SONATA, Opus 110, in A flat.
_Moderato cantabile--Molto allegro--Arioso dolente--Fuga._
The autograph is dated December 25th, 1821, and the work appeared for
the first time in August, 1822. Here we find Beethoven in his most
exalted mood, and it is significant that whilst the main outlines of
the Sonata-form are at the foundation of the piece, he has gone still
a step farther in the direction of welding the whole sonata into one
piece. The first, the movement of development, is on the usual lines
but is handled with great freedom. The second movement is one of those
fast pieces, somewhat fantastic, with which Schumann has made us
familiar at a later period. A remarkable _recitative_ bridge portion
follows which leads into one of the most beautiful airs ever penned by
Beethoven, the _Arioso Dolente_. This runs into the Fugue, which is
here used not so much as a movement in itself, but a concentration of
the chief expression of the whole piece. Vincent d'Indy compares the
expression here with that of the 15th String Quartet, Opus 132, written
four years later, which contains the Song of gratitude to God for his
goodness. In this Sonata, we have as it were a terrible combat against
misfortune, then a return to life and hope, not in a calm pious prayer,
but in an exultant hymn of joy triumphant.
The subject of the final Fugue is a simplification of the initial idea
of the first movement. This opening movement is penetrated with a great
religious calm. The _Scherzo_ is somewhat puzzling, but appears to be
a somewhat sorrowful frolic, a rather bitter amusement. In the Fugue,
suffering disappears; even fantastic cleverness comes to the fore with
the subject in contrary movement. Little by little life and joy return,
and with the re-establishment of the tonic key, the piece triumphs in
an enthusiasm of good feeling. The Italian indications to this sonata
are fuller and more unusual, and show that Beethoven was aiming at
the deepest possible expression. The use of the _Una Corda_, and the
insertion of the _Arioso Dolente_ into the Fugue, show what a struggle
Beethoven underwent in the conquest of his feelings.
32nd SONATA, Opus 111, in C minor.
_Maestoso--Allegro con brio--Arietta._
Although the designation _Sonata_ persists with Beethoven right along
throughout all his periods, yet in this last sonata we have left the
first ones completely out of sight. The name must be taken merely in
its general sense of a piece of high aims; or even in its literal
sense, the Italian word meaning simply _to play_. This Sonata, which
was dedicated to the Archduke Rudolph, is practically a Prelude and
Fugue, with an Air and Variations. The introduction contains two
themes, a leonine, stormy one and a singing phrase. The Fugue opens
like a veritable thunder-storm. There are short phrases in the major
which answer to the second subject, a brief snatch of two celestial
bars, and the agitated atmosphere again unfolds itself. This second
subject, which is a mere phrase, is repeated in the last portion of the
Fugue in the tonic major, which brings the Fugue into line with the
Sonata form proper. The beauty of the Coda has not been surpassed by
Brahms in his sublimest moments.
After the storm, a calm. Beethoven concludes his world contribution
of Sonatas with an air of celestial happiness, varied in the most
lovely manner possible. "A voice from above," someone has called it.
The variations lap round it tenderly like the waves caressing the sands
on a beautiful calm day. The first variation gently stirs the rhythm of
the theme. The second doubles the movement, and the third redoubles,
and yet the peaceful calm is not disturbed. Into the _Coda_ steals one
of those beautiful pensive movements in the minor key. This emerges
into the return of the theme, scintillating with heavenly radiance.
Thus Beethoven closes his Sonatas in a heavenly peace.
FOOTNOTES:
[89] Beethoven could not endure the foreign word _pianoforte_.
THE SONATAS FOR VIOLIN AND PIANOFORTE
THE SONATAS FOR VIOLIN AND PIANOFORTE
1st SONATA, Opus 12, No. 1, in D.
_Allegro con brio--Tema con Variazioni--Rondo._
This is the first of a set of three Sonatas published in 1799, and
dedicated to F. A. Salieri. It is noteworthy that it was a favourite
custom with Beethoven to publish his works in sets of threes; thus,
Opus 1, Three Trios for Pianoforte, Violin and Cello; Opus 2, Three
Sonatas for Pianoforte; Opus 9, Three Trios for Strings; Opus 10, Three
Sonatas for Pianoforte; Opus 30, Three Sonatas for Pianoforte and
Violin; Opus 31, Three Sonatas for Pianoforte; Opus 59, Three Quartets
for Strings (dedicated to Prince Rasumovsky); and the Opus 12.
No. 1 of this Opus is a vivacious work of no great depth, and the
phraseology is in the Mozartian manner. The theme is a 16-bar phrase,
given out by the piano and repeated on the violin in two sections. The
variations are four in number, the third being in the minor, and there
is a short Coda. The Rondo is on modern lines approximating to Sonata
form.
2nd SONATA, Opus 12, No. 2, in A.
_Allegro vivace--Andante più tosto Allegretto--Allegro piacevole._