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( ,H" I.)

BEETHOVEN'SPIANOFORTE SONATAS

A Guide fo r Students & Amateurs

by

E D W IN FISCHER.

T ranslated by

STANLEY G ODMAN

unth the collaboration of

P A U L IIA MD U I\G EII

FADER AN D FABER

24. Russell Square

London

Fir-st published in mcmlixby Faber and Faber L imited

24 Russell Square, London, W .e. 1Printed in Great Britain by

W estern Printing Services L imited, BristolAll rights reserved

This edition © Faber and Faber Limited 1959

Originally published by I NSE L - VE RLAG ,

WIESBAD E N , under the ti tle :Ludwig van Beethouens Klauiersonaten

T O

THE MEMORY

OF MY MOTHER

CO T E NT S

INT RO DUCTION page 15

FIRST LECTU RE 15

Beethoven's Pianoforte Sonatas

The 5 Sonatas, Op. 2 19

Sonata in F minor, Op. 2, No. 1 1 9

Sonata in A major, Op, 2, No. 2 22

Sonata in C major, Op. 2, No. 5 25

SECOND L E CT U R E 29

Beethoven 's P iano PlayingSonata in Eflat majo r , Op. 7 55Sonata in C minor, Op , 1 0 , No. 1 55

Sonata in F major, Op, 1 0 , No. 2 58Sonata in D major, Op. 10, No. 5 59

THIRD LECTURE 4 2

On Pract isingSonate pathetique in C minor , Op. 15 46Sonata in E major, Op. 14, No. 1 48Sonata in G major, -o». 14, No. 2 50Sonata in B flat major, Op. 22 5 1

FOURTH LECTURE 54

Beethove n's PersonalitySonata in A flat major, Op, 2 6 58Sonata in Eflat major, Op. 27, No. 1 6 0

Sonata in C sharp minor , Op. 2 7 , N o. 2 6 2

Sonata in D major, Op. 28 64

9

CON T ENTS

FIFTH L E CT URE page 67Interpreters

The 5 Sonatas, Op. 5 ' 69Sonata in G major, Op. 5 ', No. 1 7

0Sonata in D minor, Op, 5', No. 2 7

2Sonata in Ejlat major, Op. 5', No. 5 75

The Sonatas, Op . 49 77Sonata in G minor, Op, 49, No. 1 78Sonata in G major, Op, 49, No. 2 78Sonata in C major, Op, 55 79

SIX TH LECTURE 85Beethoven's I nstr uments

Sonata in F major, Op, 54 84Sonata in F minor, Op. 57 85Sonata i n F sharp major, Op. 78 89Sonatina in G major, Op. 79 9

0Sonata in Eflat major, Op. 8lA 9

0

SEVENT H LE CT UR E 95Tempo and Metronom e

Sonata in E minor , Op. 90 95Sonata in A major , Op , 101 96

EIGHTH LE CTU R E 100

Beethoven 's Circle of Fr iendsSonata in B flat major, Op. 106 105Sonata in E major, Op. 109 109

NINTH LECTURE

Beethoven Biographi esSonata in A flat major, Op. 11 0

Sonata in C m inor, Op. I II

IQ

11 2

ILL USTR. ATIONS

Ludwig van Beethoven . From an engraving byBlasius Hofel after the drawing by LouisLetron ne (1814) frontispiece

The beginning of the third movement of t heSonata, Op, 27, No. 2, in Beethoven's hand-writing f acing page 64

Beethoven's Broadwood Grand Piano

The openihg of the Sonata, Op. 111, in Beet-hoven 's handwrit ing 112

Acknowledgment is made to the I nsel-Ferl agf or supplying these illustrations whichappeared in their edition of this book.

II

INTR.ODUCTION

In studying Beethoven 's piano sonatas one encountersdifficulti es, questions and problems the solut ion of whichconstitutes part of the entire artistic and human educat ionof a musician.

The r ange of the collection compels us to occupy our­selves with matters of technique, form, harmony andte xtual cr it icism; but the main requirement is an under­st anding of the artistic content. A carefu l study of theseworks will transform us, for Beethoven will become ourteacher,and lead us to develop our own personalities andcharacters.

W ith this in mind I studied the sonatas with my pupilsin 1945 and the present volume is based on the notes Iused in that course. The analysis of each group of sonat asis preceded by an introduction on some gen eral the me.

These informal talks make no claim to scholarly com­plet eness or significance. They are thoroughly personal,and if they serve as a reminder of the beautiful summerin which they originated I sha ll be content.

I}

FIRST LECTURE

Beethoven's Pianoforte Sonatas

Ludwig van Beethoven's work has the qu ality of truegreatness. What worlds he traversed from hi s simple be­ginnings to the sublim at ion that he ach ieved at the closeof his life's struggle! Non e of us coul d bear the strain ofthe tensions that hi s spir it was able to endure. W e havethe result of these str uggles before us and we can onlysay : The sound is a refl ection of the life.

His piano works- 32 sonatas, 6 concertos, 1 triple­concerto, numerous sets of vari ations, works for piano andstrings, piano and woodwind, fantasias and m iscellaneoussmall pieces-constitute a m ajor part of h is life's work.Proceeding, to begin with, from Johann Christian andCarl Ph ilipp Emanuel Bach, he touches the world ofMozart, absorbs a good measure of Haydn and Clement i,reaches a culminating point in Opp. 53 and 57, and thenmoves increasingly into transcendental spheres . On oneoccasion he reveals the future to us-in the 33 Variationson a Waltz by Diabelli, which constitute a summing-upand an anticipation of the whole development of musicfrom Handel to our own t ime.

If, in h is beginnings, sheer delight in the resources ofthe piano predomin ates, later on the interest in str uctureand symphonic form becomes more and more evident.W ith Opp, 27 and 31 a more romantic, 'pianistic' , trendmerges once more, bringing with it a freer treatment of

form. These sonatas in fantasia style also introduce thegre atest adva nces in the harmonic sphe re. Thereafter

15

FIRST LECTURE

Beethoven uses all m anner of forms, orchestral, var iati on ,even fug ue, to aid him in the portrayal of his visions;we have now those magnificent contests between Beet­hoven's personality and the worl d, those demonstrat ionsof his creat ive will . This ph ase, in turn, is followed by anurge to wri te more and more simply. In the childlikethemes which he uses in Opp. 1 0 9 , 11 0 and 11 1 h e nowachieves the ideal of symbolizing the highest in terms ofthe greatest simplicity. What was, at the outset , the ex­pression of a personal faith, is transformed into an expres­sion of eternal, universal t ruth . His return from orchestralwriting to the str ing quartet is a token of th is develop­m ent .

This journey from the vir tuoso, through the creator ,to the seer and mystic has been divided into three periods.Li szt called them : the adolescent; t he man ; the god. Hispiano style, in its technical aspect , also passes throughthese phases, and it woul d be a rewarding task in itself tostudy these tra nsformat ions ; to demonstrate how rococofigurat ion devolves into noble, classical lines; how therange of the writ ing gradually extends over the wholekeyboard; how the accompanimenta l patterns expand, be­coming increasingly individual and instinct with expres­sion ; how pedalling becomes more different iated; until inthe final works the form, purged of all purely p ianist iceleme nts, becomes a m irror of ultimate spiritual insights.

At this point I would like to refer briefly to Beethoven'sdeafness. No doubt it was extre mely inhibit ing in h isintercourse with people and m ade him suspicious and mis­trustful. No doubt there were moments when one woul dhave been glad for him to have been able to enjoy the fullimpact of sound. Yet here if anywhere is evidence thatthe spir it hastens on in advance of the world of matter . I t

I6

BEETHOVEN'S PIANOFO RTE SONATAS

is not true that Beethoven's final works do not sound well.There could be no better way of writ ing down what heintend ed to express. One rea lizes that, the moment oneattempts to make the' corrections' made possible by theextension of the modern keyboard. Beethoven int endedthese sounds, these wide positions, an d he heard every­th ing in his m ind exactly as it sounds to us with ourundiminished hearing.

W hat is it that distinguishes Beethoven's work fromother styles, for inst ance that of the Romantic school? Itis the symphonic element, the organic growth of hisforms. There is, with him, no mere juxtaposition of beau­t iful musical ideas, nor a spinning-out of atmosphericmoods. His works are built , as it were, stone upon stone­each based on the one below and bearing the weight ofthe one above. Every bar, every section acquires its fu llmeaning only in relation to the whole work. Such is thework's arch itecture that every element has full signifi­cance only at , and by virtue of, the place where it occurs.There is no unnecessary repetition, no empty rhetoric.It is this relationsh ip of every note to the whole, th isinner logic, that gives such delight and such strength andcomfort, above all to the masculine spirits among us .Beethoven appea ls to the listener's sense of logical con­struct ion. He ach ieves his consistency, his orga nic growth,his sureness of aim by a supreme in tellectual discipline.How much he eliminated, abbreviate d, simplified andrefined! Strictly speaking, here is proof of h is moralstamina . This struggle with his daemon, th is repudiationof cheap effects, this restraint and renunciat ion an d con­trol of his instincts is a revelation of hi s true moral great­ness.

There is, however , more in Beethoven tha n reason andB I7

FlI\ ST LECTURE

will. The uncon cious also plays its par t . Who can .r ivalhis pow l ' of evoking, with a few chords, high solem nityand a s nse of religious awe? He translat es fundam entalhuman emotions into sound, an d it is best to let the howand why remain h is secre t .

Now a word about performance. It will always be aproblem so long as the player 's own personality is not atone with Beethoven's. It is unlikely , however , that theaverage pianist will ever be able to identify himself com­pletely with the immortal m aster, that is to say, at t ainthe same heights of sublim ity. It is also impossible to enterfully into Beethoven 's every emot ional experience. Sinceit is only possible to expound and communicate to otherswhat one has exper ienced oneself, albeit intuitively, Beet­hoven 's work requires for its adequate performance a fullm an, a life of exper ience .

