Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
wrote 32 mature
piano sonata
A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement ( Scarlatti, Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Berg), others with t ...
s between 1795 and 1822. (He also wrote 3 juvenile sonatas at the age of 13 and one unfinished sonata, WoO. 51.) Although originally not intended to be a meaningful whole, as a set they comprise one of the most important collections of works in the
history of music
Although definitions of music vary wildly throughout the world, every known culture partakes in it, and it is thus considered a cultural universal. The origins of music remain highly contentious; commentators often relate it to the origin of ...
.Rosen (2002), accompanying note
Hans von Bülow
Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for es ...
called them "The
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
" of piano literature (
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
's ''
The Well-Tempered Clavier
''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, ''clavier'', meaning keyboard, referred to a variety of in ...
'' being "The
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
").
Beethoven's piano sonatas came to be seen as the first cycle of major piano pieces suited to both private and public performance. They form "a bridge between the worlds of the salon and the concert hall". The first person to play them all in a single concert cycle was
Hans von Bülow
Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for es ...
The first three sonatas, written in 1782–1783, are usually not acknowledged as part of the complete set of piano sonatas because Beethoven was 13 when they were published.
* WoO 47: Three Piano Sonatas (composed 1782–3, published 1783)
*# Piano Sonata in E-flat major
*# Piano Sonata in F minor
*# Piano Sonata in D major
Early sonatas
Beethoven's early sonatas were highly influenced by those of
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
and
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
Wenzel Krumpholz Wenzel Krumpholz or Václav Krumpholz (1750 – May 2, 1817) was a Czech-born musician who played mandolin and violin. He studied the mandolin at an early age and became one of the most renowned performers on this instrument. At a later date he adop ...
, "From now on, I'm going to take a new path." Beethoven's sonatas from this period are very different from his earlier ones. His experimentation in modifications to the common sonata form of Haydn and Mozart became more daring, as did the depth of expression. Most Romantic period sonatas were highly influenced by those of Beethoven. After his 20th sonata, published in 1805, Beethoven ceased to publish sonatas in sets and published all his subsequent sonatas each as a single whole opus. It is unclear why he did so.
* Opus 31: Three Piano Sonatas (1802)
# Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major
# Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ("Tempest")
# Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major ("The Hunt")
* Opus 53: Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major ("Waldstein") (1804)
**WoO 57:
Andante favori
The ''Andante favori'' is a work for piano solo by Ludwig van Beethoven. In catalogues of Beethoven's works, it is designated as WoO 57.
Composition and reception
The ''Andante favori'' was written between 1803 and 1804, and published in 1805. ...
Beethoven's late sonatas were some of his most difficult works and some of today's most difficult repertoire. Yet again, his music found a new path, often incorporating fugal technique and displaying radical departure from conventional sonata form. The " Hammerklavier" was deemed to be Beethoven's most difficult sonata yet. In fact, it was considered unplayable until almost 15 years later, when
Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
In a single concert cycle, the whole 32 sonatas were first performed by
Hans von Bülow
Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for es ...
. A number of other pianists have emulated this feat, including
Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centur ...
(the first since Bülow to play the complete cycle in concert from memory),
Roger Woodward
Roger Woodward (born 20 December 1942) is an Australian classical pianist, composer, conductor and teacher.
Life and career Early life
The youngest of four children, Roger Woodward was born in Sydney where he received first piano lessons ...
,
Rudolf Buchbinder
Rudolf Buchbinder (born 1 December 1946, Litoměřice, Czechoslovakia) is an Austrian classical pianist.
Biography
Buchbinder studied with Bruno Seidlhofer at the Vienna Academy of Music. In 1965, he made a tour of North and South Americas. In ...
and
Michael Houstoun
Michael James Houstoun (born 20 October 1952) is a concert pianist from New Zealand. He has twice in his life performed the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas and in between these achievements, he overcame focal hand dystonia.
Early life
Hou ...
, who has performed the full sonata cycle twice; first at the age of 40, and then 20 years later in 2013.
Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Bra ...
performed the cycle several times.
The first pianist to make a complete recording was Artur Schnabel, who recorded them for the British recording label
His Master's Voice
His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...
(HMV) between 1932 and 1935. Other pianists to make complete recordings include
Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Bra ...
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
,
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (born 17 October 1962) is a French classical pianist.
Education
Bavouzet was born in Lannion, France and grew up in Metz. He started his music studies there, encountering successful composers including Iannis Xenakis, Oliv ...
,
Mari Kodama
(born 1967) is a classical pianist who has performed in Europe, North America and Japan.
Background
Kodama was born in Osaka, Japan in 1967 and raised in Germany and Paris, France due to her father's postings in these countries as well as Switze ...
,
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ''G ...
,
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович Ашкена́зи, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He ...
,
Maurizio Pollini
Maurizio Pollini (born 5 January 1942) is an Italian pianist. He is known for performances of compositions by Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy, among others. He has also championed and performed works by contemporary composers such as Pierre Boulez ...
,
Richard Goode
Richard Goode (born June 1, 1943) is an American classical pianist who is especially known for his interpretations of Mozart and Beethoven.
Early life
Goode was born in the East Bronx, New York. He studied piano with Elvira Szigeti, Claude Fra ...
,
Igor Levit
Igor Levit (russian: link=no, Игорь Левит; born 10 March 1987) is a Russian-German pianist who focuses on the works of Bach, Beethoven, and Liszt. He is also a professor at the Musikhochschule Hannover. He lives in Berlin.
Biography
B ...
,
Anton Kuerti
Anton Emil Kuerti, OC (born July 21, 1938) is an Austrian-born Canadian pianist, music teacher, composer, and conductor. He has developed international recognition as a solo pianist.Eduardo del Pueyo, Konstantin Scherbakov,
Boris Giltburg
Boris Leonidovich Giltburg ( he, בוריס גילטבורג, born June 21, 1984) is an Israeli classical pianist, born in Russia.
Biography
Giltburg was born into a Jewish family in Moscow, Russia, and began studying piano with his mother a ...
András Schiff
Sir András Schiff (; born 21 December 1953) is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist and conductor, who has received numerous major awards and honours, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Musi ...
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Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...