Piano sonatas (Beethoven)

Last updated

Ludwig van Beethoven wrote 32 mature piano sonatas between 1795 and 1822. (He also wrote 3 juvenile sonatas at the age of 13 [1] and one unfinished sonata, WoO. 51.) Although originally not intended to be a meaningful whole, as a set they comprise one of the most important collections of works in the history of music. [2] Hans von Bülow called them "The New Testament" of piano literature (Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier being "The Old Testament"). [3]

Contents

Beethoven's piano sonatas came to be seen as the first cycle of major piano pieces suited to both private and public performance. [2] They form "a bridge between the worlds of the salon and the concert hall". [2] The first person to play them all in a single concert cycle was Hans von Bülow; the first complete recording is Artur Schnabel's for the label His Master's Voice.

List of sonatas

Juvenilia

The first three sonatas, written in 1782–1783, are usually not acknowledged as part of the complete set of piano sonatas because Beethoven was 13 when they were published. [4]

Early sonatas

Beethoven's early sonatas were highly influenced by those of Haydn and Mozart. Piano Sonatas No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 15 are four movements long, which was rather uncommon in his time.

  1. Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor
  2. Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major

Middle sonatas

After he wrote his first 15 sonatas, he wrote to Wenzel Krumpholz, "From now on, I'm going to take a new path." Beethoven's sonatas from this period are very different from his earlier ones. His experimentation in modifications to the common sonata form of Haydn and Mozart became more daring, as did the depth of expression. Most Romantic period sonatas were highly influenced by those of Beethoven. After his 20th sonata, published in 1805, Beethoven ceased to publish sonatas in sets and published all his subsequent sonatas each as a single whole opus. It is unclear why he did so.

  1. Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major
  2. Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ("Tempest")
  3. Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major ("The Hunt")

Late sonatas

Beethoven's late sonatas were some of his most difficult works and some of today's most difficult repertoire. Yet again, his music found a new path, often incorporating fugal technique and displaying radical departure from conventional sonata form. The "Hammerklavier" was deemed to be Beethoven's most difficult sonata yet. In fact, it was considered unplayable until almost 15 years later, when Liszt played it in a concert.

Performances and recordings

In a single concert cycle, the whole 32 sonatas were first performed by Hans von Bülow. [5] A number of other pianists have emulated this feat, including Artur Schnabel (the first since Bülow to play the complete cycle in concert from memory), Roger Woodward, [6] Rudolf Buchbinder and Michael Houstoun, who has performed the full sonata cycle twice; first at the age of 40, and then 20 years later in 2013. [7] Claudio Arrau performed the cycle several times. [8]

The first pianist to make a complete recording was Artur Schnabel, who recorded them for the British recording label His Master's Voice (HMV) between 1932 and 1935. [9] [10] [11] Other pianists to make complete recordings include Wilhelm Kempff, Claudio Arrau, [12] Annie Fischer, Paul Lewis, Daniel Barenboim, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Mari Kodama, Alfred Brendel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Maurizio Pollini, Richard Goode, Stephen Kovacevich, András Schiff, Igor Levit, Anton Kuerti, Eduardo del Pueyo  [ es ], Konstantin Scherbakov, Boris Giltburg, Fazıl Say, Jenő Jandó and others.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Trios, Op. 1 (Beethoven)</span> Three piano trios published in 1795

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludwig van Beethoven</span> German composer (1770–1827)

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era in classical music. Beethoven's career has conventionally been divided into early, middle, and late periods. His early period, during which he forged his craft, is typically considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to around 1812, his middle period showed an individual development from the styles of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized as heroic. During this time, he began to grow increasingly deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artur Schnabel</span> Austrian pianist

Artur Schnabel was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th century's most respected and important pianists, his playing displayed marked vitality, profundity and spirituality in the Austro-German classics, particularly the works of Beethoven and Schubert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudio Arrau</span> Chilean pianist

Claudio Arrau León was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata No. 29 (Beethoven)</span> Longest Beethoven piano sonata, composed in 1818

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B♭ major, Op. 106 is a piano sonata that is widely viewed as one of the most important works of the composer's third period and among the greatest piano sonatas of all time. Completed in 1818, it is often considered to be Beethoven's most technically challenging piano composition and one of the most demanding solo works in the classical piano repertoire. The first documented public performance was in 1836 by Franz Liszt in the Salle Erard in Paris to an enthusiastic review by Hector Berlioz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata No. 21 (Beethoven)</span> Piano Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans von Bülow</span> German conductor and pianist (1830–1894)

Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for establishing the successes of several major composers of the time, especially Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms. Alongside Carl Tausig, Bülow was perhaps the most prominent of the early students of the Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist and conductor Franz Liszt; he gave the first public performance of Liszt's Sonata in B minor in 1857. He became acquainted with, fell in love with and eventually married Liszt's daughter Cosima, who later left him for Wagner. Noted for his interpretation of the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, he was one of the earliest European musicians to tour the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beethoven's musical style</span> Overview of the musical style of Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most influential figures in the history of classical music. Since his lifetime, when he was "universally accepted as the greatest living composer", Beethoven's music has remained among the most performed, discussed and reviewed in the Western world. Scholarly journals are devoted to analysis of his life and work. He has been the subject of numerous biographies and monographs, and his music was the driving force behind the development of Schenkerian analysis. He is widely considered among the most important composers, and along with Bach and Mozart, his music is the most frequently recorded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paganini Quartet</span> American virtuoso string quartet

The Paganini Quartet was an American string quartet founded by cellist Robert Maas and violinist Henri Temianka in 1946. The quartet drew its name from the fact that all four of its instruments, made by Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737), had once been owned by the great Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini (1782–1840).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Woelfl</span> Austrian pianist and composer

Joseph Johann Baptist Woelfl was an Austrian pianist and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata No. 12 (Beethoven)</span> Piano sonata by Beethoven, composed 1800-01

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata No. 16 (Beethoven)</span> Piano sonata by Beethoven, composed 1801-02

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31, No. 1, was composed between 1801 and 1802. Although it was numbered as the first piece in the trio of piano sonatas which were published as Opus 31 in 1803, Beethoven actually finished it after the Op. 31 No. 2, the Tempest Sonata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata No. 9 (Beethoven)</span> Piano sonata written by Beethoven

The Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14, No. 1, is an early-period work by Ludwig van Beethoven, dedicated to Baroness Josefa von Braun, one of his patrons at that time. It was composed in 1798 and arranged for string quartet by the composer in 1801, the result containing more quartet-like passagework and in the more comfortable key of F major.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven)</span> 1822 piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven

The Piano Sonata No. 31 in A♭ major, Op. 110, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed in 1821 and published in 1822. It is the middle piano sonata in the group of three that he wrote between 1820 and 1822, and is the penultimate of his piano sonatas. Though the sonata was commissioned in 1820, Beethoven did not begin work on Op. 110 until the latter half of 1821, and final revisions were completed in early 1822. The delay was due to factors such as Beethoven's work on the Missa solemnis and his deteriorating health. The original edition was published by Schlesinger in Paris and Berlin in 1822 without dedication, and an English edition was published by Muzio Clementi in 1823.

The Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49, No. 1, and Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49, No. 2, are short sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven, published in 1805. Both works are approximately eight minutes in length, and are split into two movements. These sonatas are referred to as the Leichte Sonaten to be given to his friends and students.

Karl Ulrich Schnabel was an Austrian pianist. Schnabel was the son of pianist Artur Schnabel and operatic contralto and lieder singer Therese Behr and elder brother of the American actor Stefan Schnabel. An internationally celebrated teacher of the piano, his students include, among others, Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, Richard Goode, Kwong-Kwong Ma, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Jon Nakamatsu, Murray Perahia, and Peter Serkin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata No. 30 (Beethoven)</span> Piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, composed in 1820, is the third-to-last of his piano sonatas. In it, after the huge Hammerklavier Sonata, Op. 106, Beethoven returns to a smaller scale and a more intimate character. It is dedicated to Maximiliane Brentano, the daughter of Beethoven's long-standing friend Antonie Brentano, for whom Beethoven had already composed the short Piano Trio in B♭ major WoO 39 in 1812. Musically, the work is characterised by a free and original approach to the traditional sonata form. Its focus is the third movement, a set of variations that interpret its theme in a wide variety of individual ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anton Eberl</span> Austrian composer, teacher and pianist (1765–1807)

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 late piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven usually refer to the last five piano sonatas the composer composed during his late period.

References

  1. ↑ Cooper, Barry (April 2017). The Creation of Beethoven's 35 Piano Sonatas. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-4724-1431-1.
  2. 1 2 3 Rosen (2002), accompanying note
  3. ↑ Morante, Basilio Fernández; Davis, Charles (2014). "A Panoramic Survey of Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata, Op. 106: Composition and Performance". Notes. 71 (2): 237–262. doi:10.1353/not.2014.0152. S2CID   191575332 . Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  4. ↑ White, Michael (2008-01-20). "Settling Old Scores by Beethoven (Published 2008)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  5. ↑ "Carnegie Room Concerts". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  6. ↑ Celebrate 88. Retrieved 16 July 2014
  7. ↑ Hannigan, Margot (21 August 2013). "Beethoven, Houston a treat for audience". The Nelson Mail . Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  8. ↑ "Arrau at 60" by Thomas F. Johnson, Musical America , March 1963, via princeton.edu/~gpmenos
  9. ↑ "Artur Schnabel". www.bechstein.com. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  10. ↑ Bloesch, David (1986). "Artur Schnabel: A Discography" (PDF). Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal. 18-1/3: 34.
  11. ↑ Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas in Two Volumes, ed. by Artur Schnabel, Alfred Masterwork Edition, Publisher's Preface
  12. ↑ "Discographie Claudio Arrau – Beethoven (1770–1827)", patachonf.free.fr (in French)

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.