Ther e are two dangerous paths open to the in terpreter:one consists of using Beethoven's language to express hisown passions and the other is for the player simply tor eproduce slavishly the notes and direct ions of the score.It is necessary to steer between this Scylla and Charybdis,avoiding on the one han d an extravagant portrayal ofoneself through the music, and on the other, the dangersof an excess of terrified respect for the ' letter' of themusic.

The most helpful counsel one can give is this: ' Loveh im and his work, and you will inevitably become hisserva nt and int erpreter and yet remai n yourself. Yourenergy, yom war mth and your love will kindle hisenergy, his spirit an d his love in the hear ts of m en andm ake them shine therein.'

18

SONATA I N F MINOR, OP. 2 , NO . 1

The Three Sonatas, Op , 2

These three sonat as .were composed in ' 795, in Beet­hoven's twenty-fifth year . They were certainly precededby other works besides those dedicat ed to the ElectorM aximilian Frederick and composed when Beethoven wastwelve years old, for such mastery of form as is found inOp. 2 is not ach ieved by a sudden bolt from the blue. Inconnexion with the dedicat ion to Joseph H aydn there isa story that H aydn would have liked Beethoven to havehad it engraved as follows: ' Dedicated to his teacherJoseph Haydn by his pupil Ludwig van Beethoven ' butBeethoven.r efused to accept the suggestion and preferredto leave it at: ' Dedicate d to Joseph H aydn.'

Sonata in F minor, Op , 2, N o. 1

This work is often called the 'litt le Appassionata', probablybecause it has the same key as Op. 57 and because thelast movem ents, with their uninterrupted figw'ation andexcitemen t, r esemble each other . The,for m of the open­ing mov em ent has an exemplary conciseness. Beethovencopied the first subject (bars 1-19) fr om Mozart's littleG m inor symphony (K. " 9). The subject also has anaffinity with the last movement of lVlozart's great Gminor symphony.

The second subject (bars 20-40) is in the relative majorkey and approximates an inversion of the first subject .The coda is marked con espressione.

In th is sonata we already find two outstanding charac ­

I9

FIR T LECTU RE

teri tics of Beethoven 's style : the sforzandos and the sud­den pianissimos. The sforzandos must always be adjustedto the prevailing volume an d to the character of the workas a whole. It is wrong to fire off the same kind of sfor ­zando in a gentl e Andante m ovem ent as one would in aheroic work; Beethoven is said, whe n playing himself, tohave often emphasized the sforzandos by a slight rhyth­mic delay. The sf-sign frequ ently refers not to the wholechord but only to one note, usually a dissonance or asusta ined bass-note.

The developm ent is already concentrat ed, in the typicalBeethoven manner. The recapitulat ion (bars 109 ff.) intro­duces the second subject in the m ain key of F minor.The actual coda is extended by five bars closing the t ersem ovement with sforzandos.

T he average player is faced with two difficul ties at thisstage: first, the tied notes against t he simultaneousstaccato of the other part in the brief sequel to the mainth eme (bars 11 ff.) and secondly, the final chords. Here theplayer must realize that there are two possible ways ofattacking the chords: either by playing them into thekeys and upwards, or away from the keys and outwar ds.T he former corresponds to the violinist's upbow, thelatter to his downbow. Quite dist inct effects can be ob­tained by the use of these two kinds of movement an dthey alone can give plasticity to certain phrases.

The first version of th e second movement is to be foundin a piano-qu artet dati ng from the year ' 785, when Beet­hoven was fifteen; only the tr io-like D minor sect ion ism issing there. It is instructi ve to see how, afte r an inter­val of ten years , Beethoven improved and enriched them elody. There is a modest simplicity about this movementwith its re miniscences of C. P. E. Bach and Mozart, The

20

SON AT A I N F MI TOR , OP . 2, O. I

limpid colour of its F maj or requires round fingers and afine sense of phrasing, an d fluency in the execut ion of theexquisite fioriture.

The th ird movement is a genuine minuet, to be playedquietly and 'in the style of a dance. T he' cer ulea n ' Trioneeds a perfect legato. Riemann has demonstrated thatrests have great expressive power- but one has to feelthem, to know whether they are breathing in or out­whether they signify the end or whether they are theempty space between two columns surmounted by thearch of a m elody . Our attention is usually directed farmore towards the notes than the silence- but the oneconditions the other, and the clear and precise t ermina­t ion of a chord is just as important as its beginning.

The presnssimo fourth move ment is a wild nocturnalpiece full of shar p contrasts . I t appears to me to bein sonata form, the development beginning with a greatcantilena which must be playe d with the same excite ­ment as fills the whole movement.

The movement is disproportionately difficult, the left­hand figure at the beginning making demands whi ch wedo not encounter again until Chopin's ' Re volutionary 'Study. The important th ing is to discover the correctfingering. I play :

A supple wrist is important , and also perfect legatoplaying of the octaves. The storm thunders unceasinglyand demoniacally through this sombre portrait of thesoul.

