Piano Sonata No. 18 (Beethoven)

The Piano Sonata No. 18 in E♭ major, Op. 31, No. 3, is a sonata for solo piano by Ludwig van Beethoven, the third and last of his Op. 31 piano sonatas. The work dates from 1802. A playful jocularity is maintained throughout the piece, earning it the occasional nickname of The Hunt, although like many of Beethoven's early works, the 'jocular' style can be heard as a facade, concealing profound ideas and depths of emotion.

Roger Kamien has performed a Schenkerian analysis of facets of chords of the sonata.^[1]

The sonata consists of four movements:

Allegro: Beethoven's progressive harmonic language is apparent from the very first chord of the piece (3rd inversion of the 11th on dominant B♭^[2]); the stability of a tonic chord in root position is delayed until bar 8. The expressive harmonic colour, coupled with the changes of tempi in the introduction (1-18), creates an evocative opening, reminiscent of the improvisatory style of C. P. E. Bach's piano sonatas. This opening cell is repeated extensively throughout the movement - at the start of the development (89), in the recapitulation (137), and also during the coda (transposed into the subdominant A♭ (220), and then at its original pitch (237)). The codetta (33-45) explores the opening chord, but in a minor variation (with a C♭, implying ii⁷ of E♭ minor), even appearing in bar 36 in the exact spacing (albeit with different spelling) of the 'Tristan chord', written by Richard Wagner some 55 years later.
Scherzo. Allegretto vivace: This scherzo is different from regular scherzos, as it is written in 2/4 time as opposed to 3/4, and because it is in sonata form rather than ternary form. This wasn't the first time Beethoven wrote a scherzo that wasn't in ternary form; the Op. 14, No. 2 sonata has a scherzo, in rondo form, as its third movement. However, this movement still contains many characteristics of a scherzo, including unexpected pauses and a playful nature. The theme is in the right hand while the left hand contains staccato accompaniment.
Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso: It is the most serious of the movements, with a sweet and tender nature presented in the piece. Both the minuet and the trio are presented in E♭ major.
Presto con fuoco: A very vigorous and rolling piece suspended by continuous, rollicking eighth notes in the bass.

The form of the entire sonata is unusual because it does not have a slow movement.

Adaptations

Camille Saint-Saëns used the Trio section of the Menuetto as the theme for his 1874 Variations sur un thème de Beethoven, Op. 35, for two pianos.

References

↑ Kamien, Roger (Summer 1998). "Non-Tonic Settings of the Primary Tone in Beethoven Piano Sonatas". The Journal of Musicology 16 (3): 379–393. doi:10.1525/jm.1998.16.3.03a00060. JSTOR 199822.
↑ Harding, Henry Alfred (1901). Analysis of form in Beethoven's sonatas. Novello. p. 37.

External links

A lecture by András Schiff on Beethoven's piano sonata op. 31 no. 3
For a public domain recording of this sonata visit Musopen
Piano Sonata No. 18: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

Piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven

Unnumbered	Three Piano Sonatas, WoO 47 (Beethoven)

Nos. 1–10 (Opp. 2–14)	No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2, No. 1 No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, No. 2 No. 3 in C major, Op. 2, No. 3 No. 4 in E♭ major, Op. 7 (Grand Sonata) No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1 No. 6 in F major, Op. 10, No. 2 No. 7 in D major, Op. 10, No. 3 No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 (Pathétique) No. 9 in E major, Op. 14, No. 1 No. 10 in G major, Op. 14, No. 2

Nos. 11–20 (Opp. 22–49)	No. 11 in B♭ major, Op. 22 No. 12 in A♭ major, Op. 26 (Funeral March) No. 13 in E♭ major, Op. 27, No. 1 No. 14 in C♯ minor, Op. 27, No. 2 (Moonlight) No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 (Pastoral) No. 16 in G major, Op. 31, No. 1 No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2 (The Tempest) No. 18 in E♭ major, Op. 31, No. 3 (The Hunt) No. 19 in G minor and No. 20 in G major, Op. 49

Nos. 21–32 (Opp. 53–111)	No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 (Waldstein) No. 22 in F major, Op. 54 No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (Appassionata) No. 24 in F♯ major, Op. 78 (A Thérèse) No. 25 in G major, Op. 79 No. 26 in E♭ major, Op. 81a (Les adieux) No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 No. 28 in A major, Op. 101 No. 29 in B♭ major, Op. 106 (Hammerklavier) No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 No. 31 in A♭ major, Op. 110 No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111