Beethoven Piano Sonata 27

Opus 90


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Beethoven Piano Sonata 27 First edition

Beethoven Piano Sonata 27 –Manuscript

1814.

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"The genie is made up of 2% talent and 98% constant perseverance." –L. V. Beethoven.

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Beethoven Piano Sonata 27 –Interesting Facts

The Opus 90 Sonata evades easy characterisation. It’s highly compressed, usually taking no more than 14 minutes to be performed in its entirety, and is constructed with incredible efficiency despite its thematic richness.


Beethoven Piano Sonata 27 –Novelties

The refrain of the rondo of the second movement is one of the most beautiful melodies Beethoven has ever written, but the first movement is much more difficult to pin down; it is certainly full of tension, but of a rather lonely and maddening kind; it is not as threatening as Appassionata or violent as Opus 111. Of particular interest is the development section of the first movement, which is as short as it is ingenious, and the structure of the rondo, a bit mysterious, has elements of sonata form, and no one knows if it actually got a coda, and where it begins, if it exists.


Biography of the Sonata

Several prolonged bouts of illness caused the composer to spend time at various spas, most notably Teplitz, a spa four days' journey from Vienna where prominent figures from Germany and Austria vacationed. In 1812 Beethoven wrote a love letter that he apparently never sent, but instead hid in private papers in a secret drawer in his desk. Addressed “To the Immortal Beloved”, the letter was found after her death. The identity of the woman for whom it was intended has been a matter of debate. Four different women have been proposed as possibilities. Recent research has suggested that the most likely candidate is Antonie Brentano, a Viennese woman who married Franz Brentano, a Frankfurt merchant, in 1798. The letter was to have been sent to Karlsbad on July 5 or 6, and Antonie seems being the only woman who could possibly have been in that city around those dates. He was probably taking care of business at the Birkenstock estate and returning to Frankfurt a short time later. Beethoven possibly never saw Antonie again after this period. She bore her husband six children, including Maximiliane, to whom Beethoven dedicated sonata no. 30.


Information of the facts in the composition of the Sonata

The autograph is dated August 16, 1814. The work was advertised in the Wiener Zeitung on June 9, 1815, by the publisher Sigmund Anton Steiner (1773-1838). It was one of the first of several Beethoven works to be published by Steiner. The publisher owned a music store in Vienna that was a frequent hangout for Beethoven and his friends. This sonata is dedicated to Count Moritz Lichnowsky (1771–1837), the younger brother of Prince Karl Lichnowsky (1761-1814). Early in Beethoven's career, Karl was a great supporter and friend. Unfortunately, a fight broke out between Beethoven and Karl in 1806 during the composer's visit to Lichnowsky Castle in Gräz. Beethoven and Moritz, however, remained good friends.


Considerations

This work consists of two movements of almost equal importance, the first a sonata form in E minor and the second a rondo in parallel major.

Possible relationships between the movements

The connections in this work are tenuous, hardly appreciated.

Both movements open with strong beats.

The short-long rhythmic pattern that opens the sonata appears in transitions to the second themes of both movements.

Both movements feature descending lines outlined in octaves, on the second themes in each movement.


First Movement: E minor | I live with feeling and expression | 3/4 | sonata form

Exposition
Measures 1 to 24

The opening features a strong rhythmic motif that alternates with a lyrical piano response. The response is extended with an extended range with harmonic support that includes acrodes in the left hand that span the interval of a tenth.

Measures 25 to 45

One transition is notable for using descending scales and cadences to go through the keys of C major, A minor, and B♭ major, arriving at the dominant minor of the movement, B minor.

Measures 55 to 66

The second theme in B minor introduces a fast figurative broken chord in the left hand that is often extended to the interval of a tenth, creating a technical challenge, especially for small hands.

Measures 67 to 84

The exposition ends in B minor, introducing and reiterating a phrase that ends with the interval of a falling minor second, possibly derived from the first two notes of the second theme introduced in commas 55.

Development

This section features both rhythmic and lyrical elements in the opening theme of the exhibition.

Measures 85 to 107

The rhythmic motif of the opening theme is enunciated and then fragmented, passing through A minor, E♭ major, E♭ minor, and unrolling into a G pedal point followed by converging chromatic lines in each hand.

Measures 108 to 132

The lyrical element of the first opening theme is introduced in the right hand, then placed in the left hand with a sixteenth note broken chord figuration on the right, opening in C major and passing through F major, A minor and ending in E minor. .

Measures 132 to 143

The short retransition is notable for its canonical display, first proceeding with the augment, going from sixteenth notes to eighth notes, quarter notes, and half notes, and then back to shorter note values in ever closer imitation.

Recapitulation

This section is regular in the sense that it reaffirms all the materials in the exhibition.

Measures 180 to 181

Measures 223 to 245

A phrase from the closing section is extended, leading to a very short coda. Fragments of the opening theme come together to form a quiet closing.


Second Movement: E major | not very vigorous and presented in a very singable way | 2/4 | Similar to sonata form

Measures 1 to 32

Theme A is lyrical and almost pastoral.

Measures 33 to 59

A transition in C♯ minor leads to the lyrical B theme in the dominant with opening phrases accompanied by a written trill figure.

Measures 60 to 69

The closing theme in black and white is important in the development section.

Measures 70 to 113

A full restatement of the A theme unexpectedly ends with an extension modulating to C major.

Measures 114 to 139

Section C develops the aforementioned closing theme, beginning in C major and progressing through C minor, C♯ minor, and C♯ major. A new transition looms in the dominant of the opening tone.

Measures 140 to 199

The exposition-like opening section is repeated with the B section in the tonic.

Bars 200 to 290

The closing section now leads into a developing coda consisting of several events: an imitative use of the second phrase of A, dominant harmony, a partial reaffirmation of A with the melody line shared by both hands, another extension and development of the second phrase from A, and a final partial statement from A that fragments and brings the movement to a silent close.


Comments

Sonata in two movements.