Piano Sonata No. 21 (Beethoven)

Piano Sonata No. 21 (Beethoven)

The Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op.53, nicknamed "Waldstein", is considered to be one of Beethoven's greatest piano sonatas, as well as one of the three particularly notable sonatas of his middle period (the other two being the "Appassionata" sonata, Opus 57, and "Les Adieux", Opus 81a). The sonata was completed in the summer of 1804. The work has a scope that surpasses Beethoven's previous piano sonatas, and notably is one of his most technically challenging compositions. It is a key work early in his 'Heroic' decade (1803-1812) and set the stage for piano compositions in the grand manner both in Beethoven's later work and all future composers.

The Waldstein receives its name from Beethoven's dedication to Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein of Vienna, a patron as well as a close personal friend of Beethoven's. Like the "Archduke" Trio (one of many pieces dedicated to Archduke Rudolf), this one bears Waldstein's name though there are other works dedicated to him. This sonata is also known as 'L'Aurora' (The Dawn) in Italian, for the sonority of the opening chords, which conjures an image of daybreak.

Movements

The "Waldstein" has three movements:
#Allegro con brio
#Introduzione. Adagio molto - attacca
#Rondo. Allegretto moderato - Prestissimo

The substantial movements of the work are the first and third, each taking about 11 minutes to perform.

First Movement: "Allegro con brio"

The sonata opens with repeated chords, played pianissimo. This initial straightforward, but anxious rhythm is devoid of melody for two bars. It then swiftly ascends and follows with a three-note descent in the middle register and a four-note descent in the upper. More of this teasing rhythm rumbles forward, until 45 seconds later, when the notes seem to almost stumble over themselves.

The second subject group, marked "dolce", is a sweet chordal theme in E major. Though not unprecedented (the first movement of the Op. 31 No. 1 sonata also has a second group in the mediant), this was the first major work in which Beethoven had chosen to modulate elsewhere than the customary fifth up for the second group, an idea to which he would return to later (in the Hammerklavier Sonata, for example).

For the recapitulation, Beethoven transposes the second subject into A major, which quickly changes into A minor and then back to C major again. The movement ends in a heavy coda.

econd Movement: "Introduzione. Adagio molto - attacca"

The second movement is a short Adagio set in jutting 6/8 time as an introduction to the third movement. At once halting, angular, and tranquil, the music gradually gets more agitated before calming down to segue into the Rondo. This movement replaced an earlier, longer middle movement, which was later published separately as the Andante Favori, WoO 57.

Third Movement: "Rondo. Allegretto moderato"

The Rondo begins with a sweet and consoling tune played pianissimo, which soon comes back fortissimo, over daringly fast scales in the left hand and a continuous trill on the dominant in the right. Beethoven then introduces the second theme—a series of broken chords in triplets—but soon interrupts it with a turbulent section in A minor that foreshadows the central episode.

Soon the music returns to C major, and the sweet theme is repeated before being followed by a series of staccato octaves in C minor that mark the start of the central episode, one of the few cases of where such melodic change is seen, a theme repeated in larger works like the Emperor Piano Concerto. Soon the octaves are accompanied by swirling triplets in first the left and then right hands; the music grows more tense and runs into a series of angular chords, which transitions into a more quiet and almost mysterious section, which returns after much drama to the C major theme, which is then played in a triumphant fortissimo.

The second theme reappears, followed by another long line of beautiful dance-like music, which is perfectly characteristic of Beethoven. Another series of fortissimo chords is struck, ushering in a short, delicate pianissimo section, and the movement seems to die away, but then unexpectantly segues into the Prestissimo coda, a wondrous section that plays with the various themes of the movement and more before ending in a triumphant rush of grandeur.

External links

* [http://web.media.mit.edu/~mike/music/hawleyconcert-1986/ A performance of the work by pianist Michael Hawley]
*Analysis of [http://www.all-about-beethoven.com/waldstein.html Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata] on [http://www.all-about-beethoven.com All About Ludwig van Beethoven]
* [http://download.guardian.co.uk/sys-audio/Arts/Culture/2006/11/30/21_gmaj_op53-w.mp3 Lecture with clips of performance] by Andras Schiff and why he thinks it is "one of the greatest pieces of music there is".
* For a public domain recording of this sonata visit [http://musopen.com Musopen]
*


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven) — The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor Quasi una fantasia , Op. 27, No. 2, by Ludwig van Beethoven, is popularly known as the Moonlight Sonata. The work was completed in 1801 and rumored to be dedicated to his pupil, 17 year old Countess… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Sonata No. 15 (Beethoven) — Piano Sonata No. 15, Op. 28, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was named Pastoral or Pastorale by Beethoven s publisher at the time, A. Cranz. While nowhere near as famous as its predecessor, the Piano Sonata No. 14 or Moonlight… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven) — Beethoven s Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major is the third sonata of a set of three from his Opus 2 publication, dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It dates from 1796, three years prior to his groundbreaking Pathétique Sonata. It consists of four movements… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Sonata No. 11 (Beethoven) — Beethoven s piano sonata in B flat major, op. 22, composed in 1800, has four movements:# Allegro con brio # Adagio con molt espressione # Menuetto # Rondo: Allegretto A typical performance lasts 23 minutes.Prominent Musicologist Donald Francis… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Sonata No. 1 (Beethoven) — Beethoven s Piano Sonata in F minor, op. 2, no. 1, was written in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn.A typical performance lasts about 19 minutes. Structural Analysis The sonata is in four movements: #Allegro in F minor #Adagio in F major… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Sonata No. 2 (Beethoven) — Beethoven s Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 2, No. 2, was written in 1796 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. MovementsIt has four movements: *I. Allegro vivace *II. Largo appassionato *III. Scherzo: Allegretto *IV. Rondo: Grazioso I. Allegro vivace An… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Sonata No. 29 (Beethoven) — Ludwig van Beethoven s Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major , opus 106, known as the Große Sonate für das Hammerklavier , or more simply as the Hammerklavier , is widely considered to be one of the most important works of the composer s third… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven) — The Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed in 1821. It is the central piano sonata in the group of three opp. 109 ndash;111 which he wrote between 1820 and 1822, and the thirty first of his published… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Sonata No. 32 (Beethoven) — The Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Opus 111, is the last of Ludwig van Beethoven s piano sonatas. Along with Beethoven s 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli , op. 120 (1823) and his two collections of bagatelles Opus 119 (1822) and Opus… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Sonata No. 23 (Beethoven) — Ludwig van Beethoven s Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor , opus 57, colloquially known as the Appassionata , is considered one of the three great piano sonatas of his middle period (the others being the Waldstein sonata, opus 53 and Les Adieux ,… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Sonata No. 26 (Beethoven) — First two bars of the piece, indicating the syllables Le be wohl over the three note theme Ludwig van Beethoven s Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major, Op. 81a, known as the Les Adieux sonata, was written during the years 1809 and 1810. The title… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”