Beethoven Piano Sonatas 23 topics
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Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his 35 piano sonatas between 1782 and 1822.[1] 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.[2] Hans von Bülow called them "The New Testament" of the piano literature (Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier being "The Old Testament").[3]
Beethoven's piano sonatas came to be seen as the first cycle of major piano pieces suited to concert hall performance.[2] Being suitable for both private and public performance, Beethoven's sonatas form "a bridge between the worlds of the salon and the concert hall".[2] The first person to play them all in a single concert cycle was Hans von Bülow, the first complete recording is Artur Schnabel's for the label His Master's Voice. |
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Early Sonatas 10 topicsBeethoven's early sonatas were highly influenced by those of Haydn and Mozart. The first three sonatas, written in 1782-3 are usually not acknowledged as part of the complete set of piano sonatas, due to the fact that he was 13 when they were published.[4] His Piano Sonatas No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 15 are four movements long, which was rather uncommon in his time.
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Middle Sonatas 8 topicsAfter he wrote his first 15 sonatas, he wrote to Wenzel Krumpholz, "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.
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Late Sonatas 5 topicsBeethoven'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 played it in a concert.
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