Piano Sonata No. 14 (Mozart)

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (posthumous portrait by Barbara Krafft )

The Sonata no. 14 C minor KV 457 is a Klaviersonate of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . With the Fantasia in C minor, K. 475 , she forms an extraordinary double work for his oeuvre, which was published in 1785 by Artaria- Verlag. Its creation falls at different times: while the sonata was composed in October 1784, the fantasy was not available until May of the next year. Both pieces are dedicated to Therese von Trattner, a student friend of his. She was the second wife of Thomas von Trattner , godfather of several of Mozart's children, in whose Trattnerhof Mozart's family stayed for a short time in 1784.

She influenced Ludwig van Beethoven with her pathetic tonal language, the design of the main and secondary themes and certain pianistic means .

The composition comprises the three movements Allegro molto , Adagio and Allegro assai .

construction

1st movement: Allegro molto

The theme of the sonata movement is four-part and rich in contrast: it initially introduces itself with a majestically ascending broken chord. This distinctive unison figure is complemented by a two-time piano-played motif of sighs, the tense interval of which, when repeated, expands from the fifth to the sixth . It is repeated in the dominant G major and from bar 9 onwards it is replaced by two descending chromatic figures over a bass tremolo , followed by sighs and nervously twitching, broken triad motifs. The first theme is again raised by an octave, after which a short transition (of lively triplets and an ascending octave figure in the bass that takes up the theme) leads to the secondary theme in the parallel key of E flat major , which is accompanied by Alberti basses .

After a short transition figure, Mozart introduces a second secondary theme (still in E flat major) in bar 36, which is imitated by reaching over the right hand in the bass. As if this were not enough, a further, chromatically ascending octave motif joins in, which collapses in order to be replaced by an up and down triplet movement.

The implementation is exceptionally short. It begins with the repetition of the first theme in C major, which, as in the transition, is combined with the triplet motif of the right and is accompanied by triplets in the further course. The second theme is suggested only once in its original key. The musical flow is slowed down and dammed up by inhibiting, motivic thoughts.

In the recapitulation Mozart quotes the first theme canonically and with dramatic narrowing and introduces a new motif in the seemingly remote key of D flat major , which, however, turns out to be Neapolitan (the minor subdominant in F minor) and, after a cadence to the main key, as a sign of Grief brings back.

The coda closes after a concert cadenza with another, flanked by broken octaves new idea and fades away pianissimo in a very low position.

2nd movement: Adagio

The slow movement is in E flat major. It has the shape of a rondo with three ritornelles and a coda and is connected to the imagination - for example through its passage reminiscent of a prelude with broken chords before the last ritornello in bar 41.

3rd movement: Allegro assai

The finale ( Allegro assai ), a sonata rondo with many unexpected developments and clear contrasts even within individual forms, exaggerates the passionate mood of the first movement. The ascending movement of his first theme, the C minor triad (C – Es – G), is now reversed (G – Es – C) and provided with intensely syncopated lines.

Origin and background

After his trip to Paris, six years passed in which Mozart dealt with other forms such as string quartets , operas and above all piano concertos , which he performed as a virtuoso interpreter at social events or in academies, a time in which he did not write any piano sonatas. The C minor sonata, next to the work in A minor , one of only two piano sonatas in this tone family - belongs to the group of the last five Viennese sonatas, which ended with the piano sonata in D major K. 576 .

Although the sonata and fantasy, the autograph of which was only found again in 1990, were written at different times, they were published together and have the same dedicatee. The couple appears indissoluble, as Mozart expressly determined that the post-composed fantasy should be published together with the sonata. It remains a matter of speculation as to which (biographical) event the composer's wish can be traced back to.

Influence on Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827); idealizing painting by Joseph Karl Stieler from 1820

Joseph Haydn's sonata concept is of deeper, more fundamental importance for Beethoven's sonata oeuvre than that of Mozart. This becomes particularly clear in the structure of the sonata main movement. While Mozart tends to associate the themes in many of his sonatas and a compelling structural connection is not always recognizable, Haydn replaces the melodic ingenuity with two often clearly delimited themes, the affective tension of which is resolved in the development.

Nevertheless, Mozart's C minor sonata is a good example of connections on a thematic and tonal level such as that of the piano setting. In his Pathétique , written in the same key, the model can be clearly heard. The restless octave tremolos can be found in Beethoven from bar 11 (Allegro molto econ brio) as an accompaniment to the first theme after the Grave introduction.

The second movement, the Adagio in A flat major, is also found in the sonata, with Beethoven clearly taking over the beginning.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Lorenz : "Mozart in the Trattnerhof" , September 8, 2010 (in English)
  2. ↑ Sebastian Dierksen: Apartment No. 7 - Trattnerhof , March 2010
  3. ^ A b c Günther Batel, Masterpieces of Piano Music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonatas, Fourier Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1997, p. 169.
  4. ↑ Marie-Agnes Dittrich , in: Mozart-Handbuch Ed. Silke Leopold , Bärenreiter / Metzler, Stuttgart and Kassel 2005, p. 524
  5. ↑ Marie-Agnes Dittrich, in: Mozart-Handbuch Ed. Silke Leopold, Bärenreiter / Metzler, Stuttgart and Kassel 2005, p. 525
  6. ↑ a b Harenberg piano music guide, 600 works from the baroque to the present, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 5 Viennese sonatas, sonata KV 457 and fantasy KV 475, Meyers, Mannheim 2004, p. 590
  7. ↑ Marie-Agnes Dittrich, Interpretationsprobleme, in: Mozart-Handbuch ed. Silke Leopold, Bärenreiter / Metzler, Stuttgart and Kassel 2005, p. 488
  8. ^ Siegfried Mauser: Beethoven's piano sonatas, a musical work guide. Beck, Munich 2001, p. 14