Piano Sonata No. 24 (Beethoven)

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Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata No. 24 in F sharp major op. 78 was written in 1809 and is dedicated to Countess Therese von Brunsvik .

The sonata is in the key of F sharp major , which is also rare for Beethoven and which does not appear a second time in his sonata work. The two-movement work, which is rarely heard in the concert hall, lasts around ten minutes, with the first movement being more than twice as long as the second. There are sometimes contradicting assumptions and interpretations around the dedication to Therese von Brunsvik.

Position in Beethoven's complete works

Together with the String Quartet, Op. 74 , the Fantasy for Piano, Op. 77, and the two piano sonatas, Op. 79 and Op. 81a, which were written at the same time, the Sonata in F sharp major, Op. 78, forms a group of works that shows the composer turning away from the heroic Identify the style and the focus on an intimate and lyrical world of sound. Jan Caeyers sees signs of a style change in this hitherto unfamiliar world of expression: "Beethoven will not leave this new feeling for the lyrical; it is one of the most important elements of his later piano and chamber music, the last piano sonatas and string quartets." In this music you can hear tones that are very personal. In the dedication of this composition, freed from the heavy pathos of earlier works, to his student Therese von Brunsvik, whom he adored in earlier years, more than just a process can be seen as typical of Beethoven's relationship to the Viennese nobility.

construction

  • First movement: Adagio cantabile , 2/4 time; Allegro ma non troppo, 4/4 time, F sharp major, 106 bars
  • Second movement: Allegro vivace , F sharp major, 2/4 time, 183 bars

First sentence

The four-bar Adagio cantabile introduction is a calm cantilena that ascends over an octave and leads back to F sharp major via C sharp and B major; In the bass, this harmonic course is opposed by a constant deep F sharp octave.

In the subsequent Allegro ma non troppo , the emphasis is obviously on ma non troppo ; because it also begins with a calm melody, which is reminiscent of Schubert in terms of movement and voice guidance . In bars six to eight, the melody in chords and octaves of the right hand is "sung" downwards by the left hand in the middle and bass part in intervals of thirds. Beethoven does not elaborate on this motif, however; This is followed by a more lively passage in sixteenth and eighth note triplets (bars 8 to 11) and, after a short chordal episode, a longer (bars 18-27) transition in restless sixteenths of the right hand to the second theme. This too lasts four bars and consists of a moving eighth note triplet figure for which Beethoven prescribes dolce . Then the exposition ends with a combination of short chordal accents and spacious sixteenth notes. For the first time - with one exception in bar 17 - forte and sforzando rules appear.

In the remarkably short development (bars 39–56) Beethoven briefly takes up the first theme twice - initially in F sharp minor - but then (from bar 45) only provides a short rhythmic motif of the left hand in alternating positions of an uninterrupted sixteenth note movement opposite to the right hand.

The recapitulation follows the exposition with a few extensions - especially bars 66–76 - followed by a short coda (from bar 98), which takes up the first theme once again, with one in the left hand until the end juxtaposed continuous sixteenth-note figure. Unusually, Beethoven also prescribes the repetition of the development and recapitulation in this first movement.

Second sentence

The second movement juxtaposes a rhythmically accentuated chordal passage (bars 1–11, 32–42; 89–99; 150–159) with wildly moving sixteenth notes in which both hands repeat over and over again - i.e. the same notes alternately - be used. The coda (from bar 160) is initially limited to the rhythmically concise second part of the first theme and ends after two full-bar fermatas (bars 175 f.) And an ascent over four octaves with a brief return of the sixteenth-note sequences in fortissimo . It is very difficult to combine speed and clarity, strength and lightness in this (underestimated) sentence.

