Piano Sonata No. 23 (Beethoven)
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Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, opus 57, known as the Appassionata, is considered one of the three great piano sonatas of his middle period (the others being the Waldstein sonata, opus 53 and the Lebewohl (Les adieux) sonata, opus 81a). It was composed during 1804, 1805, and perhaps 1806, and is dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick. The first edition was published in February 1807 in Vienna.
An average performance of all three movements of the Appassionata sonata lasts about 23 minutes.
Form
The Appassionata has three movements:
- Allegro Assai
- Andante con moto - attacca
- Allegro, ma non troppo - Presto
- similar to the original theme, with the left hand playing on the off-beats.
- an embellishment of the theme in sixteenth notes.
- a rapid embellishment in thirty-second notes. Instead of repeating, the left hand and right hand each take sections of the theme in turn.
- a reprise of the original theme, with small changes. Instead of ending on a quiet note, the closing fortissimo diminshed 7th chord strikes like a thunderbolt and leads without pause into the third movement.
The third movement is a sonata-allegro in which, very unusually, only the second part is directed to be repeated. The movement is based on a perpetuum mobile theme, with rapid-sixteenth notes that are interrupted only in the development and in the coda. The movement is mysteriously complex and fast-paced in nature. It has been called many things by music critics — passionate, despairing, and breath-taking. Beethoven ends the third movement of his Symphony No. 5 with unresolved tension. Without pause between movements, the fourth movement follows with triumphant fanfare. Likewise here, there is also a brief moment of unresolved tension ending this middle movement (a more brief delay than in the Fifth).
At the start of the finale to the last movement, a very brief and completely new theme appears -- a demonic Russian bear-dance-like tune played loud and very fast (introduced by a pair of emphatic chords) first in F minor, repeated, and then inverted in G sharp major, repeated. The finale is the essence of the perpetuum mobile theme, but played so fast that the notes cannot be heard individually by most mere mortals, but blur together breathlessly. Just before the final brilliant descending cascade of F-minor arpeggios, the two-note clarion call C-F can be heard above the other notes -- very loud, played just four times. This is perhaps the most satisyfing of all Beethoven's finales, on a par with that of his Ninth Symphony.
The Appassionata was reportedly Beethoven's favorite among his 32 piano sonatas.
External links
- [Creation History and Discussion of Musical Content]
- Analysis of [Beethoven's Appassionata] Sonata on the [All About Ludwig van Beethoven] Page
- Further analysis [at BBC Radio 3]
- [Public domain score and midi file of the 2nd movement] on Mutopia
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