Beethoven: Piano Sonata 4 - 7
This second volume in my Works Series series follows Beethoven's piano sonatas from pianist Stephen Kovacevich. This post will cover CD2 in Warner's 2017 set.
For those looking for my generalized thoughts, skip to the bottom. Otherwise, I will do a movement-by-movement breakdown of each sonata for those who wish to listen along. I provided a YouTube playlist at the very bottom of this blog post of Stephen Kovacevich's recorded performances in order to make it easier to follow along with my thoughts.
For those looking for my generalized thoughts, skip to the bottom. Otherwise, I will do a movement-by-movement breakdown of each sonata for those who wish to listen along. I provided a YouTube playlist at the very bottom of this blog post of Stephen Kovacevich's recorded performances in order to make it easier to follow along with my thoughts.
Piano Sonata 4, op. 7
Movement 1
Key: E-flat Major
Meter: 6/8
Tempo: Allegro molto e con brio
BPM:
, = 124
Beethoven opens his lone op. 7 piano sonata with a pretty rudimentary flashing out of E-flat Major. There are no shortcuts to distant keys, happily noodling in and around the home key, with scales aplenty.
That is until a rough d-flat is pounded out with force with all hands in the bass clef. While the music coyly skips away from this confrontational chord, another leaps in. This is Beethoven's chance to make his escape from home, with no lack of chromatic motion. A very long preparation towards B-flat Major eventually leads to an inward-moving hymn-like thought, which the composer elaborates upon for some time. The syncopated, off-beat rhythms just before the end of the exposition are an added surprise, which Kovacevich happily leans into.
Instead of diving right into the development, Beethoven takes the long way around to realize c minor, with a return of the scales and clumsy syncopated rhythmic idea. The transition back to E-flat Major for the recapitulation is a pretty short and smooth one, using the hee-haw, high-low interval as a segue.
Beethoven elaborates further upon each section in the recapitulation, surrounding the two main motivic areas with more developmental areas than in its initial statements. Might I say, I love the propulsively repeating E-flat which opens and closes the first movement, something which reminds me of a Waldstein-lite.
There are two element I notice from Beethoven in Piano Sonata no. 4 missing from his op. 2 set. First, he uses the lower part of the keyboard with closer set intervals, making for a rather rough texture, which I am sure Kovacevich relishes. I also sense more octave work in this movement, maybe more noticeable with the syncopated sforzandos, another aspect Kovacevich strong arms.
Movement 2
Key: C Major
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Largo, con gran espressione
BPM:
= 44 - 52
As I have already mentioned in the earlier sonatas, Beethoven chooses to set the second movement in the key of C Major, a chromatic-mediant relationship from the main key of E-flat Major. It is not a usual choice for the Classical Era, but a propensity from Beethoven found across his works. He carries this idea forward as well though, moving to the distant A-flat Major for the transitional section, another chromatic-mediant, moving even further astray to D-flat Major, a strange appearance in the home key of of C Major.
Most interesting to me is Beethoven's use of silence, something I assume he picked up from Haydn, who utilized the lack of sound both for humor and effect. The first three chord pairs are broken up by rests, rather than having continuous musical movement beset the measures. It is a wise composer who figures out how to use the lack of sound to his advantage, and I believe Beethoven does it well here.
Again, the octaves. After his jaunt from A-flat Major, two little high-pitched yelps surround Beethoven's octaves, as if the music is calling out for help. This idea doesn't return, as far as I heard at least. Continuing my observations from the first movement, there are some thick sonorities in the left hand, especially for a slow-tempoed movement.
Movement 3
Key: E-flat Major & E-flat minor (Trio)
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Allegro
BPM: 𝅗𝅥. = 76 & 85
I notice the score does not label this movement as either Minuet nor Scherzo. Scherzo sounds too jocular for the music I actually hear, where the tempo is a bit too hasty for a formal dance. Just an observation.
Like the first movement, Beethoven happily sounds out and keeps the music in E-flat Major, only transitioning to the required Dominant B-flat Major for any addition of accidentals. The second portion of the not-Minuet is nothing more than a development in all but name. Diminished chords allow Kovacevich a little more pedal time, and while the main theme returns, a dramatic shift to e-flat minor foretells what will arrive in the not-Trio to come. Beethoven also brings back that driving repeated note from the first movement briefly, although much more subtle in this third movement.
The not-Trio is a lot of fun, made up of nothing but roiling triplet figures voiced in a rather low sonority. Plus the E-flat minor key makes for a great contrasting mood, and somehow Beethoven makes this area melodic as well. The second section of the non-Trio does the same thing, but in B-flat minor and moves around harmonically a fair-bit more. Transitioning from this musical rudeness back to the affable not-Scherzo is done in rather short measure.
Movement 4
Key: E-flat Major
Meter: 2/4
Tempo: Allegretto e grazioso
BPM: = 60
What an oddity to have rather slow, elegant music for the finale, instead of a rip-roaring barn burner. I do like what Beethoven does here, however. The melody is gentle, but fetching, where the composer embellishes upon its repeat. A further restatement even puts the tune in octaves, all the while an incessant B-flat is churning along underneath.
As transition material, if it could be called that, Beethoven uses the main theme, but puts it into a dialog between bass clef and treble clef, all with the left hand. Each statement back and forth are akin to two jazz musicians trading 4s in an improvisatory manner. The treble clef wins out, but not before Beethoven returns to the main idea proper.
The contrasting section is in the relative key of C minor, with rhythmic motion traded between left and right hands. If this final movement seemed to genial from someone like Beethoven, the virtuosity of this middle section more than makes up for the previous expectation. While the composer brings back the entire opening material, including the bass/treble dialogue, isn't content to do just the same thing, dragging out the music in nearly a concertante cadenza fashion, including a jaunt into B Major.
This might not be an earth-shattering composition, however I find it amazing what Beethoven comes up with to avoid the norm and speak to his interests musically.
Key: C Major
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Largo, con gran espressione
BPM:
= 44 - 52As I have already mentioned in the earlier sonatas, Beethoven chooses to set the second movement in the key of C Major, a chromatic-mediant relationship from the main key of E-flat Major. It is not a usual choice for the Classical Era, but a propensity from Beethoven found across his works. He carries this idea forward as well though, moving to the distant A-flat Major for the transitional section, another chromatic-mediant, moving even further astray to D-flat Major, a strange appearance in the home key of of C Major.
Most interesting to me is Beethoven's use of silence, something I assume he picked up from Haydn, who utilized the lack of sound both for humor and effect. The first three chord pairs are broken up by rests, rather than having continuous musical movement beset the measures. It is a wise composer who figures out how to use the lack of sound to his advantage, and I believe Beethoven does it well here.
Again, the octaves. After his jaunt from A-flat Major, two little high-pitched yelps surround Beethoven's octaves, as if the music is calling out for help. This idea doesn't return, as far as I heard at least. Continuing my observations from the first movement, there are some thick sonorities in the left hand, especially for a slow-tempoed movement.
Movement 3
Key: E-flat Major & E-flat minor (Trio)
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Allegro
BPM: 𝅗𝅥. = 76 & 85
I notice the score does not label this movement as either Minuet nor Scherzo. Scherzo sounds too jocular for the music I actually hear, where the tempo is a bit too hasty for a formal dance. Just an observation.
Like the first movement, Beethoven happily sounds out and keeps the music in E-flat Major, only transitioning to the required Dominant B-flat Major for any addition of accidentals. The second portion of the not-Minuet is nothing more than a development in all but name. Diminished chords allow Kovacevich a little more pedal time, and while the main theme returns, a dramatic shift to e-flat minor foretells what will arrive in the not-Trio to come. Beethoven also brings back that driving repeated note from the first movement briefly, although much more subtle in this third movement.
The not-Trio is a lot of fun, made up of nothing but roiling triplet figures voiced in a rather low sonority. Plus the E-flat minor key makes for a great contrasting mood, and somehow Beethoven makes this area melodic as well. The second section of the non-Trio does the same thing, but in B-flat minor and moves around harmonically a fair-bit more. Transitioning from this musical rudeness back to the affable not-Scherzo is done in rather short measure.
Movement 4
Key: E-flat Major
Meter: 2/4
Tempo: Allegretto e grazioso
BPM:
= 60What an oddity to have rather slow, elegant music for the finale, instead of a rip-roaring barn burner. I do like what Beethoven does here, however. The melody is gentle, but fetching, where the composer embellishes upon its repeat. A further restatement even puts the tune in octaves, all the while an incessant B-flat is churning along underneath.
As transition material, if it could be called that, Beethoven uses the main theme, but puts it into a dialog between bass clef and treble clef, all with the left hand. Each statement back and forth are akin to two jazz musicians trading 4s in an improvisatory manner. The treble clef wins out, but not before Beethoven returns to the main idea proper.
The contrasting section is in the relative key of C minor, with rhythmic motion traded between left and right hands. If this final movement seemed to genial from someone like Beethoven, the virtuosity of this middle section more than makes up for the previous expectation. While the composer brings back the entire opening material, including the bass/treble dialogue, isn't content to do just the same thing, dragging out the music in nearly a concertante cadenza fashion, including a jaunt into B Major.
This might not be an earth-shattering composition, however I find it amazing what Beethoven comes up with to avoid the norm and speak to his interests musically.
Piano Sonata 5, op. 10 no. 1
Movement 1
Key: C minor
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Allegro molto e con brio
BPM: 𝅗𝅥. = 84 - 90
Movement 1
Key: C minor
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Allegro molto e con brio
BPM: 𝅗𝅥. = 84 - 90
It amazes me me that Beethoven so quickly rushes to minor keys, when his forebears Haydn and Mozart did so little in minor. When I think back to traversing Haydn 100+ symphonies, the minor keys he did set works in often didn't maintain that mode, at least not for long.
Only in his Fifth Piano Sonata, here we are in C minor, a propitious key for the composer. A loud c-minor chord followed by leaping arpeggios greet the listener with rue, mournfully sounding out the home key. The three flourishes before the second area arrives are marked by the rests which exist between them, pausing even longer before moving on to new material.
The second motivic area is in a genial E-flat Major, reminding me of the warm pastoral tones of Piano Sonata no. 4. A certain skipping rhythm ties the two areas together, and if they are not the exact same rhythms, they have a similar feel to them. Again, how Beethoven uses the middle of the keyboard, rather than two hands in bass and treble separated, draws me in.
The development section opens as the first movement did earlier, but in a startling parallel C Major. It just sounds wrong moving from E-flat Major to C Major in this way, especially as we have only heard this music in the minor mode thus far. He does transition to F minor, among many others, and I notice a lot of octave work here, as well as a fair amount of chromaticism before reaching the recapitulation. Otherwise, this is another quick development section.
The recapitulation isn't as over elaborate and drawn out as some, sticking to the point clearly. Kovacevich takes a manic speed here, firmly at one-to-a-bar, as well as applying an angry pressure to these minor-keyed chords and arpeggios, making sure the listener knows his feelings on the opening of this sonata.
Movement 2
Key: A-flat Major
Meter: 2/4
Tempo: Adagio molto; = 60
Beethoven moves into the second movement in the relative key of A-flat Major, a lovely sonority. Aside from a lovely melody, almost suspended in time at the very opening with little underlying motion, dramatic flourishes pepper this movement strongly.
While the undercurrent rhythms are slow, when Beethoven turns off the motion in the left hand, this listener is almost taken aback at the change of rhythmic profile. Only a few wayward chords appear after the return of the main melodic area. Otherwise, the composer is perfectly happy offering the listener a rather peaceful, songful movement, as am I.
Movement 3
Key: C minor
Meter: Cut time
Tempo: Prestissimo
BPM: 𝅗𝅥 = 98
A quite short exposition rounds out the sonata in C minor again. Why Op. 10 is only three movements as opposed to the usual four must be for the occasion they were written. The secondary area is in E-flat Major, quickly becoming a favorite key of mine when Beethoven is involved. A few colorful chords are thrown in towards the end of the exposition, but really the two motivic ideas are well contrasted.
Well, if I thought the first-movement development was short, it has nothing on this one. It mainly relies on the odd intervals from the first melody, primarily picking out minor seconds and various sevenths, strange intervals for a main motive, but memorable.
The recapitulation somehow ends up landing on D-flat Major, a wonderfully luscious key in Beethoven's hands. He irritably dashes away into c minor for the short conclusion which follows. If I thought the first movement was rather angry, the music here is more of a rapscallion, causing capricious trouble rather than anything with evil intent. At least, this is how I hear it from Stephen Kovacevich.
Only in his Fifth Piano Sonata, here we are in C minor, a propitious key for the composer. A loud c-minor chord followed by leaping arpeggios greet the listener with rue, mournfully sounding out the home key. The three flourishes before the second area arrives are marked by the rests which exist between them, pausing even longer before moving on to new material.
The second motivic area is in a genial E-flat Major, reminding me of the warm pastoral tones of Piano Sonata no. 4. A certain skipping rhythm ties the two areas together, and if they are not the exact same rhythms, they have a similar feel to them. Again, how Beethoven uses the middle of the keyboard, rather than two hands in bass and treble separated, draws me in.
The development section opens as the first movement did earlier, but in a startling parallel C Major. It just sounds wrong moving from E-flat Major to C Major in this way, especially as we have only heard this music in the minor mode thus far. He does transition to F minor, among many others, and I notice a lot of octave work here, as well as a fair amount of chromaticism before reaching the recapitulation. Otherwise, this is another quick development section.
The recapitulation isn't as over elaborate and drawn out as some, sticking to the point clearly. Kovacevich takes a manic speed here, firmly at one-to-a-bar, as well as applying an angry pressure to these minor-keyed chords and arpeggios, making sure the listener knows his feelings on the opening of this sonata.
Movement 2
Key: A-flat Major
Meter: 2/4
Tempo: Adagio molto;
= 60Beethoven moves into the second movement in the relative key of A-flat Major, a lovely sonority. Aside from a lovely melody, almost suspended in time at the very opening with little underlying motion, dramatic flourishes pepper this movement strongly.
While the undercurrent rhythms are slow, when Beethoven turns off the motion in the left hand, this listener is almost taken aback at the change of rhythmic profile. Only a few wayward chords appear after the return of the main melodic area. Otherwise, the composer is perfectly happy offering the listener a rather peaceful, songful movement, as am I.
Movement 3
Key: C minor
Meter: Cut time
Tempo: Prestissimo
BPM: 𝅗𝅥 = 98
A quite short exposition rounds out the sonata in C minor again. Why Op. 10 is only three movements as opposed to the usual four must be for the occasion they were written. The secondary area is in E-flat Major, quickly becoming a favorite key of mine when Beethoven is involved. A few colorful chords are thrown in towards the end of the exposition, but really the two motivic ideas are well contrasted.
Well, if I thought the first-movement development was short, it has nothing on this one. It mainly relies on the odd intervals from the first melody, primarily picking out minor seconds and various sevenths, strange intervals for a main motive, but memorable.
The recapitulation somehow ends up landing on D-flat Major, a wonderfully luscious key in Beethoven's hands. He irritably dashes away into c minor for the short conclusion which follows. If I thought the first movement was rather angry, the music here is more of a rapscallion, causing capricious trouble rather than anything with evil intent. At least, this is how I hear it from Stephen Kovacevich.
Piano Sonata 6, op. 10 no. 2
Movement 1
Key: F Major
Meter: 2/4
Tempo: Allegro
BPM:
= 98Beethoven dispatches the first two thematic area fairly quickly. The first is quite dainty and friendly, while the second sounds like it could become a dance-hall number at a quicker speed with the block chords in the right hand and the quick rhythms underneath.A quick transition to the relative D minor introduces the development, where Beethoven doesn't seem in the least concerned for using his thematic material to develop instead of rapid figurations.
On the other hand, Beethoven sets the recapitulation in D Major, with a change of key signature altogether. Somehow he switches back to the home key of F Major, key signature and all, but what a strange musical digression to open a recapitulation with and have to segue away from. Beethoven really makes a lot of work for himself!
This first movement doesn't offer much in the way of aggression, a change of pace from the last two sonatas on this post. I sense a little more humor and a lot of good will in general.
Movement 2
Key: F minor
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Allegretto; 𝅗𝅥. = 76
Again, there is no mention of a Minuet or Scherzo in this middle movement, but there is an obvious Trio section with a return to the A portion to make me think it could be one or the other. Like the op. 7 third movement, the tempo is too slow for a Scherzo, and not particularly friendly either, while dancers would have a tough time with this as a Minuet.
Well, the parallel F minor was most unexpected. A sinuous melody works its way towards A-flat Major, using half-steps for interest. After the double bar, the music keeps moving higher and higher, adding tension as it goes. A two-part imitative section follows, one of the rare examples of a simple texture that I have caught in these sonatas thus far.
Ooh... D-flat Major is realized in the second section, an unctuous key from Beethoven. There is a Brahms-ian fullness to the key, which Beethoven savors here, as well as a slight bit of humor in the left hand. Syncopated octaves differentiate the return to F minor, making for wonderful contrast from the beginning.
I should mention that if Haydn set a slow movement in minor, it often sounded Baroque to my ears. Not so with Beethoven, who wears his late-Classicism with pride.
Movement 3
Key: F Major
Meter: 2/4
Tempo: Presto
BPM:
= 166Here we have a jaunty F Major to end the sonata, a light, frothy mood I have been waiting for. The opening is only in two parts, and imitatively at that. The second section abruptly shifts to A-flat Major, another chromatic-mediant relationship, with imitative dialogue again.
I may have spoken too soon, for when the music returns to F Major, a two-part contrapuntal episode begins in a Baroque manner. This one is unavoidable obvious, where the opening music eventually landed upon Classical Era propriety. A most welcome surprise!
Unfortunately, Stephen Kovacevich does not repeat the second half of this movement, the only time I have noticed the pianist not taking a repeat in Beethoven thus far. Otherwise, Kovacevich keeps things fairly light, although this last movement bears a strong touch, with the ending octaves played strong of finger.
I am not sure what to make of these two three-movement sonatas. Beethoven sounds like he is writing with brevity in mind, even within the movements, compared to the four-movement creations.
Piano Sonata 7, op. 10 no. 3
Movement 1
Key: D Major
Meter: Cut Time
Tempo: Presto
BPM: 𝅗𝅥 = 148
Octaves litter the opening statements of this sonata, eventually elaborated into syncopated octaves. A contrasting section in the relative key of b minor seems early for a second motivic area, especially as yet another area set in A Major which also sounds motivic in nature. This is a longer exposition, so it is hard to tell at first. Let's see what the development and recapitulation bring.Before I do, that A Major section bears quite a few octaves as well, plus the bell tone minims before the end of the exposition sound out as something quite different.
A double-barred transitional area links the exposition to the development, which begins in the chromatic-mediant key of B-flat Major. Once there, it seems Beethoven is only interested in working with the octave theme from the opening, leaving little mind for anything else other than the left hand reaching all over the keyboard. For some reason, the composer cancels out the home key during the development, only to bring back the D-Major key signature in for the recapitulation.
The rest comes around as expected, although Beethoven develops beyond a mere repeat, leaving a fairly sizeable Coda, including lengthening those bell-tone minims I mentioned earlier. I am glad to have a full-length sonata-allegro form from Beethoven again, without shortchanging his quirks. Kovacevich really lays in on the octaves and moving bass lines for dramatic effect. It works on me too.
Movement 2
Key: D minor
Meter: 6/8
Tempo: Largo e mesto
BPM: ♪. = 62
I hadn't mentioned the two other times Beethoven used a compound meter, once as a first movement and once as a final movement. Here, its use probably more apt, where the rollicking spirit of this meter in a fast tempo becomes a gently-swaying song at a Largo tempo.
This d-minor second movement is hauntingly pensive with a touch of insular sorrow. Another incessantly repeated note adds to the psychology of this music, although it is not as pervasive as other times I have observed such things. Just a touch of chromaticism exists as well, I assume due maneuvering through the minor key. I have returned to this movement a number of times, so its magic has worked upon this listener.
Movement 3
Key: D Major & G Major (Trio)
Meter: 3/4
Tempo: Menuetto: Allegro
BPM: 𝅗𝅥. = 80
The third movement Minuet is beautifully phrased, very diatonic, with Beethoven on his best behavior harmonically, the second half of the Minuet uses two-part imitation with a little more rhythmic motion, quite a change from the opening, although a trill heralds the return of the primary melody and everything eases back into gentleness.
The Trio reminds me of elements from the last two movements of the Fourth Piano Sonata. The rapid triplets in the right hand overlay a left-hand dialog, one which jumps back and forth from bass clef to treble clef, as if in response to each other. I enjoyed these qualities in op. 7, and I enjoy it now.
Movement 4
Key: D Major
Meter: Common time
Tempo: Allegro
BPM:
= 130The final movement isn't a runaway virtuoso piece, preferring instead a light, whimsical feeling. Beethoven utilizes rests between his opening motive again, creating a herky-jerky, stop-start affair. It is not my favorite, however, I appreciate the attempt from the composer.
Beethoven once again completely cancels the key signature for a contrasting episode in B-flat Major, mostly full of pianistic flourishes before returning to the opening material. He will cross over into small areas of flats again, one peculiar utterance before the very conclusion.
Final Thoughts
I must admit, I think I prefer Beethoven's four-movement piano sonatas to the three-movement ones, at least among these early works. I find the journey a little more satisfying across four movements, although Beethoven always has something to say no matter the length.
I was going to mention this go around that Kovacevich had been consistent with taking Beethoven's repeats. For some reason, he does not take the repeat in the last movement of op. 10 no. 3, an already brief piano sonata. Hopefully this is more the exception than the rule from the pianist.
Kovacevich is a rubato piano player. While I did not initially hear too much rubato in his playing, the more time I spend with him in Beethoven, the more I hear his little touches of rubato. I never feel as if Kovacevich is drawing me away from the music towards his interpretation at any time, so these are minor touches from the pianist. However, as I try to give the beats per minute for each movement, realize he will push ahead or pull back as he deems necessary.
I expected Stephen Kovacevich's performances to be a heavy-handed bang fest at the piano, at least if you read or listen to comments regarding this Beethoven piano sonata cycle. Yes, he can turn on a dime, relishing Beethoven's swarthier moments, and offering a solid touch on the keyboard during most of the runtime. Yet, there is elegance and meaning here too, not just idle slams upon the keyboard. I am thinking particularly of the Piano Sonata no. 7 I just heard, where, after a first movement of virtuosic octave work, Kovacevich really pulls back and makes beautiful moments across the rest of the movements. Never did I ever believe he was forcing the music upon me.
Cheers!
Work Series
Vol. 2 from Beethoven Piano Sonatas on Warner
Works
Piano Sonata 4 in E-flat Major, op. 7 (25.39)
Piano Sonata 5 in C minor, op. 10 no. 1 (16.34)
Piano Sonata 6 in F Major, op. 10 no. 2 (11.07)
Piano Sonata 7 in D Major, op. 10 no. 3 (20.45)
Soloist
Stephen Kovacevich, piano
Label: EMI / Warner
Year: 1999-2000; 2017
Total Timing: 75.04
Find more Beethoven recordings HERE!
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