![[ink.] logo prototypes.png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/45900e_b032c771705c47ce9b31d5fd2f8c0942~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_225,h_225,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/%5Bink_%5D%20logo%20prototypes.png)
Deciphering Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas [23/32]
- Haoyang Shi
- Sep 25, 2020
- 10 min read
If one’s wondering where to begin with Beethoven’s music, his 32 piano sonatas are a good place to start. They represent a diverse range of his expressive talents, going from rash and uncompromising to deeply introspective and contemplative. He worked on the genre quite consistently, too—a fair cross-section of his entire œuvre and compositional career from 1795 to 1822. Hans von Bülow notably described the cycle as “the New Testament of piano music”, with Bach’s Well-Tempered being the Old. But with so many to number, where should we first start? To celebrate his 250th anniversary this year (along with me having nothing better to do in quarantine), I went and had a listen to all of them.
Introduction
If you’re hearing all this talk about the piano sonata and is still confused, fret not. This is a form of music where the solo piano involves itself in a dense, varying, intellectual piece that encompasses several different moods in sections known as movements. Originally conceived by Haydn, they started out as short and light, but as we can see with late Beethoven, things are about to get big and mad.
Musicologists generally group Beethoven’s work in 3 distinct periods:
The brackets are very loose, and as with all art, porous too, but overall the differences are acute. Early sonatas follow classical principles of proportion, logical expression, & lightheartedness, but through a transition phase of powerful, complex, and outpouring music, the late period is contrapuntally vigorous, undoubtedly romantic, and towards the end, borderline incomprehensible. This period will be much further elaborated on later, so don’t worry if you don’t understand yet. I will explain it.
To be fair, this is only comparative. All of Beethoven’s piano sonatas are generally well-designed & compelling, but there are of course still better ones above the rest. Unpopular opinion—the sonatas are higher in quality than Mozart’s cycle, where some of them can be rushed through and drone on FOREVER in the slow movement. I will give some tips for different individuals and listeners of classical music on what is best for them, so we’re tailoring to everyone’s needs and preferences.
After listening to each sonata, I went and plotted it on a graph composed of 2 variables: relative liberalism and relative emotion. Out of 100, they map Beethoven’s growth as an artist—(0,0) can be seen as his blank template and (100,100) his ultimate artistic goal. Liberalism on the x-axis deals with Haydn’s classicism (0) versus the experimental, formless expressions in later centuries (100). On the y-axis, the emotional ranges mean whether the language used is logical (0) or emotional (100). To make this easier: in Quadrant I would occupy Beethoven’s late works, Quadrant II would be in the direction of Wagner, III Haydn, and IV Brahms.
The chart is below.
Be warned—the quantitative amounts I’ve used can be and only be surmised as my personal opinion. As this is music, the actual preference of a listener is entirely subjective, and higher scores only indicate leanings towards romanticism. Pave your own understanding and formulate analyses based on your interpretation. The chart also quantifies art, something which is objectively already a sin. Lower numbers aren't particularly bad; in fact, Quadrant III has some masterpieces (read #8 and #14), so the graph only charts radicalness and emotional communication—not the empirical concept of 'goodness'.
(Also, I’m not gonna bother with any sonatinas, double sonatas, or newly discovered works in this article. Look those up on your own time. Sorry.)
Each sonata, deconstructed
Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3, Op. 2
Piano Sonata No. 4 “Grand Sonata”, Op. 7
Beethoven’s first sonatas are some of the most impressive first works I’ve ever laid hands on. The Op. 2 trio is obviously dedicated to Haydn, his model in the sonata, with Sturm und Drang tension being the main focus of the No. 1 in F minor, my personal favourite of this set of sonatas. But through the fierce contrast, Beethoven does not cease to play his own game, hammering at the keyboard at times and being free with adding tension through large contrasts in dynamics. The No. 2 in A major is more humorous in nature, playing interesting games with the keys and with the mind. No. 3 in C major was his first virtuosic experiment, trying to impress with the complex and awkward passages he’s using.
All so far are in 4 movements, an interesting & relatively uncommon choice. His Piano Sonata No. 4 in E♭major “Grand Sonata” is very ambitious for such a youngster. Again 4 movements, massive in size, already poking at the limits of the classical sonata. This can be summarised as his first foray into the symphonic soundscape, which he fittingly breaks the mould of later in his career.
Listen to these early experiments if you are interested in Beethoven’s development, but the crashes and bangs characteristic of him won’t come much later.
