Piano Sonata No. 1 (Beethoven)
The Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2, No. 1 is the first of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas with opus numbers . Before that, the three so-called “Elector Sonatas WoO 47” were written in lessons with Christian Gottlob Neefe .
Like all the works published under Opus 2, the sonata is dedicated to Joseph Haydn , from whom Beethoven took lessons between late 1792 and early 1794. However, it is by no means a student's work, but a very individually shaped work, which is formally based on the models of its teacher, but clearly differs from them in musical style and expression.
In particular, the first movement of the sonata may on the one hand be an example of an exemplary realization of the classical sonata form , but on the other hand, due to its conflictual emotional tension, it must already be a rudimentary anticipation of the basic idea of the first movement of the great F minor sonata op.57 ( Appassionata ) get ranked. Just as the Sonata op. 10 No. 1 is considered a “little pathétique ”, the Sonata op. 2,1 “is often called the little Appassionata , probably especially with regard to the relationship with op. 57 in its key and the similarity the last movements with their uninterrupted figuration and excitement ”.
construction
| sentence | key | Tact | Sound recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| First movement: Allegro | F minor | alla breve, 152 bars | |
| Second movement: Adagio | F major | 3/4 measure, 61 measures | |
| Third movement: Allegretto | F minor / F major | 3/4 measure, 73 measures | |
| Fourth movement: Prestissimo | F minor | alla breve, 196 bars |
1 sentence
The Allegro begins with a kind of grand prelude, a soft, broken chord ( Mannheim rocket ) in F minor followed by a loop. This two-stroke is repeated from bar three in the dominant . A subsequent four-stroke completes the theme by energetically continuing the upward trend that has begun to a fortissimo climax (c 3 ), which is then called into question by a decrescending downward movement that ends with a semi-conclusive sigh . The A-flat major secondary theme that appears after a transition to the main theme is related to the main theme, but forms a contrast to it in the sense of a contrasting derivation. After a dramatic development with dialectical role reversal of the themes, which begins in bar 49, and their partial approximation of character in the recapitulation sounding from bar 101, the 152-bar movement ends with a short coda , from bar 146 consisting of some brutally striking chords in fortissimo .
2nd movement
The second movement ( Adagio ) is in F major and has 61 bars. The depth and breadth of Beethoven's melodies can already be felt here. These approaches, which are brought to perfection in the late sonatas such as “Hammerklavier” op. 106 , are the beginnings of Beethoven's own Adagio style. This F major movement is reminiscent of the great predecessors Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn.
3rd movement
“The third movement is a real minuet, so to be played calmly and dance-like.” It is in F minor and begins piano . In the middle of the second part, however, the character of the Allegretto changes. From bar 25, an eighth- note movement performed in fortissimo leads to a passionate outbreak of the opening motif, which, however, is withdrawn after six bars by a subito piano , whereupon the end of the main section fades away in pianissimo .
The trio that then begins in bar 41 brings a change of character. This particular of a flowing alternately sounding in the upper and lower voice eighth movement F major part reaches in the middle of the second trio part a high point in the form of an up to fortissimo intumescent guide the eighth movement in sixth chord - parallels . When the trio is over, the first part of the movement is repeated da capo .
In the three sonatas op. 2 Beethoven makes a step-by-step transition from the minuet to the scherzo . After the real minuet of the first sonata, which is also named as such, the third movement of the second sonata is suddenly called Scherzo , although due to its tempo (Allegretto) it actually remains a minuet and only gets its "joking" character from the capricious sixteenth-note motifs. While there is a kind of hybrid between the minuet and the scherzo, the third sonata takes the step towards a real Beethoven scherzo, for which a faster tempo (allegro) is prescribed.
4th movement
The concluding Prestissimo , also in F minor, is an energetic, urgent movement. Eighth note triplets, constantly racing forward, give its main sections a character of stormy excitement. The main theme develops in the elementary alternation of piano and forte . The six chords at the beginning are repeated congruently. After running through these 12 chords (4 bars), the theme is completed in bars 5 - 9 by a four- bar played piano . After its varied repetition in bars 9 - 13, further chord groups follow the head motif, in which three chords always form a unit. From bar 20 there follows a quick eighth triplet run in fortissimo that rushes down over three and a half octaves , followed by an urgent triplet section and leading to the second theme. This C minor theme, which begins in bar 34 and is performed piano, is laid out in wide octaves. It is already reminiscent of Beethoven's later sonatas, such as the Appassionata op. 57. This movement also uses the main sonata form when it is developed. The lyrical triad theme that opens the development is again reminiscent of Mozart in its basic features. In the further course of the development, this episode of calm is again displaced by the main motif underlaid with a triplet , for the first time in measure 109. The recapitulation ends fortissimo with a “romp” of the main motif, with the triplets appearing in the upper part and at the end as a broken F minor -Treiklang plunge over three octaves into the "abyss". The 196 measure movement ends with the final note of this “crash” (F).
See also
Web links
- Piano Sonata No. 1 (Beethoven) : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Detailed analysis of the sonata
Individual evidence
- ^ Edwin Fischer : Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas. Wiesbaden 1956, p. 15
- ↑ Pianist Artur Schnabel , the recording was made around 1935.
- ↑ Hugo Riemann referred to this passage after Carl Dahlhaus : Ludwig van Beethoven und seine Zeit , Laaber, 1993, page 87 as "Mannheimer rocket"
- ^ Edwin Fischer : Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas. Wiesbaden 1956, p. 17