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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.
Why did Beethoven set about these radical changes in an established genre? One might suppose that, as his hearing declined after the turn of the century, he found more aggressively forceful music better suited to his new world view.
- Betsy Schwarm
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Why did Beethoven stop writing sonatas?
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Why do you like Beethoven's Op 14 sonatas?
- Pathétique. To single out just a few. The most important of the early Sonatas is the Pathétique. For the first time Beethoven uses a slow introduction, and an introduction of such weight you know something truly significant is going on.
- The Moonlight. The most famous movement of any of the 32 Piano Sonatas is the opening movement of The Moonlight – the Sonata he composed for the woman he wanted to marry, Giulietta Guicciardi [see Chapter 6, Beethoven’s Women].
- Waldstein. We already know the origin of the Waldstein from Chapter 3, The Spaniard. The gloriously spacious theme of the final movement is prefaced by a mysterious, fragmented middle movement, which presages it perfectly.
- Appassionata. Wagner’s favourite was the Appassionata. He loved playing it, and marvelled at the theme of the first movement rising from the depths. Once again, as with the Pathétique, the middle movement is simplicity itself, almost a theme on a single note.
Beethoven Piano Sonatas: how the composer broke the mould. From the early Op. 2 set of sonatas to the famous 'Moonlight', find out why Beethoven's piano sonatas broke the mould - and hear from pianists themselves about how they approach performing them. Imagine how it must feel, walking on stage to perform Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
Jul 23, 2020 · Even more than the string quartet, the sonata was, with a few exceptions, the province of the amateur musician. We may profitably invert Proust’s metaphor: the Beethoven piano sonatas were the steak and potatoes of art music, the proof that one had access at home to the greatest masterpieces of music.
For example, in what we now call Sonata form (a name that didn’t exist when Beethoven wrote his sonatas), most movements stop approximately halfway. When they stop, they almost always stop on the dominant (or, as we will see with Beethoven, an alternative to the dominant).
Apr 30, 2021 · Beethoven wrote nine symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, an opera, and choral music, as well as many other works for soloists and orchestra, solo instruments, and chamber ensembles.
