DCXXXIV. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van: Sonata #7 in C Minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 30, No. 2

DCXXXIV. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van (1770-1827)

Sonata #7 in C Minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 30, No. 2 (1801-02)
1. Allegro con brio
2. Adagio cantabile
3. Scherzo: Allegro
4. Finale: Allegro; Presto
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Enrico Pace, piano
(24:45)

First movement

C Minor always meant serious business to Beethoven. This quartet is no exception. A simple triadic figure is spun out by the piano on the tonic, followed by the dominant. He then crawls down the scale to the dominant before the violin enters, imitating the theme.

A second theme -- stately -- is introduced:

This theme reoccurs in A-Flat Major, a convenient sixth-degree chord which can so nicely slip down to the dominant (G Major):



This will also become the key of the next movement:

Second movement

This B-Flat Minor Ninth chord sounds so modern and tender:

Like some great lumbering beast, the piano begins a sweeping of 32nd-notes:

The movement ends with such delicacy:

Third movement

According to the unreliable Schindler, Beethoven apparently regretted this movement "because of its incompatibility with the character of the work as a whole."

However, its charm is undeniable:

Fourth movement

Beethoven injects some sunshine when he briefly turns the theme to C Major:

Like a locomotive picking up steam, Beethoven moves towards the finish with Presto: