beethoven's 32 piano sonatas robert silverman - Music on Main

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Sonata No. 19 in G Minor, Op. 49/1 composed 1797, published 1805 Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Op. 49/2 composed 1795-96, published 1805 Despite their opus number, the two Op. 49 <strong>sonatas</strong> are early works, published without the composer’s consent at his brother’s instigation. One can readily understand Beethoven’s annoyance: they are quite unfinished, especially with respect to their unusually sparse dynamic markings, which Beethoven invariably treated not simply as “expression marks,” but as an important aspect of a work’s structure. More importantly, for all the <strong>sonatas</strong>’ allure, they no longer reflected his compositional skills in 1805, and he would not have wanted them regarded as representative of his current work. It is for those reasons that some pianists and commentators argue that these pieces should be excluded from the canon of Beethoven’s <strong>piano</strong> <strong>sonatas</strong>, and grouped instead with the remainder of his juvenilia. Still, they were composed very shortly before Beethoven launched his career in earnest, and are much closer in quality to his earliest published works than to the student pieces he had written previously. Occasionally, they even exhibit a surprising degree of sophistication. The opening movement of the G minor sonata is a tragic Andante. This in itself is unusual—slow first movements were rare in the classical era—but more interesting is the fact that both themes share a common rhythm. In the first movement of the G major sonata, the relationship is even subtler: the second theme is derived from the latter portion of the first. Both finales are light rondos. The first combines a formal scheme that is characteristic of Mozart, blended with a humorous quality reminiscent of Haydn. The final movement of No. 2 opens with the theme that Beethoven subsequently used in the minuet of his Septet, Op. 20. Considering that he virtually disowned the Septet, imagine his anger at seeing what is tantamount to a sketch of one of its movements published several years later without his knowledge. For all their youthfulness, the Op. 49 <strong>sonatas</strong> are delightful, charming pieces. It is small wonder that they are so often used as an introduction to Beethoven for young pianists. Nevertheless, they do deserve a more serious outing every so often… <strong>Music</strong> on Main presents Silverman plays Beethoven. September 27, 2010 – April 5, 2011 at the Cellar Restaurant & Jazz Club. www.musiconmain.ca Programme notes by Robert Silverman. © Robert Silverman
Sonata No. 21 in C, Op. 53 “Waldstein” composed 1803-4, published 1805 Many of us are so brainwashed by the image of Beethoven struggling with his creative demons that we overlook the fact that only eight years separate his first <strong>piano</strong> sonata from the Waldstein. It is worth remembering that a track record of twenty-one published <strong>piano</strong> <strong>sonatas</strong>, plus six string quartets, three <strong>piano</strong> concertos, nine violin <strong>sonatas</strong>, three <strong>piano</strong> trios and three completed symphonies, all within eight years, is not exactly indicative of moderately-paced activity. This is especially true, considering these works’ greatness, complexity and individuality, not to mention the phenomenal artistic growth they evince over that period. Only two <strong>piano</strong> <strong>sonatas</strong>—this one and the Appassionata—reflect Beethoven’s mid-career preoccupation with expanding his instrumental forms to epic proportions. The Waldstein, in fact, was originally meant to be even longer; he had originally composed a leisurely slow movement, but subsequently withdrew it, published it separately as Andante Favori, and substituted the short but far more profound Introduzione which now separates the outer movements. Beethoven’s achievement is even more remarkable, given an additional restriction that he imposed upon himself, namely, the almost total avoidance of a theme with any distinctive melodic profile. Instead, he created his structures out of repeated chords, scale-wise and arpeggiated figurations, and for the first time—but by no means the last—trills and tremolos, all occurring over relatively slow-moving harmonies. In referring to this sonata, many commentators dwell on the unorthodox modulation, in the first movement, from the home key of C Major, to the relatively distant E major, rather than the more traditional G Major. This is understandable; even after performing this sonata many times, I still feel, when reaching the E major section, that I am in a hitherto undiscovered galaxy where an entirely new set of physical laws apply. Still, for the record, Beethoven had already broken this new ground in the earlier G Major Sonata, Op. 31/1. That sonata, however, is so jocular that the unusual modulation may well have been perceived as a joke. In the Waldstein, his intentions are clear. From this point on, the “gravitational pull” between dominant and tonic in sonata form becomes less significant than the conflict of musical ideas, irrespective of the key in which they occur. (It is important, however, to remember that Beethoven only “broke the rule” once more [in the Hammerklavier] as far as the <strong>sonatas</strong> in major keys are concerned. All the others adhere to the traditional practice.) The wonderful middle movement provides us with one of the best glimpses we have of Beethoven as the legendary improviser at the keyboard. With its extensive chromaticism and shifting harmonies, the accompanying sense of uneasiness serves as the ideal introduction to the expansive, radiant finale. Several of Beethoven’s <strong>piano</strong> <strong>sonatas</strong> contain leisurely rondos with opening themes that are repeated so many times that some listeners’ patience can come close to being tested. However, the reverse is true in the case of the Waldstein. The resonance of that opening low C, the rolling accompaniment and hazy pedaling impart such enchantment to the innocent theme that time seems to stand still. We are Beethoven’s willing prisoners, and will remain motionless for as long, and as many times, as he wishes us to do so. How infinitely more apt is this sonata’s French and Russian sobriquet (l’Aurore, or dawn) than the mundane nickname the piece has acquired in English and German! <strong>Music</strong> on Main presents Silverman plays Beethoven. September 27, 2010 – April 5, 2011 at the Cellar Restaurant & Jazz Club. www.musiconmain.ca Programme notes by Robert Silverman. © Robert Silverman
Page 1 and 2: Programme notes BEETHOVEN’S <stro
Page 3 and 4: Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2 co
Page 5 and 6: Sonata No. 4 in E flat, Op. 7 compo
Page 7 and 8: Sonata No. 6 in F Major, Op. 10/2 c
Page 9 and 10: Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 “
Page 11 and 12: Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 14/2
Page 13 and 14: Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, Op.
Page 15 and 16: Sonata No. 14 “quasi una Fantasia
Page 17 and 18: Sonata No. 16 in G Major, Op. 31/1
Page 19: Sonata No. 18 in E flat Major, Op.
Page 23 and 24: Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57
Page 25 and 26: Sonata No. 25 in G Major, Op. 79 co
Page 27 and 28: Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 co
Page 29 and 30: Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, Op.
Page 31 and 32: Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109 c
Page 33: Sonata No. 32 in C

beethoven's 32 piano sonatas robert silverman - Music on Main

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