Transcript Chapter 49. The Early Music of Beethoven

Chapter 49
The Early Music of Beethoven
Lecture Overview
•
•
•
•
Europe from 1770 to 1800
Beethoven’s life (1770-1827)
Beethoven’s works of the first period (1792-1802)
Representative works:
– Piano Sonata in C Minor (Pathétique), Op. 13,
movement 1
– Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, movement 3
• Review
Beethoven’s World
Beethoven was born in 1770
the city of Bonn, on the
Rhine River, in the northwest
corner of what is now
Germany. From the age of
21, he lived in Vienna, the
capital of Austria and seat of
government of the far-flung
lands ruled by the
Hapsburg kings. At this
time, the German-speaking
states of Europe were
members of a loose alliance
called the Holy Roman
Empire, whose emperor
was the Hapsburg king. The
most powerful German state
was Prussia, in the
northeast part of Europe.
Beethoven’s Life
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1770 born in Bonn
1792 moves to Vienna and studies with Haydn
1792–1802 first compositional period
1802 despair over deafness, Heiligenstadt
Testament
1802-c1814 second compositional period
1814–1815 Congress of Vienna
c1814–1827 third compositional period
1827 death in Vienna
Beethoven’s Principal Compositions
• Orchestra: 9 symphonies, overtures, concertos
(including 5 for piano and 1 for violin)
• Chamber music: 16 string quartets, 7 trios, sonatas
for instruments and piano
• Piano: 32 sonatas, variations
• Opera and ballet: Fidelio (opera), Creatures of
Prometheus (ballet)
• Chorus: 2 masses, oratorio Christ on the Mount of
Olives, finale of Symphony No. 9
The Youthful Beethoven
Beethoven’s appearance
made an impression on
virtually all who met him.
He was very short, and
an acquaintance from his
youth remembered his
“broad shoulders, short
neck, large head, round
nose, and dark brown
complexion.” The French
composer Luigi Cherubini
compared him to an
“unlicked bear cub.”
Beethoven’s Principal Music of his First
Period of Composition (1792–1802)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Piano Sonatas: Nos. 1–20
Symphonies: Nos. 1–2
Piano Concertos: Nos. 1–2
String Quartets: Nos. 1–6 (Op. 18)
Violin Sonatas: Nos. 1–5
Trios (violin-cello-piano): Nos. 1–4
Beethoven, Piano Sonata in C Minor
(Pathétique), 1798, movement 1
Sonata form
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major,
1795, movement 3
Sonata-rondo form
Review Key Terms
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Christian Neefe
Ferdinand Waldstein
WoO numbers
French Revolution
improvisation
Carl Czerny
fantasia
sonata-rondo form
episode (in a rondo form)