2 I

FIRST L ECTU RE

Sonata in A major, Op , 2, No. 2

T his sonata, having the ail' of a bri ght spring day, pro­vides a great contrast to No. 1 an d No. 3 of this opus.The looseness of the texture, which is evident in themany rests, the exuberance and cheerfulness of the pieceshow that Beethoven was capable of happiness as well assorrow . In particular, the Scherzo and the last movementh ave a charm which should be evoked by a correspondinglightness and grace in the performance, as well as by theease of the player 's attitude. For we listen with our eyesas well as our ears, and the artist must not convey theslightest hint of difficulty or exer tion in the performa nceof th is work.

The construction of the first movement is norm al; thesecond subject begins in the dominant m inor; the de­velopment modulates through some flat keys to C maj orand F major and hangs in the ail' on the dominant (bar223) before the recapitulation enters.

In view of the sudden cha nge of key from A major to Cm ajor, it is curious that Beethoven wanted the secondsect ion repeated as well . Normally, th is repeat is notplayed.r

Now to the general question of repeats. The repeats inBeethoven's sonatas are due for the most par t to an oldmethod of writ ing which deri ved from the dance suiteswhere the repeats were, if necessary, performed severalt imes over to suit the dancers. Even in Haydn and Mozartthere is ofte n no psychological re ason for a repeat. It is not

1 This repet it ion, found in some editions, has been provedspur-ious . P.H .

22

SONATA IN A MAJOR , OP . z , NO. z

until we come to Beethoven that the repeats appe ar tofulfil an emot ional need. Some of the exposit ions are sobri ef in comparison with the development that a betterbalance is obtained by a repeat. In public performancesthe player must decide for himself where a repeat ispsychologically necessary and where it would be m erelypedant ic. One nee d not subscribe to the naivety of one ofmy teachers who said to me : ' If it went all ri ght, Fischer,then thank God, and go on.'

There are, however, other considerations to be borne inmind, not necessar ily of a purely artistic nature . Some­ti mes external circumstances such as the state of thepiano or the t ire dness of the player may be a reason forleaving out a repeat. In certain programmes, however ,the execut ion of repeats may further the general impres­sion. The repeats in Opp. 2 , 7, 10, 14 and 22 may well beom itted, whereas in the later sonatas there is sometimesan obvious psychological case for a repeat , for instance inOp. 1 0 6 where the omission of the repeat would rob us ofthe beautiful lead-b ack. What composers themselvessometimes think about repeats is evident from a remarkwhich Brahms made to a young musician who was sur­prised that in a perform ance conducted by the composerhimself the exposit ion of the first movement of theSecond Symphony was not repeated. 'Earli er on, ' Brahmstold him, ' whe n the work was new to audiences, therepeat was necessary; nowadays it is so well known that Ican proceed without it .'

To r eturn to our sonata: it should be not iced that at thestart of the recapitulation Beethoven did not put a dot onthe crotchet afte r the demisemiquavers, in the second bar.The holding of this note gives the figure a differentcharacter from what it ha d at the beginning of the

2}

FIRST LECTURE

movement : it becomes an answer . This interpretation isconfirmed in the development.' The t urns of the secondsub ject should be played on B, C and D, not C sharp andD sharp, since these notes would weaken the subseque ntoctaves. The fingering which Beethoven prescribes forthe semiquaver tr iplets shows that he had an unusuallywide stretch," and also that the llgw'e shoul d be playedm elodically, not in a virtuoso style . Many people, how­ever , will find this fingering impossible.

The Largo appassionato is a movement that invitesorchestration ; but the trombone-like lines in the righthand and the double-bass pizzicati of the left can also bereproduced on the piano. The movement is in compoundbinary form, with two episodes and a coda. A well­m aint ained rhythm will give the movement its inh erentsolemnity.

The third movement, which is entitled Scherzo:Allegretto, is no longer a dance pW'e and simple, but aScherzo of the type that Beethoven later developed in thesymphonies. The basic volume of the Trio is piano, and itshould be played perfectly legato.

The last movement is a pure Rondo: A B A CAB A­Coda. After the fourth appearance of the rondo theme,there follows in place of a new idea (D) a combination ofA, Band C--in my opinion, the real coda only beginswith the fifth reappearance of the rondo theme. Themovem ent has an encha nting grace and conta ins charm­ing effects such as the leap from E to G sharp at t hebeginning, the legato slur of which is easier to executeoptically than in reality. Pedalling will help the slur , as

1 The dot on the A in bar 2 is spurious. P,B .2 An alternat ive suggestion, mad e by Scheukei-, is that the narrower

keys of old pianos made this fingering feasible. P.H.

24

SONATA I N A MAJOR , OP. 2, NO . 2

well as the rolling A m ajor scale in demisemiquavers afterthe minore sect ion , which latter introduces a novelstaccato effect .

Concerning the use of the pedal it is well t o rememberthat it should be used much more cauti ously and sparinglyin the lower registers than the higher. In the h igh estregisters, the piano has no dampers at all, owing to theshort sust aining power of those notes.

