Piano Sonata No. 18 (Beethoven)
The . Piano Sonata No. 18 is the last of three piano sonatas , the Ludwig van Beethoven in op. Summarized 31st Their common hallmarks are “subtle enthusiasm for playing, strong motivational work and sometimes Italian coloring” . Written in 1801/02, the E flat major sonata stands for the sovereign mastery of the 32-year-old Beethoven. The whole work exudes virtuoso brilliance and relaxed serenity.
construction
Like the two Easy Sonatas op. 49 and the late A flat major sonata , op. 31 has no dedication.
The fragrant lightness of Beethoven's third E-flat major sonata is already evident in the arrangement of the movements: two quick corner movements and in between a scherzo and a minuet . Op. 31 No. 3 is the only one of Beethoven's four-movement sonatas that does not have a slow movement.
"Classicist-ironically clear at first glance, it becomes more mysterious the longer you look."
1 sentence
Allegro
The lively first movement in 3 / 4 -Stroke open the Quintsextakkorde that rhythmically the beginning of the Fidelio overture could quote. They dominate the character of the whole sonata. The repeated question is soothingly answered by the dominant seventh chords leading to the tonic . In the dominant B flat major , the melodic secondary theme happily leads out of the interplay. The repeated exposure follows the transparent implementation - strictly in the sonata form of the Viennese classical bound, but charming and full of wit.
2nd movement
Scherzo. Allegretto Vivace
Not in 3 ⁄ 4 , but in 2 ⁄ 4 and - as otherwise only in the fortepiano sonata - not as the penultimate, but 2nd movement, this Scherzo is an “opera scene with a baritone cantilena over a plucked cello” . With grumbling, happy staccato sixteenth notes in the bass, the Scherzo - in the "female" subdominant of the "male" E flat major - goes in the 1st part via F major and B flat major to E flat major, after the repetition into a surprising C -Major. After a furious increase in short Zweiunddreißigstelläufen ending showpiece with piano swabs as quietly as it began.
3rd movement
Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso
Measured seriousness and gentleness characterize the baroque magic that is reminiscent of Schubert's 6th Moment musical . As an exception, the trio is not in the minor variant. A touch of melancholy emerges in the soft closing bars. A few days before his death, Wilhelm Backhaus had to break off his last concert in Villach after this sentence.
Saint-Saëns used the trio theme for his Variations sur un thème de Beethoven op. 35 (1874).
4th movement
Presto con fuoco
“Very quickly” can also be different: The final movement of the C sharp minor sonata op. 27 No. 2 is known as Presto agitato , this as Presto con fuoco . When counted on 2-strokes 6 / 8 -Stroke is played with the necessary rage and bite, the nickname of the Sonata declared hunting . The sentence is "Italian Brio with tarantella and opera trains" .
"A precious sentence because it brings together the genuinely German, serious Beethoven with Italian operatic glee, without one feeling contradictions."
26 years later, Franz Schubert had his C minor Sonata D 958 end very similarly ( quasi tarantella ).
Web links
- Piano Sonata No. 18 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Otto Emil Schumann : Handbook of Piano Music , 4th edition. Wilhelmshaven 1979, ISBN 3-7959-0006-9
- ↑ a b Joachim Kaiser: Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas and their interpreters . Frankfurt am Main 1975, ISBN 3-10-038601-9 , s. 325-343.