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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.
Mar 20, 2020 · From the Haydnesque Sonata in F Minor of 1795 to the monumental Diabelli Variations of 1823, Beethoven’s course is charted from the polished classicism of his early works to the rawer, more elemental romanticism of his middle period and the knotty, inward-looking idiom of his late masterpieces.
- Harry Haskell
From the early Op. 2 set of sonatas to the famous 'Moonlight', find out why Beethoven's piano sonatas broke the mould - and hear from pianists themselves about how they approach performing them.
- Pathétique
- The Moonlight
- Waldstein
- Appassionata
- Hammerklavier
- Piano Sonatas, Opp.109, 110, 111
To single out just a few. The most important of the early Sonatas is the Pathétique. For the first time Beethoven uses a slow introduction, and an introduction of such weight you know something truly significant is going on. The opening chord breaks once and for all with Haydn and Mozart. You are in Beethoven’s world now. Among Beethoven’s few clos...
The most famous movement of any of the 32 Piano Sonatas is the opening movement of The Moonlight – the Sonata he composed for the woman he wanted to marry, Giulietta Guicciardi [see Chapter 6, Beethoven’s Women]. For the first time he put the slow movement first (something neither Haydn or Mozart ever did). Just like the opening bars of the Fifth S...
We already know the origin of the Waldstein from Chapter 3, The Spaniard. The gloriously spacious theme of the final movement is prefaced by a mysterious, fragmented middle movement, which presages it perfectly. That was not Beethoven’s original intention. The middle movement was a long complete piece with an instantly catchy tune. He realised it w...
Wagner’s favourite was the Appassionata. He loved playing it, and marvelled at the theme of the first movement rising from the depths. Once again, as with the Pathétique, the middle movement is simplicity itself, almost a theme on a single note. The entire work has such nobility and passion it is small wonder the publisher gave it the name by which...
We come to the most monumental of all the Piano Sonatas, the Hammerklavier. This was the work that Beethoven composed at the height of the traumatic court case, when he was composing little else. What spurred him to do it? More than likely the thoroughly prosaic fact that at the beginning of the year he had received a remarkable gift. The famous Lo...
The Hammerklavier is often taken to signify the start of Beethoven’s Late Period. Certainly everything that now follows – Missa Solemnis, Ninth Symphony, Piano Sonatas, String Quartets– are on an entirely different plane to what has gone before. Profoundly deaf, deeply miserable, failing health – and the greatest works of all. The final set of Pian...
Beethoven Piano Sonatas, compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven. Although he was far from the first great composer to write multi-movement compositions for solo piano, he was, nonetheless, the first to show how much power and variety of expression could be drawn forth from this single instrument.
- Betsy Schwarm
Beethoven’s late period, spanning roughly from 1815 until his death in 1827, is marked by a profound introspection and a departure from earlier styles. His late piano sonatas, such as Op. 106 (“Hammerklavier”) and Op. 111, are reflective, complex, and often misunderstood masterpieces.
Jul 23, 2020 · The double nature – private and public – of the piano sonatas is the essence of their historical role. They not only submitted to the radical changes in the relations of music and society, they also helped to shape those changes. From Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas by Charles Rosen. Published by Yale University Press in 2020.
