Posts in classical music history

The Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major, Op. 79, a work in three movements, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1809. It is alternatively titled "Cuckoo" or "Sonatina," and it notable for its shortness. It consists of three movements: Presto alla tedesca Andante Vivace It is one of Beethoven's shortest sonatas with an approximate performance time of only eleven minutes, if Beethoven's prescribed repeats are all observed. It is also the shortest of his sonatas with three movements. The first movement opens forcefully with a three-note motif (G–B–G) heard frequently throughout the movement. The second theme group in D major is based on fast scale and arpeggio passages and leads very swiftly into the forceful codetta. A few hesitant octave notes are played before the exposition repeats. The entire exposition is about 35 seconds long (without the repeat). The development section dominates this movement, being approximately 60 seconds long. It features frequent modulation as well as themes borrowed and fragmented from the exposition including the opening three note motive which is heard in the form of left-hand crossovers. This motive starts on E major, then moves on to B major seventh and later to C minor followed by G seventh, ending in a strange E♭ major, B♭ seventh combination. The recapitulation snaps the listener back to the home key forcefully with its opening three-note motif, then proceeds to repeat the exposition entirely in the home key. The development and recapitulation together are enclosed in a second, longer repeat mark. As a final touch, the coda features the main theme played in G major in the left hand with a treble clef, then the theme again in A minor in the right hand with bass accompaniment, then again with comedic acciaccatura inserted. The recapitulation and coda together take up approximately another minute. The whole movement with the exposition repeated lasts approximately three minutes. If the second repeat prescribed by Beethoven, encompassing the development and recapitulation, is observed, this brings the total performance time to around four and a half minutes. The andante movement, in G minor, uses a tranquil theme in 9 8 time, quite uncommon in Beethoven's works, and a gentle, light atmosphere to present contrast to the ecstatic first movement. It is about two and a half minutes long. The finale movement is the most playful and the shortest at barely two minutes long. The movement is constructed in rondo form (ABACA′ and a coda), with a two-part theme and contrasting episodes in key (B) and in rhythm (C). A very brief coda brings this quick, lighthearted sonata to a brisk end. Beethoven later uses the chord progression found at the beginning of the A section to start his Sonata No. 30. A comparison of the two pieces gives a dramatic illustration of how Beethoven's piano-writing developed in the 11 years that intervened between the two sonatas. The Op. 109 theme is altogether subtler and subject to dramatic twists that lead the listener into quite unexpected harmonic territory. Beethoven - Sonata No. 25 Op. 79 in G Hello! Welcome to Top Classical Music, the most comprehensive channel specializing in classical music. Here you will find musics for studying, concentration, relaxing and working. Explore our channel and listen to more works by Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Haydn, Schumann, Schubert, Vivaldi, Dvorak, Debussy and more! I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to Subscribe. 🎧 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TopClassicalMusic 🔴 WebSite: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, was written in 1816 and was dedicated to the pianist Baroness Dorothea Ertmann, née Graumen. This sonata marks the beginning of what is generally regarded as Beethoven's final period, where the forms are more complex, ideas more wide-ranging, textures more polyphonic, and the treatment of the themes and motifs even more sophisticated than before. Op. 101 well exemplified this new style, and Beethoven exploits the newly expanded keyboard compass of the day. This piano sonata consists of four movements: Etwas lebhaft, und mit der innigsten Empfindung (Somewhat lively, and with innermost sensibility). Allegretto, ma non troppo Lebhaft, marschmäßig (Lively, march-like). Vivace alla marcia Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll (Slow and longingly). Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit (Swiftly, but not overly, and with determination). Allegro A complete performance of the work takes about 19–22 minutes to perform. As with the previous sonata, it is unclear why Beethoven wrote Op. 101. The earliest known sketches are on leaves that once formed the parts of the Scheide Sketchbook of 1815–16. It shows the first movement already well developed and notated as an extended draft in score, and there are also a few preliminary ideas for the final Allegro. Beethoven himself described this sonata, composed in the town of Baden, just south of Vienna, during the summer of 1816, as "a series of impressions and reveries." The more intimate nature of the late sonatas probably has some connection with his deafness, which by this stage was almost total, isolating him from society so completely that his only means of communicating with friends and visitors was via notebooks. Beethoven offered the sonata for publication in a letter to Breitkopf and Härtel on July 19, 1816, when it was still far from complete. Eventually it was sold to the local Viennese publisher Sigmond Anton Steiner, after its completion. It was published in January 1817, and would appear in public the following month after delays. Beethoven - Sonata No. 28 in A Major Op. 101 Hello! Welcome to Top Classical Music, the most comprehensive channel specializing in classical music. Here you will find musics for studying, concentration, relaxing and working. Explore our channel and listen to more works by Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Haydn, Schumann, Schubert, Vivaldi, Dvorak, Debussy and more! I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to Subscribe. 🎧 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TopClassicalMusic 🔴 WebSite: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31 No. 1, was composed between 1801 and 1802. Although it was numbered as the first piece in the trio of piano sonatas which were published as Opus 31 in 1803, Beethoven actually finished it after the Op. 31 No. 2, the Tempest Sonata. Due to his dissatisfaction with the classical style of music, Beethoven pledged to take a new path of musical composition and style. The Opus 31 works are the first examples of Beethoven's new and unconventional ideas, an attempt to make a name for himself in the annals of music history. For example, the first movement, unlike most sonata allegro forms in which the second theme of the exposition is dominant, the second theme is in B major and B minor, the mediant of the original key. Beethoven would later continue to use the mediant and submediant as expositional goals for major-key sonata-form movements, such as the first movements of the Waldstein and Hammerklavier sonatas, the Archduke trio, the triple concerto and the thirteenth string quartet, as well as the finale to the seventh symphony. It is important to take into account that these pieces were written after the famous Heiligenstadt Testament of 1802. This sonata is light, breezy and has touches of humour and irony in its movements.[1] Critics say that the Opus 31 works show now a more pronounced "Beethovenian" sense of style that will become more evident in later, mature works. Beethoven - Sonata No. 16 in G Major Op. 31 Hello! Welcome to Top Classical Music, the most comprehensive channel specializing in classical music. Here you will find musics for studying, concentration, relaxing and working. Explore our channel and listen to more works by Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Haydn, Schumann, Schubert, Vivaldi, Dvorak, Debussy and more! I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to Subscribe. 🎧 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TopClassicalMusic 🔴 WebSite: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Beethoven