Piano Sonata No. 11 (Beethoven)
Encyclopedia
Beethoven's
Piano Sonata No. 11 in B-flat major, Op.
22, composed in 1800.
Prominent musicologist Donald Francis Tovey
has called this work the crowning achievement and culmination of Beethoven's early "grand" piano sonatas. (The "grand" modifier was applied by Beethoven to sonatas with four movements instead of three). The sonatas after this one find Beethoven experimenting more with form and concept.
A typical performance lasts 23 minutes.
The first movement is in typical sonata form
. The exposition starts in the tonic key and transitions into the dominant key as the second theme begins. The development plays around with the closing measures of the exposition before making the right hand play arpeggios as the bass line slowly descends chromatically. The theme of the closing octaves from the exposition comes back again in the bass, leading into a chromatic scale resolving in an FMm7 chord (dominant function of the sonata), which sets up the recapitulation. The recapitulation is at first the same as the exposition, with a deviation that sets the rest of the movement to stay in the tonic key.
The second movement is in E flat major
and is also in sonata form. The exposition starts in the tonic key and ends in the dominant key. The development plays around with the first theme of the exposition, slowly building intensity until both hands play constant 16th notes. The right hand plays a second voice above its 16th notes, and a little later, the left hand plays a bass line consisting of just B flats. The left hand then stops and the right hand flows right into the recapitulation. The recapitulation stays in the tonic key for the rest of the movement.
The third movement is in minuet and trio form, but the trio is instead a very contrasting "Minore". The first 30 measures of the Minuetto are in B flat major, the Minore is in G minor (the relative minor of B flat major). The end of the Minore is marked Minuetto D.C. senza replica which means to play the Minuetto again, this time without taking the repeats.
The fourth movement is in a rondo form: A-B-A-C-A-B-A-Coda. The first "A" theme starts in the tonic key, and the "B" theme transitions into the dominant key with big grand arpeggios in the right hand using a good portion of the keyboard. After the arpeggios, both hands play around with the "A" theme's melody before arriving back to the tonic key at the second "A" theme (with very little deviation from the first "A" theme). Suddenly, the "C" theme begins with a key change into B flat minor (although not marked in the key signature). The sharp forte chords, although in stark contrast with the rest of the rondo, bear some resemblance to the first few chords of the "B" theme. The right hand then plays urgent 32nd notes while the left hand supports with staccato 16th notes. This reaches a climax, a "call-and-response" play on the beginning of the "C" theme, and the 32nd note passage with the climax again. Not unlike the end of the "B" theme, the "A" theme's melody is suggested a few times before returning to the tonic key and a third "A" section. However, the melody of this "A" section is in the left hand until the right hand has a two-measure 32nd note run that flows into the rest of the melody, this time the right hand octaves being broken. The next section (second "B" section) is very similar to the first "B" section except that it stays in the tonic key all the way through. A fake "A" section is played in the subdominant key before developing into the final "A" section where the melody consists of triplet 16th notes instead of regular duplet 16th notes. The very end of the final "A" sections runs right into the coda that builds up to an exciting final climax before relaxing to a piano dynamic level and two big chords (dominant seventh to tonic) to conclude the sonata.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Piano Sonata No. 11 in B-flat major, Op.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
22, composed in 1800.
Prominent musicologist Donald Francis Tovey
Donald Francis Tovey
Sir Donald Francis Tovey was a British musical analyst, musicologist, writer on music, composer, conductor and pianist...
has called this work the crowning achievement and culmination of Beethoven's early "grand" piano sonatas. (The "grand" modifier was applied by Beethoven to sonatas with four movements instead of three). The sonatas after this one find Beethoven experimenting more with form and concept.
Movements
The sonata has four movements:- Allegro con brio
- Adagio con molt' espressione
- Menuetto
- Rondo: Allegretto
A typical performance lasts 23 minutes.
The first movement is in typical sonata form
Sonata form
Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
. The exposition starts in the tonic key and transitions into the dominant key as the second theme begins. The development plays around with the closing measures of the exposition before making the right hand play arpeggios as the bass line slowly descends chromatically. The theme of the closing octaves from the exposition comes back again in the bass, leading into a chromatic scale resolving in an FMm7 chord (dominant function of the sonata), which sets up the recapitulation. The recapitulation is at first the same as the exposition, with a deviation that sets the rest of the movement to stay in the tonic key.
The second movement is in E flat major
E flat major
E major or E-flat major is a major scale based on E-flat, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats: B, E, A.Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor....
and is also in sonata form. The exposition starts in the tonic key and ends in the dominant key. The development plays around with the first theme of the exposition, slowly building intensity until both hands play constant 16th notes. The right hand plays a second voice above its 16th notes, and a little later, the left hand plays a bass line consisting of just B flats. The left hand then stops and the right hand flows right into the recapitulation. The recapitulation stays in the tonic key for the rest of the movement.
The third movement is in minuet and trio form, but the trio is instead a very contrasting "Minore". The first 30 measures of the Minuetto are in B flat major, the Minore is in G minor (the relative minor of B flat major). The end of the Minore is marked Minuetto D.C. senza replica which means to play the Minuetto again, this time without taking the repeats.
The fourth movement is in a rondo form: A-B-A-C-A-B-A-Coda. The first "A" theme starts in the tonic key, and the "B" theme transitions into the dominant key with big grand arpeggios in the right hand using a good portion of the keyboard. After the arpeggios, both hands play around with the "A" theme's melody before arriving back to the tonic key at the second "A" theme (with very little deviation from the first "A" theme). Suddenly, the "C" theme begins with a key change into B flat minor (although not marked in the key signature). The sharp forte chords, although in stark contrast with the rest of the rondo, bear some resemblance to the first few chords of the "B" theme. The right hand then plays urgent 32nd notes while the left hand supports with staccato 16th notes. This reaches a climax, a "call-and-response" play on the beginning of the "C" theme, and the 32nd note passage with the climax again. Not unlike the end of the "B" theme, the "A" theme's melody is suggested a few times before returning to the tonic key and a third "A" section. However, the melody of this "A" section is in the left hand until the right hand has a two-measure 32nd note run that flows into the rest of the melody, this time the right hand octaves being broken. The next section (second "B" section) is very similar to the first "B" section except that it stays in the tonic key all the way through. A fake "A" section is played in the subdominant key before developing into the final "A" section where the melody consists of triplet 16th notes instead of regular duplet 16th notes. The very end of the final "A" sections runs right into the coda that builds up to an exciting final climax before relaxing to a piano dynamic level and two big chords (dominant seventh to tonic) to conclude the sonata.
External links
- A lecture by András SchiffAndrás SchiffAndrás Schiff is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist, who has won a number of awards including the Grammy and made numerous recordings.- Biography :...
on Beethoven's piano sonata op. 22 - For a public domain recording of this sonata visit Musopen