Cello Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beethoven portrait by Joseph Mähler from 1804.

The cello sonata No. 3 in A major op. 69 is a sonata for cello and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven .

Emergence

Beethoven completed the composition on his Cello Sonata No. 3 in 1808 at the same time as he finished his 5th Symphony in C minor, Op. 67 .

To the music

The composition of the sonata falls into Beethoven's middle creative period.

1st movement: Allegro, ma non tanto

First movement (cello: John Michel)

In contrast to the fragmentary theme of the 5th Symphony, which was written at the same time, the theme of the first movement, which is opened by the solo cello, has a cantabile character; furthermore, the dialectic of the C minor symphony is missing here. The melancholic character of the implementation was the musicologist Peter Schleuning a reference to Beethoven's aria "It is finished" from Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion suspect. Martin Geck, on the other hand, considers Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue to be a likely model.

2nd movement: Scherzo: Allegro molto

The positioning of the five-part scherzo finds a corresponding parallel in Beethoven's String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59.1 , the first “Rasumowsky Quartet”; In the place of the mysterious transition between the two movements of the Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major op. 53 (“Waldstein” Sonata) , the cello sonata contains an ornate melody leading to the dominant , while its conceptual plan is almost that of the “Waldstein” Sonata equals. The form of the scherzo, on the other hand, refers to the second “Rasumowsky Quartet” and the fourth symphony in the sense that the trio sounds twice between the three appearances of the scherzo. The trio is similar to that of Beethoven's 7th Symphony in A major, Op. 92 .

The syncopated melody contrasts with the accompaniment in straight bars. In this context, Beethoven's student Carl Czerny insisted on compliance with Beethoven's instructions to switch fingers on the bound notes. A corresponding specification for the piano part can also be found in Beethoven's “ Hammerklaviersonate ” and in the second movement of Piano Sonata No. 31 . In this context, Beethoven found himself inspired to apply the term “fortissimo” to the entire Scherzo theme through an error on the part of the engraver when he called the first pair of bound notes »piano« and the rest of the Scherzo theme »fortissimo«.

Beethoven's autograph of this movement shows a change in the relationship between piano and cello during the composition process, which resulted in a balanced equilibrium between the two instruments.

3rd movement: Adagio cantabile - Allegro vivace

Third movement (cello: John Michel)

The extensive size of the adagio has led to speculation that the sonata op. 69 is composed of four movements. The change of the violoncello from c sharp to d and the transition between Adagio and Allegro speak against these assumptions. The sentence ends in a brilliant coda .

effect

Only the first movement of Beethoven's autograph has survived ( Beethoven-Haus Bonn). The original edition was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig in 1809 and is dedicated to Beethoven's friend, the hobby cellist Ignaz von Gleichenstein . As has been passed down by Julius Schneller , a friend of the family, the copy of the first edition intended for Gleichenstein by Beethoven's hand bore the inscription: “Inter Lacrimas et Luctum” (Under tears and grief). The saying probably relates to the effects of the French occupation of Vienna on Ignaz von Gleichenstein as a member of the war council . The wrong opus number and various engraving errors aroused the composer's displeasure. He corrected the engraving errors in three letters to Breitkopf & Härtel.

Because of the balanced relationship between the two instruments and the compositional quality of the work, Beethoven's Cello Sonata op. 69 became a model for composers such as Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Johannes Brahms .

literature

supporting documents

  • Booklet for the double CD Beethoven - Complete Cello Sonatas 1–5. Philips (Universal), 2004.
  • Harenberg cultural guide chamber music. 3rd, completely revised edition. Meyers Lexikonverlag, Mannheim 2008, ISBN 978-3-411-07093-0 .
  • Jürgen Heidrich: violoncello sonatas. In: Sven Hiemke (Ed.): Beethoven-Handbuch. Bärenreiter-Verlag Karl Vötterle GmbH & Co. KG et al., Kassel et al. 2009, ISBN 978-3-7618-2020-9 , pp. 476-482.
  • Lewis Lockwood : Beethoven. His music - his life. Metzler et al., Weimar et al. 2009, ISBN 978-3-476-02231-8 , p. 238.

further reading

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Schleuning: Cello Sonata A major op. 69. In: Albrecht Riethmüller, Carl Dahlhaus, Alexander L. Ringer (eds.): Beethoven: Interpretations of his works. Volume 1. 1994, pp. 515-522, here p. 519.
  2. ^ Martin Geck : Johann Sebastian Bach. St. John Passion BWV 245 (= masterpieces of music. H. 55). Fink, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-7705-2636-8 , p. 93.
  3. ^ Lewis Lockwood: Beethoven. His music - his life. 2009, p. 238.
  4. ↑ a b Booklet to the double CD Beethoven - Complete Cello Sonatas 1–5. 2004, p. 25.
  5. ↑ Booklet to the double CD Beethoven - Complete Cello Sonatas 1–5. 2004, p. 24 f.
  6. ↑ Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata for piano and violoncello (A major) op. 69, 1st movement, score, autograph: Beethoven-Haus Bonn, NE 179. Accessed on May 11, 2015 (digitized version).
  7. ↑ See Klaus Martin Kopitz , Rainer Cadenbach (Ed.) And a .: Beethoven from the point of view of his contemporaries in diaries, letters, poems and memories. Volume 2: Lachner - Zmeskall. Edited by the Beethoven Research Center at the Berlin University of the Arts. Henle, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-87328-120-2 , p. 838.