Piano Quartets | |
---|---|
Chamber music by Ludwig van Beethoven | |
Catalogue | WoO 36 |
Composed | 1785Bonn | ,
Published | 1828Vienna | ,
Publisher | Artaria |
Movements | Each quartet has 3 movements |
Scoring |
|
The Piano Quartets, WoO 36, by Ludwig van Beethoven are a set of three piano quartets, completed in 1785 when the composer was aged 14. They are scored for piano, violin, viola and cello. He composed a quartet in C major, another in E-flat major, and a third in D major. They were first published posthumously in 1828, however numbered in a different order: Piano Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major, Piano Quartet No. 2 in D major, and Piano Quartet No. 3 in C major.
When Beethoven composed these three pieces, the Piano Quartet was a rarely used ensemble. [1] Two works by Mozart, Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor (1785) and Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat major (1786), are the only significant contemporary contributions that are comparable. [2] Beethoven modeled his piano quartets after a set of Mozart violin sonatas published in 1781, with Beethoven's C major work written in the same key and borrowing some thematic material from Mozart's Violin Sonata No. 17, K. 296. [3] Apart from Beethoven's own arrangement of his Quintet for Piano and Wind Instruments (Op. 16) for piano quartet, these three works are the only compositions he wrote for piano, violin, viola, and cello. [4]
Beethoven later reused material from the C major quartet for two of his early Piano Sonatas: No. 1 and No. 3. [1] In Beethoven's original manuscript, the work in C major comes first, followed by E-flat major and D major. When the quartets were published after his death by Artaria in Vienna, there were in a different order: E-flat major, D major and C major. [2]
Each quartet is in three movements. They are listed in the order of the original manuscript:
In the exposition of the first movement, Beethoven wrote a piano sonata with string accompaniment, but in the development and recapitulation, they play a more individual role. The third movement is in rondo form. The theme is introduced by the piano and then taken by the violin. The first episode is accompanied by plucked strings. A second episode is in A minor. [2]
Beethoven reused the theme of the second movement for the Adagio of his Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 2/1. He also reused material from the first movement for his Piano Sonata in C major, Op. 2/3, dedicated to Joseph Haydn in 1796. [2]
In the second quartet, the piano and the strings are equal partners. [2] It opens unusually with an Adagio assai movement. The second movement is in sonata form, in E-flat minor. Some elements seem to anticipate the last movement of the Piano Sonata No. 8, the Pathétique. The finale movement is in seven variations on a theme. [2]
The quartet in D major begins, more conventionally than the others, with a movement in sonata form, with a rather short development section. The second movement, marked Andante con moto, is in F-sharp minor, but has a middle section in A major. The final movement is a rondo, with a theme introduced by the piano and repeated by the violin. The episodes are contrasting, and recall similar movements by Mozart. [2]
The piano quartets were recorded by the Mannheimer Trio with Günter Ludwig (released 1963), [5] Scheuerer Quartet in 1995, [6] the New Zealand Piano Quartet in 2005 [7] and by the Milander Quartet in 2013. [8] [9]
Ludwig van Beethoven's Opus 1 is a set of three piano trios, first performed in 1795 in the house of Prince Lichnowsky, to whom they are dedicated. The trios were published in 1795.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, commonly known as Sonata Pathétique, was written in 1798 when the composer was 27 years old and was published in 1799. It has remained one of his most celebrated compositions. Beethoven dedicated the work to his friend Prince Karl von Lichnowsky. Although commonly thought to be one of the few works to be named by the composer himself, it was actually named Grande sonate pathétique by the publisher, who was impressed by the sonata's tragic sonorities.
Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95, from 1810, was his last before his late string quartets. It is commonly referred to as the "Serioso," stemming from his title "Quartett[o] Serioso" at the beginning and the tempo designation for the third movement.
The Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1785. The first performance took place at the Mehlgrube Casino in Vienna on 11 February 1785, with the composer as the soloist.
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53, known as the Waldstein, is one of the three most notable sonatas of his middle period. Completed in summer 1804 and surpassing Beethoven's previous piano sonatas in its scope, the Waldstein is a key early work of Beethoven's "Heroic" decade (1803–1812) and set a standard for piano composition in the grand manner.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2, No. 3, was written in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It was published simultaneously with his first and second sonatas in 1796.
The String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was written in 1825, given its public premiere on November 6 of that year by the Schuppanzigh Quartet and was dedicated to Count Nikolai Galitzin, as were Opp. 127 and 130. The number traditionally assigned to it is based on the order of its publication; it is actually the thirteenth quartet in order of composition.
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, and B♭. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E♭ major and its parallel major is C major.
Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata No. 12 in A♭ major, Op. 26, in 1800–1801, around the same time as he completed his First Symphony. He dedicated the sonata to Prince Karl von Lichnowsky, who had been his patron since 1792.
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed primarily between 1787 and 1789, although it did not attain the form in which it was published until 1795. Beethoven did write a second finale for it in 1798 for performance in Prague, but that is not the finale that was published. It was used by the composer as a vehicle for his own performances as a young virtuoso, initially intended with the Bonn Hofkapelle. It was published in December 1801 as Op. 19, later than the publication in March that year of his later composition the Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major as Op. 15, and thus became designated as his second piano concerto.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15, was written in 1795, then revised in 1800. It was possibly first performed by Beethoven at his first public concert in Vienna on 29 March 1795. It was first published in 1801 in Vienna with dedication to his pupil Princess Anna Louise Barbara Odescalchi, known to her friends as "Babette".
The Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219, often referred to by the nickname "Turkish", was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1775, premiering during the Christmas season that year in Salzburg. It follows the typical fast–slow–fast musical structure.
Cello Sonatas No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 5, are two sonatas for cello and piano written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1796, while he was in Berlin. While there, Beethoven met the King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm II, an ardent music-lover and keen cellist. Although the sonatas are dedicated to Friedrich Wilhelm II, Ferdinand Ries tells us that Beethoven "played several times at the court, where he also played the two cello sonatas, opus 5, composed for Duport and himself". Although Jean-Pierre Duport was one of the King's teachers, it is now thought to have been his brother Jean-Louis Duport who had the honor of premiering these sonatas.
The Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor by Ludwig van Beethoven, the second of his Op. 30 set, was composed between 1801 and 1802, published in May 1803, and dedicated to Tsar Alexander I of Russia. It has four movements:
Anton Franz Josef Eberl was an Austrian composer, teacher and pianist of the Classical period. He was a student of Salieri and Mozart. He was also seen as an early friend and rival of Beethoven.
The Three Piano Sonatas, WoO 47, were composed by Ludwig van Beethoven probably in 1783, when he was twelve years old. The sonatas show a certain level of precocity and serve as a precursor to the masterworks he later produced. They are dedicated to the Prince-elector Maximilian Friedrich and therefore also known as the Kurfürstensonaten.
The three String Trios, Op. 9 were composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1797–98. He published them in Vienna in 1799, with a dedication to his patron Count Johann Georg von Browne (1767–1827). They were first performed by the violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh with two colleagues from his string quartet. According to the violinist and conductor Angus Watson, these were probably Franz Weiss on viola and either Nikolaus Kraft or his father Anton on cello. Each of the trios consists of four movements: