Piano Sonata No. 28 (Beethoven): Difference between revisions

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	]'s '''Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major''', ] 101, was written in ]. This ] runs for about 20 minutes and consists of four ]s:		]'s '''Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major''', ] 101, was written in ] and was dedicated to ]ess and ] Dorotea Ertmann. This ] runs for about 20 minutes and consists of four ]s:

	# Etwas lebhaft, und mit der inngsten Empfindung. (Somewhat lively, and with innermost sensitivity.) ]		# Etwas lebhaft, und mit der inngsten Empfindung. (Somewhat lively, and with innermost sensitivity.) ]
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	==Composition & Publication==		==Composition & Publication==

	{{Original research\|section\|date=January 2008}}
	The piano sonata Op.101 no.28 begins the series of Beethoven's "Late Period" ]s, when his music moved in a new direction toward a more personal, more intimate, sometimes even an introspective, realm of freedom and fantasy. In this period he had achieved a complete mastery of form, texture and tonality and was subverting the very conventions he had mastered to create works of remarkable profundity and beauty. It is also characteristic of these late works to incorporate contrapuntal techniques (e.g. ] and ]) into the ].		The piano sonata Op.101 no.28 begins the series of Beethoven's "Late Period" ]s, when his music moved in a new direction toward a more personal, more intimate, sometimes even an introspective, realm of freedom and fantasy. In this period he had achieved a complete mastery of form, texture and tonality and was subverting the very conventions he had mastered to create works of remarkable profundity and beauty. It is also characteristic of these late works to incorporate contrapuntal techniques (e.g. ] and ]) into the ].

	Beethoven himself described this sonata, composed in the town of ], just south of ], during the summer of ], as "a series of impressions and reveries." The more intimate nature of the late sonatas probably has some connection with his deafness, which by this stage was almost total, isolating him from society so completely that his only means of communicating with friends and visitors was by means of a notebook. Other biographical factors operating at this time were his growing ill health, his strong sense of his national identity and, after the death of his brother, an ongoing conflict with sister-in-law Johanna for the custody of his nephew Karl, as well as conflicts with Karl himself. Beethoven's output was severely limited between January 1816, when he first became guardian to Karl, and ], when he was forced temporarily to give up custody to Karl's mother, with little work of substance being completed other than this sonata Op. 101 and the following ].		Beethoven himself described this sonata, composed in the town of ], just south of ], during the summer of ], as "a series of impressions and reveries." The more intimate nature of the late sonatas probably has some connection with his deafness, which by this stage was almost total, isolating him from society so completely that his only means of communicating with friends and visitors was by means of a notebook.

	For the first time Beethoven used the German term ''hammerclavier'' to refer to the piano (although it was the next of his sonatas, Op. 106, that became widely known as the ''Hammerklavier'' sonata). ~~Beethoven had written to his publisher, Steiner, with his typically heavy-handed humour, as follows<ref> </ref>:~~		For the first time Beethoven used the German term ''hammerclavier'' to refer to the piano (although it was the next of his sonatas, Op. 106, that became widely known as the ''Hammerklavier'' sonata).
	<blockquote>
	<pre>TO LIEUTENANT-GENERAL VON STEINER.--PRIVATE.

			==First movement==
	PUBLICANDUM,--

			The ] marking for the opening movement, "Etwas Lebhaft und mit innigsten empfindung" is roughly translated as "rather lively and with the warmest feeling," a marking which seeks to convey something of the romantic, elegaic aura of this opening movement. The adoption of this more subjective, personalised marking breaks away from the conventional tempo markings and demands a more intuitive engagement between the performer and the music, which would have been especially important to Beethoven as the interpretation of his music was left in the hands of the performers of the day due to his deafness.
	After due consideration, and by the advice of our Council, we have
	determined and decreed that henceforth on all our works published with
	German titles, the word _Pianoforte_ is to be replaced by that of _Hammer
	Clavier_, and our worthy Lieutenant-General, his Adjutant, and all whom it
	may concern, are charged with the execution of this order.

	Instead of Pianoforte--_Hammer Clavier_.

	Such is our will and pleasure.

	Given on the 23d of January, 1817, by the _Generalissimus_.

	_Manu propria._

	</pre>
	</blockquote>

	In a following letter, Beethoven informs Steiner of his wish to dedicate Op.101 no.28 to the ] ]ess and ] Dorotea Ertmann. <ref> </ref>
	<blockquote>
	<pre>
	TO STEINER.

	The following dedication occurred to me of my new Sonata:--

	Sonata for the Pianoforte,
	or
	_Hammer Clavier_.
	Composed and dedicated to Frau Baronin Dorothea
	Ertmann--née Graumann,
	by
	Ludwig van Beethoven.

	If the title is already engraved, I have the two following proposals to
	make; viz., that I pay for one title--I mean that it should be at my
	expense, or reserved for another new sonata of mine, for which purpose the
	mines of the Lieutenant-General (or _pleno titulo_, Lieutenant-General and
	First Councillor of State) must be opened to usher it into the light of
	day; the title to be previously shown to a good linguist. _Hammer Clavier_
	is certainly German, and so is the device. Honor to whom honor is due! How
	is it, then, that I have as yet received no reports of the carrying out of
	my orders, which, however, have no doubt been attended to?

	Ever and always your attached

	_Amicus
	ad Amicum
	de Amico._

	</pre>
	</blockquote>

	Later he inquires about a copy of the sonata which he had asked to be sent to Baroness von Ertmann.<ref> </ref>
	<blockquote>
	<pre>
	TO STEINER & CO.

	The Adjutant's innocence is admitted, and there is an end of it!

	We beg you to be so good as to send us two copies in score of the Symphony
	in A. We likewise wish to know when we may expect a copy of the Sonata for
	Baroness von Ertmann, as she leaves this, most probably, the day after
	to-morrow.

	No. 3--I mean the enclosed note--is from a musical friend in Silesia, not a
	rich man, for whom I have frequently had my scores written out. He wishes
	to have these works of Mozart in his library; as my servant, however, has
	the good fortune, by the grace of God, to be one of the greatest blockheads
	in the world (which is saying a good deal), I cannot make use of him for
	this purpose. Be so kind therefore as to send to Herr ---- (for the
	_Generalissimus_ can have no dealings with a petty tradesman), and desire
	him to _write down the price of each work_ and send it to me with my two
	scores in A, and also an answer to my injunction about Ertmann, as early
	to-day as you can (_presto, prestissimo_!)--_nota bene_, the _finale_ to be
	_a march in double-quick time_. I recommend the best execution of these
	orders, so that no further obstacle may intervene to my recovery.

	</pre>
	</blockquote>

	On February 23, 1817, he writes to the Baroness as follows:<ref> </ref>
	<blockquote>
	<pre>

	TO BARONESS DOROTHEA VON ERTMANN.

	Feb. 23, 1817.

	MY DEAR AND VALUED DOROTHEA CECILIA,--

	You have no doubt often misjudged me, from my apparently forbidding manner;
	much of this arose from circumstances, especially in earlier days, when my
	nature was less understood than at present. You know the manifestations of
	those self-elected apostles who promote their interests by means very
	different from those of the true Gospel. I did not wish to be included in
	that number. Receive now what has been long intended for you, and may it
	serve as a proof of my admiration of your artistic talent, and likewise of
	yourself! My not having heard you recently at Cz---- was owing
	to indisposition, which at last appears to be giving way to returning
	health.

	I hope soon to hear how you get on at St. Polten [where her husband's
	regiment was at that time quartered], and whether you still think of your
	admirer and friend,

	L. VAN BEETHOVEN.

	My kindest regards to your excellent husband.

	[Footnote 1: It was admitted that she played Beethoven's compositions with
	the most admirable taste and feeling. Mendelssohn thought so in 1830 at
	Milan, and mentions it in his _Letters from Italy and Switzerland_.]



	</pre>
	</blockquote>

	In ''Late Beethoven: Music, Thought, Imagination'', ] illustrates the relationship between Beethoven and Dorotea Ertmann as follows. "A related and in some ways even more poignant story is told in connection with Beethoven's former student, the ] Dorothea von Ertmann nēe Graumann, who was one of the leading exponents of his keyboard music, and to whom he dedicated the Piano Sonata in A, op. 101, written in ] and published the following year. After the death of her three-year-old son, in ], she found herself unable to weep—and she was additionally troubled by Beethoven's failure to offer his condolences in person. Some years afterward she told her niece, "I could not understand at all why he did not visit me after the death of my beloved only child." Apparently he had some reluctance to come to her house, and finally—-reportedly at her husband's urging—-he invited her to his own home. According to ] account, when Beethoven sat down at the keyboard, his only words to his bereaved friend were "We will now talk to each other in tones." He played for more than an hour until, as she said, "He told me everything, and in the end even brought me comfort ." According to another account of the incident, recalled by the noted actress Antonie Adamberger, he uttered not a single word of greeting, but sat down at the piano and played for Ertmann until at last "she began to sob and thus her grief found both expression and relief." "I felt as if I were listening to choirs of angels celebrating the entrance of my poor child into the world of light," Ertmann told her niece. "When he had finished, he pressed my hand sadly and went away as silently as he had come."<ref>Solomon, Maynard, "Late Beethoven: Music, Thought, Imagination," University of California Press, 2003, ISBN 0520237463, p. 230</ref>

	==First movement==

			The ] draws to an end with the beautiful, meditative melodies in the middle register supported by an embellishment of the ] chord (in the higher register) which creates a delicate, ponderous resonance.
	The ] marking for the opening movement, "Etwas Lebhaft und mit innigsten empfindung" is roughly translated as "rather lively and with the warmest feeling", a marking which seeks to convey something of the romantic, elegaic aura of this opening movement. The adoption of this more subjective, personalised marking breaks away from the conventional tempo markings and demands a more intuitive engagement between the performer and the music, which would have been especially important to Beethoven as the interpretation of his music was left in the hands of the performers of the day due to his deafness.
	The ] tempo markings are an assertion of Beethoven's strong sense of German identity and looks forward to the "]", or ''Hammerklavier'' Sonata.
	From the opening of this movement Beethoven's deft articulation of tonal and textural ambiguities manifests itself. The ] of this movement is ], and yet in the opening bars we have the dominant ] and subdominant ] phrases establishing a wonderful air of irresolution and speculation which weaves tantalisingly around the ] sonority of A major. Also present here and throughout the ] and which works in conjunction with the harmonic tension is the intricate fragmentation of the texture caused by complex syncopation. All of this creates a meandering conversation of expectation, irresolution and frustration which dominates the movement.
	This call and response of phrases and the inflections of the single melodic line along with the harmonic and syntactical tension then abates and the high register recedes to rest on the tonally resolute and rhythmically balanced progression back and forth between the tonic of A major and dominant of E major, creating a serene stillness with the warm, melancholic and slightly abrasive inclusion of the ] of the A major ].
	The ] draws to an end with the beautiful, meditative melodies in the middle register supported by an embellishment of the E major chord(in the higher register) which creates a delicate, ponderous resonance.
	This dreamlike lull is dispersed and the rhythmic and harmonic obscurities return. They now are built onto the ] of ] and alternate dynamically between forcefulness and respite. Just when this discord seems to have reached an impasse the opening progression returns, seemingly pulled from thin air, with variations which muse reflectively in the wake of the dissonance. The variation of the progression of the opening half of the movement seems to carry a keener poignancy particularly with the return of the two-] phrase from the ]. This however is far more abruptly shattered than before with raked ] ] chords falling on rhythmically irregular positions in the bar, concluding an idea which seems to reverse the principles of resolution by illustrating the completeness of its decay.
	The movement draws to a close on a hopeful note, the strife and discord giving way to a spirit of gladness and yet tinged with sadness. The final phrase seems to express an inconsolable yearning as it wavers on the ] before finally resting on the tonic of A major, closing the movement with a sigh of completion.

	==Second Movement ==		==Second Movement ==
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	* {{IMSLP2\|id=Piano_Sonata_No.28_%28Beethoven%2C_Ludwig_van%29\|cname=Piano Sonata No. 28}}		* {{IMSLP2\|id=Piano_Sonata_No.28_%28Beethoven%2C_Ludwig_van%29\|cname=Piano Sonata No. 28}}
	* Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 28, Op. 101, at Raptus Association		* Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 28, Op. 101, at Raptus Association
			* by Mark Salman.