Content interpretation

The F sharp major sonata op. 78, which was composed in 1809 in a remarkably short time and obviously without any prior sketching, is closely related to the sonata in F minor op. 57, which began five years earlier and was first printed in 1807 . Both form a content-related, expressive and formally very different pair that can only be interpreted as a whole. The inner connection is expressed externally in the dedication of the two works. The Sonata in F sharp major from 1809 is dedicated to Therese von Brunsvik, while the earlier sonata is dedicated to her brother Franz von Brunsvik. If the F minor sonata is determined by a gesture of stormy rebellion, the F sharp major sonata is more cheerful and unproblematic. Even if the name "Appassionata" (Italian for 'The Passionate'), which is in use today, does not come from Beethoven himself and was only added to a later publication by the Hamburg publisher Cranz after his death, we may use this additional title as a key to understanding the Sonata op. 57 use. The dark sonata, which is characterized by a violent outburst, with its heavenly andante con moto in D flat major (enharmonically the dominant key of F sharp major!) Ends in a manner completely untypical for Beethoven. While Beethoven usually defies severe blows of fate and does not bend to them resignedly, this sonata does not find its way from darkness into redeeming light. Rather, the music stumbles into the dark abyss as if delirious in the final Stretta, an expression of despair. For Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen, the final movement gives the listener the idea of ​​“a defiantly suffered downfall.” In contrast, the F sharp major sonata paints a light, cheerful, playful picture with an intimate tone. “The work is short, but not sparse, rather tender, eloquent, exuberant.” Both sonatas have one compositional feature in common: they lack the contrast between the main and secondary theme that is characteristic of the classical sonata main clause. It is true that the respective location of a secondary theme can be identified, but while in the Appassionata it is occupied by a major variant of the main theme and thus to a certain extent expresses that the contradiction is already contained in one and the same basic material, the later sonata overcomes the chance to the contradiction through inconspicuous motifs, which elude the listener's attention and only allow something new to appear in the so-called "final group". In the first case there is a contradiction within the main theme itself, and in the second case it is compensated for by the transformation of the major theme into minor variants in the (extremely concise) developmental part. There is probably more to this than just a formalistic idea, in that the listener is supposed to be stimulated to think about the inner division and conflict of human characters, which of course raises the question of the meaning and significance of the specially designed musical form. Now it is, however, confusing, if there are no further indications, to look for an extra-musical meaning exclusively in the sound material, and yet the opinion has become established in musicological literature that for the compositional peculiarities mentioned in this context, "an autobiographical orientation" may be named, which one has to see as "a resounding mirror of psychological distress and spiritual conflicts". The F minor sonata was written at a time of inner struggle and, despite all reluctance, it has to do with the disappointment that a liaison with Josephine , Therese's sister who is four years younger than her, did not come about to do. Just a few weeks after her first acquaintance with Beethoven , she had been married to Count Joseph von Deym, who was much older , but widowed by her husband's death in 1804 and was still in contact with Beethoven. His letters to his beloved after Deym's death speak for themselves. At the same time he did everything possible not to let his love for Josephine become known to the public. However, he was very disappointed that Josephine, out of consideration for the social position of her family, resisted his marriage wishes (which, however, did not detract from the mutual affection). The fact that he “only” dedicated the Appassionata to his brother, who knew everything, should be seen as a precautionary measure against the gossip of the Viennese public. Marie-Elisabeth Tellenbach examines in detail the role which Josephine von Brunsvik as “the central female figure in Beethoven's life” plays in the master’s work. Whether Beethoven, in retrospect, wanted to draw a cheerful portrait of Josephine or that of the dedicatee Therese, in the sonata that was composed two years after the final separation from Josephine and dedicated to Josephine's sister Therese, cannot be answered, since both of them were his pupils . Regardless of this, the music is the testimony of an "indestructible relationship that persists despite all external circumstances." Already the unusual key of F sharp major, which has been relieved of all earthly gravity, reveals the intention that the beloved image (and thus the golden days in retrospect) appear transfigured allow. The intimate gesture of the short introduction and the following vocal main theme fit seamlessly into this interpretation. There is no thematic entanglement that is otherwise typical for Beethoven, no motivic-thematic "work" - everything is wrapped in lightness. At most, the somewhat unusual form of the first movement can be seen as a reflection of an “inspired volatility”, which is also supported by the degree of piano virtuosity calculated by Beethoven in Op. 78, which both students had distinguished themselves from from the start. Some passages could also have come from Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, whose music Beethoven was increasingly concerned with at this time. There are also tonal and stylistic associations with the late piano sonatas by Joseph Haydn , Beethoven's former teacher. He had died at the time this F sharp major sonata was being written and was buried in Vienna with all honors, so that the thought of a “homage” to the great model cannot be completely dismissed.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Siegried Mauser, Beethoven's piano sonatas, A musical work guide, 2nd edition, Munich 2008, p. 111 f.
  2. ↑ Jan Caeyers: Beethoven - The lonely revolutionary; Munich (Beck) 2012, p. 444.
  3. ^ Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen: Beethoven - The piano sonatas; Kassel (Bärenreiter) 2013, p. 259.
  4. ↑ Joachim Kaiser: Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas and their interpreters, Frankfurt 1979, p. 425.
  5. ^ Siegfried Mauser, Beethoven's piano sonatas, A musical work guide, 2nd edition, Munich 2008, p. 106.
  6. ↑ A selection can be found below. a. in: Dieter Rexroth: Beethoven; Mainz (Schott) / Munich (Goldmann) 1982, p. 244 ff.
  7. ^ Marie-Luise Tellenbach: Beethoven and his 'Immortal Beloved'; Josephine Brunswick, her fate and the influence on Beethoven's work; Zurich (Atlantis) 1983, p. 205.
  8. ^ Marie-Luise Tellenbach: Beethoven and his 'Immortal Beloved'; Josephine Brunswick, her fate and the influence on Beethoven's work; Zurich (Atlantis) 1983, p. 77.
  9. ↑ Joachim Kaiser, Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas and their interpreters, Frankfurt 1979, p. 426.

literature