The Mozartian spirit that hovers over this movementalso ma nifests itself in the many rests an d the lifted notesof the left hand. In a crotchet passage Mozart usua llywrote, in the orchestral manner, a quaver note and aquaver rest in the bass-part where later on Beethoven andBrahms scored full crotchets. These rests, which should begiven their. full du e, bring light and air into the texture.

Sonata in C major, Op. 2, No. }

The Sonata No. 1 , in F minor, has been called the' lit tleAppassionata', and we might call this one the ' littleW aldstein'. Its character is one of artistic virtuosity andbrilliance. Opinions differ, however , about the way itshould be performed. No doubt it displays the youngBeethoven's delight in h is own unusual piani st ic skill but­it would be wrong to exaggerate the t empi and regardvirtuosity as the sole end of the work. After all, the musicis the body and the techn ique merely t he clothing.

The thematic m ateri al of the first movem ent- Allegrocon brio-comes from a Pi ano Quartet in C major whichBeethoven wrote when he was fifteen . The movementre ally contains five ideas of which the third and fourthmay be considered as forming the second subject . The

25

FIRST LECTURE

third begins in G minor and the fourth is in G major,the obligatory dominant. The fingering of the openingthirds is:

434 3454

~~ ' "

The closing theme of the first part rai ses a difficulty,the rhythmically precise rendering of the group:

Here, the t wo semiquavers are often abbre viated intom ere grace-notes of the preceding trill. One ofte n hearsthe same mistake in the final e of the G m ajor Concerto.

The development begins with this closing-theme,modulates boldly into D major, and int roduces a strettoon the two final crotchets of the opening motif. An oldan d exper ienced musician thought that the sforzandosbefore the recapitulation (bars ' 55 ff .) really pertain tothe second quaver,

the accent on the first quaver being self-evident , and itbeing character istic of Beethoven to stre ng the n weakunits of the bar. However, one could also maintain thatthe ifs, as printed, signify a strengthening of the weaksecond and fourth beats; for without them one mighteasily accent the first and third. Though our modern

26

SONATA IN C MA JO R., OP . 2, NO. 3

pianos would enable us to double the octaves at t he endof the first an d second section we should refrain fromdoing so, since octave-doubling often makes for a rough,grumbling tone.

The coda, introduced by a cadenza which begins in Aflat major, brings the movement to a brilliant finish . Thefortissimo chords 9 to 7 bars from the en d should bedivided for the greater comfort of sma ll hands.

The second movement-Adagio-requires a skilfultouch. It is not easy to shape the mo vement into an ent ityowing to the difference in character of its three subjects .The Form is A B CAB C A, the episodes Band C beingextended t he first t ime. The t empo is best determined bythe expressive rendering of the sigh ing, grief-laden th irdsubject in which the left hand should relaxe dly cross overthe right. Be careful to take the left hand off in the ninthbar of the main subject while the right hand sustains th eoctave. The fingering for the transit ion in bar 10 is:

]

2,

Beethoven often referred to a dualism- a masculineand feminine principle-in his sonatas, and the contrastis, I think, especially evident here. I would definitelyregard subjects 1 an d 5 as feminine and the subject in theminor mode as masculine. It is psychologically very in­teresting-eomparable to a reconc iliation-that at theend the man (left hand) takes over the feminine subject ,

27

FIRST L ECTURE

thus yielding as it were to the lady 's wishes after hisseveral refusals in the minor section .

The main section of the Scherzo is very orchestral instyle. The upbeat must not be played as a triplet ! Theforte and piano must be played without transitionalcrescendos. It is possible that Beethoven never noticedthat bars 3 to 7 form the bass of the Trio. Many such dis­coveries, by commentators of thematic relationships or ofthe true intenti ons of the composer, remind me of t hemodern composer who aft er reading an analysis of h iswork said: 'I had the feeling that I was dead and wasbeing shown a list ofthe chemical elements that had beendiscovered in my dead body. It is all quite new to me.'

The t empo of the main part of the Scherzo should bedet ermined by the pace at which the Trio can be taken.

The last movement is a virtuoso piece, full of gloriouslyebullient music. The t empo is A llegro assai, not P resto;the form is that of a Rondo, The episodes contras t hap­pily with one another; the F major section, with itsdifficult legato octaves and chords, is particularly charm­ing. I n the first episode the bass-line should be empha­sized. The coda should be kept piano until the firstfortissimo in bar 279. The difficult skips in bars 87 ff.should be mastered by a clear mental awareness of thedistances involved. The difficulties of the first passage ofsemiquavers, like t he lightly bouncing first in versions ofthe beg inning, can be overcome only by keeping the handrelaxed, yet st ill giving its full value to every note qu itedeliberat ely- in othe r words, by aiming at t hat balancebetween tension and relaxation wherein lies the solut ionof most of life' s difficulties.

SECO D LECTU R.E

B eethov en' s Piano Playing

I should like to say a few words about Beetho ven 's pianoplaying by way of introduction to the present lecture.

I once remarked that players of a particular constitutionare best suited for the performance of the works of com­posers with a similar constitution . For example, thick-setplayers with th ick fleshy hands are predestined for theinterpretation of works by composers of similar frame,whilst tall, long-fingered, sinewy players are likewise thebest interpret ers of t he works of sim ilarly const itutedcomposers.

If we take a look at some representati ve pianists fromthis point of view we shall find this view substa nt iated onthe whole. Thus the Beethoven and Brahms playersRubinstein and d'Albert were thick-set types whereasLiszt and COI1:ot were Chopin and Liszt players parexcellence. Somet imes the resemblance between inter ­preter and composer may even go so far as a sim ilar ity offeatures and of t he who le appearance. Fundamentally,however , it is all a matter of touch . Composers with soft ,flabby hands and thick finger-pads compose 'thick'music. Max Reger is an example of th is type. There wassometh ing of the mollusc about hi s whole nature; h istouch was unbelievably soft and his piani ssimo inimitable.Composers compose, as it were , for themselves. They un­consciously exploit their own qu alities and need kindrednatures to interpret their work. The wid e spacing of aHenselt, the piano-technique of a Liszt came from long-

29

SEC OND L ECT URE

fing ered h ands capable of wide stretches . It was not fornothing that Busoni and Sauer were great interp ret ers ofLi szt. The parallel cases of Liszt and P agan ini may alsobe instanced.

Beethoven belonged more to the thick-set type and hiswork requires a broad, full , singing tone. But he was notonly a ' broad ' type. Brahms was that far more tha n Beet­hoven. When one examines the plaster cast of Beethoven 'shan d in the Beethoven House in Bonn one is amazed atthe taper ing fingers, an d the later assertion that hi sfing er-t ips were abnormally wide is contradicte d by th isevidence. Czerny said of h is playing : ' It was marked byenormous st rengt h , character , incredible bravura andfluency. No one surpassed him in the speed of h is scales,double shakes and leaps. His attitude while playing wasperfectly calm , noble and beautiful. He made not theslightest gr im ace; his fingers were strong and their t ipsflattened by much playing. He deman ded the kind oflegato playing of which he himself was the unsurpassedmaster.' His contemporar ies noticed the last-n amedqu ality especially in hi s playing of the first inversions inthe C major Concerto, Op. ' 5.

In the manuscript of Op. 109, Beethoven marked inligato and legate repeatedly in red pencil (probably for afri end). The pianos of his t ime were not st rong enoughfor h is gig ant ic playing. Referring to the chord-passagein the first move ment of Op. 5', No. 2 he said : ' Thepiano must break.'

Someon e who visited the Countess Malfatti in her oldage heard her speak with great enthusiasm about hisplaying, but in general, there seems to have been littl eappreciat ion of h is work as a composer in that circle .Many of his finger ings show that he was well aware of

}D

BEETHOVE PS PIA NO PLAYI NG

the difficulties; he also ma de use of alternating fingers,especially for the 'tremolo ' effect, whereby the secondnote is repeated softly. I have in mind a passage in theScherzo of the Cello Sonata, Op. 69, and the Adagio ofOp. 110 :

His sforzandos are particularly significant. With the m,he seems to have put something of his essent ial personalityinto his playing; he often uses them to stress weak beatsas though he wished to counteract the exaggeratedlightening pf weak beats that results from academicallyaccenting the so-called st rong beats. Some of the sforzan­dos in passages for both hands also suggest that he wastrying to facilitat e their synchronizat ion. See, for example,Op. I l l , bars 26 ff. :

The subiti piani afte r a crescendo are a further charac­teri stic feature. Some of the crescendos which he pre­scr ibed on susta ine d notes are unplayable but the mentalillusion is important.

The greatest inventory of his pian istic art is found inthe Diabelli Variations which point to the future morethan any other work. He greatly promoted the art of

]I

SECOND LECTURE

pedalling, obtaining quite new effects. Let me quote a fewexamples. In the Tr io of the second movemen t of Op, 110

' .'

A ,

I" I- "'

0 ." f

the pedal notes must cont inue to sound until the entryof the new harmony. This will best be achieved by half­pedalling. As a means of enlivening the rhythm I use thepedal in Op. 101 from bar 29 onwards. Taking it alwayson the first and fourth beats will bl'ing out the inherentrhythm and the qui vering qu ality of this passage .

As an example of the exactness of Beethoven's treat­ment of the pedal we may quote a passage from the endof the second movement of the G m ajor Piano Concerto,° P·58:

...'. '

Here, the quaver rests are split up into two semiquaverre sts for the sake of the pedalling .

Beethoven also used the pedal to veil the atmospherein mist, as though he were paint ing a landscape. See, forexample, the end of the first movement of the Sonata,Op. 8 1A, the recitative passages in Op. 3', No. 2, and also

J2

SONATA I N E FLAT MAJ OR, OP. 7

the Largo of the Pi ano Concerto No. 5 in C minor . In allthese cases the player must decide how far the moderninstrument allows him to comply with Beethoven's in­struct ions.

He also used the soft pedal, and his directions in thesonatas, Op, 27, No. 2, and Op, 106 should be followed pre­cisely. The term senza sord. (which refers to the ' loud'pedal), must not be confused, however, with the 'soft'pedal which is m arked by una, due, Ire corde.

Beethoven 's ene mies found that he maltreated thepiano, that h e m ade a confused noise with the pedal, andthat his playing lacked clarity and purity.

cSonata in E flat major, Op, 7

The Sonata, Op. 7, in E flat major, which the pub­lisher called Grande Sonate, was dedicated in 1797 to theCountess Babett e de Keglevics, who lat er became PrincessOdescalchi. This lady seems to have aroused Beethoven'sinte rest in a high degree. T his did not, however , preventhim from giving her lessons every morning in his dressinggown and slippers . As soon as it appeared the sonata wascalled t he Verliebte» It is a spirite d work, sustained by astrong feeling for nature, an d one which, throughout itscomplementary movements, impresses one as a rounde dcrea tion of unique stamp.

Beethoven only rarely portrayed the same conste llationof feelings twice over in his major works . Once he haddescribed one such emot ional world he did not return toit. In this he differed from Mozart, some of whose finales,for example, are interchangeable.

1 The' enamoured 1.

c }}

SEC OND LECTURE

T he first movement makes the greate st dema nds onthe player 's individuality . I n view of the insignificanceof the first subject- it rather reminds one of the firstsubj ect of the Ero ica which is also in E flat and similarlyinchoat e- the player must make the most of the Allegromolto e con brio. Above all, there must be no slackeningin the opening phrases- the throbbing quaver rhythmmust urge the movement on . The time is not really (J/8but, as is proved by the harmonic progressions, each groupof three quavers is the unit. The sforzando on the G flatbefore the trans ition theme is a fine touch (bar 55). Thesecond subj ect in B flat seems to bring a feeling of calmbut the qu avers reappear stra ight away and again themovement rushes on impetuously. The semiquaverfigures in the coda (r ight hand) are technically difficultif one tries to bring out the hidden melody. The develop­m ent is rather scanty. The rhythmical structure of thet ied quavers marked sfz can be clarifi ed by the use of thepedal on the fourth quaver.

In t he Largo, expression must be carried r ight acrossthe rests. The second and fourth bars should be givenmore weight.

One always won ders whether a poetic image which onefinds helpful oneself m eans anything to other people, andthere is some truth in Pfitzner's remark that the descrip­

J4

SONATA IN C MI NOR, OP . 10 , NO . 1

tion of a piece of music is like the painting of a dinner.Nevertheless I will venture to suggest to you the pictureof a summer landscape with gigantic cumulus clouds fromwhich lat er on raindrops fall (the staccato sem iquavers inthe left hand in A flat major, bar 25).

The Scherzo has a Trio of peculiar and, for the periodin whi ch it was written, novel piani stic charm (comparethe last movement of Chopin's Sonata in B flat minor).In their opening notes the triplets contain a melodywhich must be brought out clearly, though not impor­tunately. The pedal should be used only at the fortissimos.The dry murmuring of the qu aver triplets crea tes aghost-like effect which is heightened st ill further by thesudden fortissim os: they illuminate the gloomy landscapelike flashes of lightning . The sound of horns must beproduced in the coda.

The last movement is a genuine Rondo of great charm.The minore in C minor offers some difficulty on accountof the figure which the weak fingers are required to playwith vigour. W hether he crosses over with his upperfingers or changes the fingering according to the positionof the black keys will depend on whether the play er is usedto putti ng the thumb on black keys. The modulation viathe note B to E major (bar 154) and the return to E flatby means of the enharmonic cha nge (C flat major) fromB to C flat is a stroke of geni us. The sonorous coda con­cludes not m erely the Rondo bu t also the sonata as awhole.

Sona ta in C minor, Op , 10, No . 1

The work was composed in Beethoven's twenty-sixthyear and shows how early he achieved his own unique

)5

SEC ON D L E CTUR E

symphonic style . For me this sonata is the most charac­teristic example of his organic mode of composit ion andequalled in this re spect only by the Coriolan Overtureand the Fifth Symphony .

All three movements have a classical quality. T hemasculine opening movement, the solemn Adagio and theprest issimo Finale in small note-values with its modula­t ions into remote keys and its pauses before the end areall genuine Beethoven.

The work was dedicated to the Countess Anna Mar­garete von Brown e, wife of the Count Browne who pre­sente d Beethoven with a riding horse- a gift whichBeethoven forgot u nt il he was unpleasantly reminded ofit by a lar ge bill for fodder; his ser vant had been hiringthe horse out and keeping t he proceeds for himself.