	{{Beethoven piano sonatas}}		{{Beethoven piano sonatas}}

Revision as of 05:24, 19 January 2008

File:Sonata Op101intro.jpg

Opening of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, op. 101, was written in 1816 and was dedicated to Baroness and pianist Dorotea Ertmann. This piano sonata runs for about 20 minutes and consists of four movements:

Etwas lebhaft, und mit der inngsten Empfindung. (Somewhat lively, and with innermost sensitivity.) Allegretto, ma non troppo
Lebhaft. Marschmäßig. (Lively. Moderate march.) Vivace alla marcia
Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll. (Slow and yearning-full) Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto
Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit. (Swiftly, but not too much, and with determination) Allegro

Composition & Publication

The piano sonata Op.101 no.28 begins the series of Beethoven's "Late Period" sonatas, when his music moved in a new direction toward a more personal, more intimate, sometimes even an introspective, realm of freedom and fantasy. In this period he had achieved a complete mastery of form, texture and tonality and was subverting the very conventions he had mastered to create works of remarkable profundity and beauty. It is also characteristic of these late works to incorporate contrapuntal techniques (e.g. canon and fugue) into the sonata form.

Beethoven himself described this sonata, composed in the town of Baden, just south of Vienna, during the summer of 1816, as "a series of impressions and reveries." The more intimate nature of the late sonatas probably has some connection with his deafness, which by this stage was almost total, isolating him from society so completely that his only means of communicating with friends and visitors was by means of a notebook.

For the first time Beethoven used the German term hammerclavier to refer to the piano (although it was the next of his sonatas, Op. 106, that became widely known as the Hammerklavier sonata).

First movement

The tempo marking for the opening movement, "Etwas Lebhaft und mit innigsten empfindung" is roughly translated as "rather lively and with the warmest feeling," a marking which seeks to convey something of the romantic, elegaic aura of this opening movement. The adoption of this more subjective, personalised marking breaks away from the conventional tempo markings and demands a more intuitive engagement between the performer and the music, which would have been especially important to Beethoven as the interpretation of his music was left in the hands of the performers of the day due to his deafness.

The coda draws to an end with the beautiful, meditative melodies in the middle register supported by an embellishment of the E major chord (in the higher register) which creates a delicate, ponderous resonance.

Second Movement

The second movement takes the form a vigorous classical march characterized by a daring, formidable and clamorous network of dotted rhythms and harmonic dislocation. The effect can be disconcerting, alternating between static and accelerando and fusing seemingly distant and irrational musical motives. Erratic dynamics reinforce the eccentric rhythmic and contrapuntal forces. The opening voice-leading, tonal progressions and hypermetric patterns provide the model for the duration of the A-section.

Third Movement

The third movement acts as a bit of an introduction to the fourth movement, perhaps akin to the nearly static " Introduzione" middle movement of the Waldstein, Sonata 21. Strikingly, the opening melody of the first movement is recalled just as the third movement nears its conclusion. Downward arpeggios accelerate upward, then trills move upward. The concluding fugue leaps forth mit Entschlossenheit.

Fourth Movement

Work in progress!

External links

Free scores by Piano Sonata No. 28 at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 28, Op. 101, Creation history and discussion of musical content at Raptus Association
Discussion and performance of Op. 101 by Mark Salman.

v t e Piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven
Early sonatas	No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1 No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2 No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3 No. 4 in E♭ major, Op. 7 (Grand Sonata) No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1 No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2 No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3 No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 (Pathétique) No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1 No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2 No. 11 in B♭ major, Op. 22 No. 12 in A♭ major, Op. 26 No. 13 in E♭ major, Op. 27/1 No. 14 in C♯ minor, Op. 27/2 (Moonlight) No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 (Pastoral)
Middle sonatas	No. 16 in G major, Op. 31/1 No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31/2 (The Tempest) No. 18 in E♭ major, Op. 31/3 (The Hunt) No. 19 in G minor and No. 20 in G major, Op. 49 No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 (Waldstein) No. 22 in F major, Op. 54 No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (Appassionata) No. 24 in F♯ major, Op. 78 (À Thérèse) No. 25 in G major, Op. 79 No. 26 in E♭ major, Op. 81a (Les adieux) No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90
Late sonatas	No. 28 in A major, Op. 101 No. 29 in B♭ major, Op. 106 (Hammerklavier) No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 No. 31 in A♭ major, Op. 110 No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111
Duo	Sonata in D major for piano four-hands, Op. 6
Unnumbered (WoO)	Three Piano Sonatas, WoO 47 Piano Sonata in C major, WoO 51 (fragmentary)
Doubtful (Anh.)	Sonatina in G major, Anh. 5/1 Sonatina in F major, Anh. 5/2
Related works	Andante favori, WoO 57

Category:

Piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven