Piano Sonata No. 8 (Beethoven)

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Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, op. 13, commonly known as Pathétique, was published in 1799, though written the year before, when the composer was 28 years old. Beethoven dedicated the work to his friend Prince Karl von Lichnowsky.[1] Although commonly thought to be one of the few works to be named by the composer himself, it was actually named by the publisher, who was impressed by the sonata's tragic sonorities, to Beethoven's liking.[2]

The Pathétique Sonata is perhaps the earliest of Beethoven's compositions to achieve widespread and enduring popularity.[1] It is widely represented on the concert programs and recordings of professional pianists.[1] As one of the more famous Beethoven pieces, it has been incorporated into several works of popular culture (e.g. it is used as the theme of the film The Man Who Wasn't There).

Prominent musicologists debate whether or not the Pathétique may have been inspired from Mozart’s piano sonata K. 457, since both compositions are in C minor and have three very similar movements. The spacious second movement of Mozart's sonata, especially, makes use of a theme remarkably similar to that of the second movement, "Adagio cantabile," of Beethoven's.[3] However, Beethoven's sonata uses a unique motif line throughout, a major step forward from Haydn or Mozart’s creation.[1]

In its entirety, encompassing all three movements, the work takes approximately 19 minutes to perform. Beethoven's Pathetique still remains one of his most popular sonatas even 200 years after its composition.

Contents

[edit] Movements

The sonata is comprised of three movements:

  1. Grave (Very slowly, with solemnity) - Allegro di molto e con brio (Quickly, with much vigor)
  2. Adagio cantabile (Slowly, in a singing style)
  3. Rondo: Allegro (Quickly)

[edit] Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio

The first movement is in sonata form. It includes a slow introductory theme, written in Grave, that is reminiscent of the Baroque period, specifically Bach's Partita No. 2 in C minor.[citation needed] This first theme begins at the start of the Allegro section. This main section is in 2/2 time in the home key of C minor, modulating, like most minor-key sonatas of this period, to the mediant, E flat - however Beethoven makes use of unorthodox mode-mixture, as he presents the second subject in e-flat minor rather than its customary parallel major. The return of the slow theme may have been inspired by Joseph Haydn's "Drumroll" Symphony, completed three years earlier in 1795.[citation needed] Beethoven extends Haydn's compositional practice by returning to the introductory material, not once but twice - at the beginning of the development section as well as in the coda.

Interestingly, Beethoven does not specify where the first movement's repeat should begin. Traditionally, most pianists start their repeat at the beginning Allegro, but some choose to start from the beginning of the piece (Grave). This latter option also makes musical sense as Beethoven begins his Development with the slow theme.[citation needed]

Grave introduction : first four bars

Musicologist Donald Francis Tovey suggests leaving out the repeat altogether,[4] and some performers follow this practice.[citation needed]

[edit] Adagio cantabile

The Adagio movement opens with the famous cantabile ("in a singing style") melody. This theme is played three times, interspersed with two modulating episodes: the first going from F minor to E-flat major, the second from A-flat minor to E major. With the final return of the main theme, the accompaniment becomes richer and takes on the triplet rhythm of the second episode. The brief coda's stylistic diversity is arresting: four bars of Romantic transcendence followed by a strikingly conventional 18th-century close.

The famous Adagio cantabile: first eight bars

Another interesting feature of the Adagio is its range in texture. After having a thick four-voice texture in the principal theme, Beethoven temporarily reduces the texture to one voice near the closing of the B section. The same kind of textural reduction takes place in the opening and last measures of the coda.

[edit] Rondo: Allegro

The sonata closes with a 2/2 movement in C minor. The main theme strongly resembles the second theme of the Allegro of the first movement, being identical to it in its pitch pattern for the first four notes and in its rhythmic pattern for the first eight. It follows a version of sonata rondo form that includes a coda. The three rondo episodes are in E flat, A flat, and C major. The common use of sforzandos create a forceful effect, although overall the rondo is relatively lightweight compared to the first movement.

Beethoven's notes show that he originally planned the movement as a rondo for piano accompanied by another instrument, perhaps a violin.[citation needed]

[edit] Media

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Beethoven Pathetique Sonata Op. 13 All About Beethoven. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
  2. ^ Burkhart, Charles: "Anthology for Musical Analysis", page 233. Schirmer 2004.
  3. ^ Marks, F. Helena. The Sonata : Its Form and Meaning as Exemplified in the Piano Sonatas by Mozart. Norbury Crescent: New Temple P, 1921.
  4. ^ Tovey, Donald Francis; Harold Craxton. Beethoven - Sonata in C minor for piano - Op.13 'Pathetique'. ABRSM Publishing. ISBN 1-85472-015-5. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven
Nos. 1 – 10
(Opus 2 – 14)
Nos. 11 – 20
(Opus 22 – 49)
Nos. 21 – 32
(Opus 53 – 111)