An Analysis of Beethoven Pathetique Sonata

To assign the first movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony the sonata form would truly be a subjective judgment. I will first explain how this movement fits thesonata form; then I will discuss how it diverges from this form in rather fascinating ways.

As noted by Robert Hughes, "Beethoven was not only the embodiment of all that was before him, but also of that which was yet to come" (Hughes 486). The truth of this may be seen by comparing Beethoven's 5th Symphony in C Minor to Haydn, the father of Symphony, and his 95th in C Minor. While Haydn's symphony is both playful and dramatic, Beethoven's symphony is grander both in terms of scale and vision. He expands the size of the orchestra to incorporate the sounds swirling around, underlying, and depicting the arrival of Fate in a rhythm-driven, thematic symphony that takes Haydn's form and runs with it as though to the top of a mountain peak. This paper will analyze the symphonies by movement, according to form, size, structure, tonalities, melodies, orchestral sound and overall mood and effect.

Many consider Ludwig Von Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 as his first major musical accomplishment, more commonly known as Sonata Pathetique. Written at the age of 27 in 1798, the young composer had gained instant fame and his work was published only a year later. Beethoven, being one of the first significant musicians to work for them selves, is said to have given it the title.

Composers since the early classical era have used sonata form to express through music ideas which are at once complex and unified. This form contains a variety of themes and permutations of these themes, but is brought together into a comprehensible whole when these excerpts reappear. Beethoven, in the first movement of his Piano Sonata Opus 2 Number 3 utilizes this form to its full potential, modifying the typical structure in his characteristic way.

a)The "Beethoven Concerto"s and Op. 37's Placement in the Genre and as a continuation of Mozart's Style

Ever since his father began teaching him as a child to play the violin and clavier, any keyboard instrument such as the harpsichord, Ludwig van Beethoven has been amongst the most renowned and influential composers of music. Despite the harsh punishments and mistreatment Beethoven suffered through while practicing with his father, he still managed to become a “prodigy” at a rather young age, having his first public recital at around seven years old. After his first recital role music played in his continued to grow, and soon after dropping out of school to pursue music “full time” he published his first composition.

Rondo Op.51 No.1 in C major by Beethoven • Rondo: a musical form characterized by a repeated theme that alternate with other themes • Opus: a number given chronologically order the works of a composer • This rondo was composed between 1796 and 1797. • About the composer and period: Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827) • Period: Classical (1750-1820)/early Romantic (about 1820/30s-1910) • Nationality: German • Contemporaries: Haydn, Mozart, Clementi • Works included: • 32 piano sonatas (including the 'Pathetique'; the 'Moonlight'; the 'Appassionata'); bagatelles, 6 sonatinas • 9 symphonies - including the 'Eroica' (3rd); 'Pastoral' (6th); the 'Choral' (9th) • chamber music - including 9 piano trios, 5 cello and piano sonatas

Beethoven contributed one of the most significant musical developments through his fifth and ninth symphonies. He used a musical motive as the basic of his entire piece. (Beethoven described the motive as “Fate knocks at the door”.) It was the first time in history that anyone had done such a thing for a multi-movement piece. Beethoven’s contribution has become a norm in the music world, even to this day.

Ludwig Van Beethoven was one of the most influential composers of his time. The decades around the 1800’s were years of many changes and Beethoven’s new approach to music was something that reflected that. “His symphonies, concertos, string quartets and piano sonatas are central to the repertory of classical music.” This essay will focus on the historical and theoretical aspects of the third movement of Sonata Op. 28 No. 15.

The early piano sonatas of Beethoven deserve special mention. Although his first published examples of concertos and trios and the first two symphonies are beneath the masterpieces of Mozart and Haydn, the piano sonatas bear an unmistakably Beethovian stamp: grandiose in scope and length, and innovative in their range of expression. The sonatas were able to move expression from terrible rage to peals of laughter to deep depression so suddenly. Capturing this unpredictable style in his music, a new freedom of expression which broke the bounds of Classical ideals, was to position Beethoven as a disturbed man in the minds of some of his contemporaries. Furthermore, he was to be seen as the father of Romanticism and the single most important innovator of music in the minds of those after him. (Bookspan 27).

The key of C minor, Beethoven’s Sturm und Drang (German for ‘Storm and Stress’) key which many of his most intensive and powerful pieces were written in (5th Symphony, Piano Concerto No.3, for instance). ‘Pathétique’ - one of his three piano sonatas written in the key of C minor, was composed during Beethoven’s early period, when he was 27 years old, and published in 1799. It is perhaps Beethoven’s earliest composition that has achieved widespread and enduring popularity.

Unlike his other two sonatas, Brahms’ third sonata for violin and piano is in four movements. The structures are so lean and direct that, despite the extra movement, the sonata is not any longer than the others. Although in many ways recalling the passionate exuberance of some of Brahms’s youthful works, its economy of means and direct argument create a work that is a fine example of his style. In this project and paper, an application of form analysis will be used to discover relations between movements. This project will also prove Brahms’ use of motives creates unity between all four movements, despite the contrast of keys and some latent musical features. Brahms also employs equivalence between the violin and piano to pull this sonata

Ludwig Van Beethoven 's Quasi Una Fantasia, later named and more famously known as The Moonlight Sonata, is a piano piece that can be portrayed and analyzed in a multitude of ways. The piece was published in 1801, during a period of great experimentation in Beethoven 's music. This can help explain how the piece addresses a broad range of emotions that vary from romance to frustration to anger. The first movement is full of all of those feelings and more, however it is the pianist who decides which of them will triumph over the rest.

This sonata was composed around 1802, a point at which Beethoven experienced the crisis of encroaching deafness. From then on, the composer started to introduce innovative and bold ideas within classical framework in his musical composition to expand the expressiveness of his music. His novel approach was evident in his formal and harmonic arrangement in the first movement of Sonata Op.31 No.1.

Chopin’s third sonata is a masterwork filled with pianistic elements, daring harmonies, experimental form, and a wealth of expressivity. In this four-movement work, references to other Chopin compositions and influences from fellow composers are found. At the same time, there is a progressive element; it looks forward to the heights which would be achieved by Chopin and later composers.