Beethoven Piano Sonata Op 57 ‘Appassionata’
Piano Sonata in F minor Op 57 “Appassionata”
Allegro assai
Andante con moto
Allegro ma non troppo
The difference in style between the three early sonatas and Appassionata is marked. In the intervening 12 years, Beethoven had written 20 piano sonatas, two cello sonatas, nine violin sonatas, three piano concerti, the first six string quartets, the Triple Concerto and the first three symphonies. None of these works, except perhaps the Third Symphony have inspired so much comment as Appassionata.
English composer Hubert Parry wrote of the sonata, “Here the human soul asked mighty questions of its God and had its reply.” Vladimir Lenin once said, “I know nothing that is greater than the Appassionata; I would like to listen to it every day. It is marvellous superhuman music. I always think with pride - perhaps it is naïve of me - what marvellous things humans can do.”
It is indeed one of Beethoven’s most violent and passionate works and it has been said that Appassionata is the sonata he loved over all the others. The piece was written during the summer of 1804 while Beethoven was holidaying in Baden outside of Vienna. By this point he was nearly deaf and had been sent to the country by his doctor to recover from treatments.
As with the Pastoral symphony, the theme for the final movement came to him as he was walking outside in the country. Upon returning home, he rushed to the piano before even removing his hat and spent an hour furiously writing the music down. The work was not published until 1807, with the nickname Appassionata given by the publisher. Somewhat unusually for Beethoven, he approved of this action and was not upset with the publisher for taking liberties.
The most unusual aspect of the first movement is the omission of the repeated exposition. This is the first time Beethoven does this and signals his rejection of tradition classical sonata form. It is as if he has too much to say to be bothered with repeating himself again. The coda is long and improvisatory, with arpeggios spanning nearly the entire length of the piano available to him at the time. This lengthy writing in the coda would be extended even further in the Fifth Symphony where the V-I cadences seem to go on forever.
The slow movement is a set of theme and variations that are mostly given over to harmonic progression rather than straight melody. Somehow Beethoven manages to make something beautiful out of a harmony exercise and the result is simply stunning. The end of the Andante is interrupted by a pair of diminished seventh chords heralding the beginning the third movement. Once again, Beethoven gets creative in the coda and introduces an entirely new theme. In the final bars, the piece comes crashing down on itself and ends with a short but defiant final cadence.
