CCCLV. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van: Piano Sonata #8 in C Minor, Op. 13

CCCLV. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van (1770-1827)

Piano Sonata #8 in C Minor, Op. 13 (1798)
1. Grave -- Allegro di molto e con brio
2. Adagio cantabile
3. Rondo: Allegro
Daniel Barenboim, piano
(20:18)

Grande sonate pathétique.

Beethoven and C Minor.

When Beethoven first moved to Vienna in 1792, he built his reputation as a pianist by playing Mozart concerti and -- by 1795 -- his own first two piano concerti.

This sonata, however, cemented Beethoven's reputation as a composer for solo piano. The work became justifiably noticed by Viennese society.

First Movement

Grave. There is a stillness after the initial two-octave thump of a great C Minor chord. Beethoven makes great use of the F-Sharp diminished chord (vii°/V) and finally gets the left hand going ... an explosion of 128th-notes leads to the first theme (red arrow):

The secondary theme (blue arrow) is in E-Flat Minor -- the minor of the parallel major, to be specific ... filled with cross-hand figures and fast mordents.

The third theme (red star) -- though it is more a worked-out motif -- is in E-Flat Major, repeats an E-Flat and then jumps up in 1/8th-note steps until it cadences (blue star).

The Grave returns -- now in G Minor -- for four bars, before a long section of dominant preparation anticipates the recap in C Minor.

Recap: Theme 1 & 3 in C Minor; Theme 2 in F Minor:

There's that diminished chord again before he brings it home with a bang:

Second Movement

A-Flat Major; achingly beautiful.

Episode One (orange arrow) in the relative minor -- F Minor; modulates (blue arrow) to the dominant E-Flat Major.

The theme the returns in the original key.

Episode Two -- Parallel minor -- A-Flat Minor (blue star) modulating to E Major (red star):

before returning again to A-Flat, with triplet accompaniment (purple arrow):

In other formats:

1. Adventures in Good Music
2. KISS: Great Expectations
3. KISS: Alive IV
4. BILLY JOEL: This Night (chorus)
5. Schroeder (Peanuts)

Third Movement

A typical rondo, but ingeniously combining elements of the first two movements (note the first four notes are identical to the secondary theme of the first movement!)

Episodes sandwiched between the C Minor rondo theme are in:

1. E-Flat Major (red arrow);
2. A-Flat Major (blue arrow); and
   
3. C Major (green arrow)