Piano Sonatas Nos. 5-7, Op. 10
After the Grand Sonata, Beethoven turns it down a little and builds his inner dexterity in the compositional laws further. The No. 5 in C minor is a precursor to the Pathétique, is considerably more sentimental than the earlier ones, carrying more weight and emotion. No. 6 in F major is pastoral and song-like, evoking those country songs that, in the German music tradition, is foundational. The 3rd movement in sonata No. 7 in D major has puzzled some analysts, including Daniel Barenboim making a video on this topic—it is quite a strange theme to be expressed through music, but the entire picture is bright and fun, which is an overall improvement from the last set, and a defining waypoint to his first major masterpiece.
Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor “Pathétique”, Op. 13
This one has everything—from the sinking-in of the first chord and the opening Grave and then the tumultuous scalar passages up and down the keyboard, the 1st movement is as exhilarating as a roller-coaster ride, but the form and organisation of the movement is definitively & solidly classical. The tragic arc is supplemented by lucid homophony and swift changes in key and character, notably to the unexpected mediant of E♭ minor, showing that Beethoven is leaving behind the shadows of his teachers and blazing a new path. The Adagio cantabile lullaby wipes all that away—its solemnity and unadorned tranquillity are so tender, it shows a different side to the torrential madman we’re familiar with. The Rondo completes the sonata, the brooding tour-de-force bringing the piece to a forceful conclusion. I would recommend this as a first sonata to taste Beethoven, as it is straightforward, characteristic, and not too difficult—something that many people enjoy in music.
Piano Sonatas Nos. 9-10, 11, 12, Opp. 14, 22, 26
I’m gonna lump the next 4 in one sitting, as they are all relatively formative in developing Beethoven’s characteristic. No. 9 in E major returns to the rustic country feel of earlier times, through a much more conservatively constructed sonata form; No. 10 in G major does the same in a more chamber scale.
No. 11 in B♭ major returns to the 4-movement hyper-sonata that Beethoven attempted to develop, and I’d say he made a step forward with this one. The structures are clear and overall leaner, and the gestures are lighter than before. Beethoven thought that this sonata was one of his best from the early period, but No. 12 in A♭ major “Funeral March” one-ups it by several points. The funeralistic title and the emotional contrasts in the massive sonata make for wonderful drama internally and allows a jam-packed experience in comparison to the more intellectual 11th. Good job!
Piano Sonata No. 13 in E♭ major “Quasi una fantasia”, Op. 27 No. 1
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor “Quasi una fantasia” “Moonlight”, Op. 27 No. 2
This was very much Beethoven’s first experimentation with blurring the boundaries of what a sonata can express in the new era of art, and I can say, he did a profound job. The 13th sonata lives up to the moniker and merges all movements attacca in a novel order: introductory–scherzo–adagio–sonata. The finale is the most expansive and the centre of gravity, a role that this movement usually does not fulfil. Vague, mystical textures and harmonies pervade this sonata.
Everything the 13th does, the 14th stretches. Curious readers can be detracted by the notorious cliché surrounding especially the Adagio sostenuto: virtually no melody and the most basic, immobile harmony. This is far from the case—the simplicity of the opening movement is mandated by the sheer emotional weight it carries. The ostinato changes ever so slightly, demanding great attention to detail and carrying of weight from the pianist. It is true beauty through lamentation, the toned C♯ minor and the sorrow of the descending bassline—don’t be fooled by this movement’s ‘placid’ sheet music. After a lilting scherzo/minuet, the centre of gravity is again placed on the arpeggiated madness of the 3rd movement, unrelenting in anger. This movement forms the centre of gravity for this sonata, which he experiments in Next time you listen to this, look beyond the veil of ‘beautiful’, and peer deep into the anguish that will torment Beethoven later in his life.
Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major “Pastorale”, Op. 28
What a delightful, underrated work! Returning to a charming classical model, this gem presents us with swaying, gentle melodies, a Viennese air, and most importantly, correct and proper use of the piano’s majesty in its different registers and timbres. Going through a variety of moods but always showing grace and elegance winning out, people should consider this more as one of his early-period charms. Go listen to it.
By the way, thanks to all these brave folks still here. I promise, the middle-late periods get juicy.
Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31 No. 1
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor “The Tempest”, Op. 31 No. 2
Piano Sonata No. 18 in E♭ major “The Hunt”, Op. 31 No. 3
The middle period of Beethoven marks some of the most dramatic shifts an artist can undertake with their idea development. After the eventful Heilingenstadt Testament of 1802, with our Ludwig wanting to live vicariously through music over deafness and suicide, his style matured, becoming longer, more bombastic, and more creative, fundamentally changing everything about classicism in music. . Quick tip: ignore the subtitles. They were given by the publisher to sell more. “The Hunt” has nothing to do with hunting.
At first, the 16th seems not much different from his early work, but wait and see—the limping syncopation of the main theme in movement 1 is eye-catching, and this gesture repeats as if the player is getting way too ahead of themselves. The infant key of G major adds to this frolicking irony, and different humoristic devices appear again and again—imagine Beethoven blowing raspberries at you each time. Lovely.
Back to seriousness. The 17th sonata is (surprise, for some reason) my mum’s favourite. This is understandable—it is unpredictable and never stable, with fast-paced and out-of-the-blue changes in dynamics and tempo (maybe this is what earned it the same name as Shakespeare’s play). Early Beethoven would never attempt this: more confident and more one’s self, he desires to expand his artistic credo. The 3rd movement is his most repressed but dramatic, with sweeping arpeggiated gestures and heavy weight from the tonic of D minor.
“The Hunt” is surprisingly nice, carrying with it warm passion and feeling, as it is his penultimate 4-movement piano sonata. These 3 are an interesting way into the middle period and can serve as your warm-up and appetizer before you bust your chops rocking to the Waldstein or the Appassionata.
Sorry if I offend you, but I’m gonna skip No. 19 in G minor and No. 20 in G major, Op. 49, as they were both for beginners, pretty dry and vanilla. Go on, babies.
Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major “Waldstein”, Op. 53
This is one of the “3 great middle-period sonatas” as coined by many pianists and musicologists. Luscious and uncompromising, it’s a difficult piece to describe, with the initial staccato opening quickly veering off into remote keys, especially with the unorthodox emphasis of E major as the secondary tonic. Harmonically, the piece dares as well, surprising at every moment as the heavier action of the pianoforte makes the texture lush and sonorous, especially in the Rondo. The exuberant freedom and happiness are always centre-stage—it never ceases to amaze how high the Waldstein flies with a sensation of living the life. The Rondo is my favourite movement—a very technically challenging but so rewarding, with the lofty and spacious textures and strong but balanced pedalling. It is not intended to be virtuosic at all; Beethoven simply requires this of those who play him at such a level. This recording by Mikhail Pletnev is a good example of these textures—difficulty can only be surmised as a byproduct.
There is also an interesting backstory behind the Waldstein’s initial second movement, the Andante favori, WoO 57. The current second movement is very curious in its disjointed nature; Beethoven, of course, realised the Andante favori was too independent and had no unity with the rest of the sonata, so thus published it separately. I’ll let John Suchet fill you in on the rest of the story, along with his more detailed guide on a few particular sonatas.
Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54
People like to ignore this sonata all the time, sitting in between two beasts of the Waldstein and the Appassionata. But, oh boy, they’re missing out. This sonata has a paradoxical tone; its 2 movements polar opposites in speed, rhythm, style, and many more. Like the 15th and 16th, its darker nature can be unravelled through time—start with something more iconic, but definitely don’t turn a blind eye to this funky little work of art.
Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor “Appassionata”, Op. 57
This piano behemoth is very clearly one of Beethoven’s favourites—what’s not to like about a sonata spanning 5 octaves? Famously rising out of the depths on the lowest F of the keyboard, the second of the ‘great middle-period sonatas’ blends in but then violently dissipates in turmoil and distress. Pianissimos and fortissimos occur side-by-side, the hearth warms in the second lyrical A♭ theme, but then is hammered to death by another in the second group in a♭. A development beyond developments, with scales turned up to eleven, only notches up the vigour and tragedy. Later on, Beethoven makes a very unexpected pivot to F major—one can only expect the gentle, removed tension this brings—but can’t this be briefer. This can’t be described as passion; it is an elemental battle of the tragic suffering between the minor and major mode, with the material hyper-compressed. The music is symphonic in scope, but is perfect for—and can only be for—the piano’s unique action.
The second movement in D♭ is a chorale theme and variations, far different than an effect you’d expect than something like the Pathétique’s slow movement. It’s not emotional in a lullaby fashion, it instead has a divine, holy quality, meant to be enjoyed with utmost respect over emotional grief. Over the movement’s duration, it never becomes too adventurous or humorous; the gravity is meant as a short prayer before the speed & ferocity of the finale, which is an attacca through a diminished 7th pivot. With the fast and dark rondo, Beethoven closes the archetype of the sonata, a dark and tragic character that he shapes through this intense battle, unparalleled in the music of his time. Tied with the Eroica, this is the best music he has composed thus far. Go listen to it. (But still come back later please, thanks.)
The last 9 sonatas and a definitive ranking will be out soon. Stay tuned!
In the meanwhile:
Daniel Barenboim has a series of masterclasses that give young pianists guidance on the Beethoven sonatas. The BBC has a documentary from 2005. Featuring:
Lang Lang (Op. 57)
David Kadouch (Op. 31 No. 1)
Jonathan Biss (Op. 109)
Barenboim also performs the cycle on tour in many major cities across the world.
Here is another playlist with scrolling sheet music and sonata annotations.
*Apologies for the formatting mistake at #14, the second arpeggio has a slur as well.
What is your favourite Beethoven sonata? Feel free to share in the comments.
Comments