An ana lysis of th e first movement will show how closelyand organically everything is fitted together. The subjectconsists of the rising C minor triad in dotted rhythm witha broad fem inine ending by way of contrast; the openingof Mozart's great C minor Sonata (K. 457) may have beenthe model for this. The bars which lead into the secondsubject which begins at bar 56, are related to the openingby t he step of a sixth derived from the first subject .

The second subject too is really a variant of the firstfour bars in the m ajor . The tension is tremendous untilthe second inversion of t he E flat m ajor triad is reached ;the codetta (bars 94 to 105) is der ived from the feminineending of bars 3-4.

T he development: bar 106 begins with th e first themein the major. The octave jumps become tenths. Bars 118to the recapitulatio n are an extension of the transition tothe second sub ject, which shows tha t Beethoven thoughtthis transition rather impor tant and possibly regarded it

)6

SONA T A I N C MINOR , OP. 1 0, NO. 1

as a second main idea. Bars 136 ff. are der ived from" 9/' 20. T he chords before the recapitulation are a con­t raction of the triplet figure in bars ' 7- 20 (feminineending) . The recapitulati on is based exact ly on the exposi­ti on. T he two fortissimos in the left hand in bar 188correspond to the octave jumps and ar e repeated at theend of the movement.

The Adagio molto , in two sections, with a coda, isrelated to the Adagio of the Pathetique not only in keybut also in the triplet decorati ons and t he repeated notesin the accompaniment of the second subject. T he themeof the transition following the first subject has its proto­type in Bach 's Sixth Partit a, except that t he demisem i­qu aver figure is inverted. One is inevitably remind ed of'the first ubject of the first movement . These affinit ies,however, all ha ve t heir place in the unconscious.

The player should be careful not to hurry the hemi­semidem iquaver figures (bar 28) an d should take a deepbreath before the long period from bar 24 onwards inorder to feel as one the whole passage leading to therecapitulat ion . T he epilogue should be a real after-thoughtwith the regularly syncopated E flats producing the effectof a gra dual dying away. The fact that Beethoven writ espp in the IIth bar from the end an d then m akes the bigdecrescendo also end in pp shows how re lative such direc­t ions are. W hat is requi red is a gradual and gra duatedlesseni ng of to ne and this needs care ful cont rol and innercalm, as does the whole movement .

The Prestissimo is in sonata form and dem ands a speedwhich will enable the left hand to perform quit e clearlythe chords in bars 9-12. The second theme (conceivedfor wind instruments) also prohibits an excessive pace.

The development contains the famous ant icipation of

J7

SEC OND LECTURE

the Fifth Symphony. In the coda, the modulation toD flat maj or and the return and combination of both them ain ideas in the major are ingenious. Ghostly as is t hewhole movement, the theme vanishes with the rhythmderived from the accompanying figme in bar 12.

So nata in F major, Op, 10, No. 2

The cheerful character of this sonata, its am iability andhumour , also account for the somewhat loose texture ofthe work. This is the way in which Beethoven m ay haveimprovised, ta king for a start of the development the lastbar of the exposition of the first movement and going onto invent a new sect ion. The omission of a second themein the last movement, the relaxing of its fugato into apianistically inv iting end-piece show how easily the com­poser's ideas fluctuated during the writing of th is en­chanting work.

To prov ide a serious element, the Allegretto is in theminor, though it is mitigated presently by the softSchubertian D flat major of the Trio.

First movement: Ri emann calls the first four bars a'curtain' and finds the h eart of the subject in bars 5-8.From th is Beethoven develops the counter-statement inC major' which almost makes a stronger impression thanthe actual second subject (bar 38). The codetta should beplayed very clearly. The development is a very simplevariation on the last bar of the exposition . The anticipa­ti on of the opening in D major before the recapitulationproper is delightful.

1 Strictly speaking ) th e second subject group starts here, wh erethe dominant is fully established. P.H .

}8

SON ATA I N D MAJ OR, OP . 1 0 , N O. 3

The main subject should sound like question andcounter-question rather than qu estion and answer . Thepedal should be use d very spar ingly . The whole of thedevelopment should be played pellucidly, with the thumbof the r ight hand bearing the melody in the semiquavertriplets . The D major section should be played verygently so that the return to the vigorous opening in therecapitulat ion m akes a real contrast .

The second move ment, which is marked Allegretto, isakin to the Allegro molto e vivace fro m Op. 27, '0. "and should be played with the most beauti ful legato,without pedal, possibly con sordino. The Trio should besimple and tender. Note the Schubertian cast of themelody .

T he Finale is a mixture of sonata and fugato and de­mands a good technique . The P resto should not be over­done, with a view to bars 87 ff. Despite the if, the subjectin the bass here should not impede the clar ity of theright-hand figures . Bach's two-part Invention in F mayhave been the model; the passage is also akin to thesecond movement of the First Symphony. Its difficulty isbest overcom e by slight rotation from a loose wrist.

Sonata in D majo r, Op, 10 , No . ]

This is the greatest of the three sonatas, its four move ­ments forming a wonderful unity . T he happy distr ibu­t ion of interest among contents, formal beauty andpianistic brilliance has made it a great favourite in theconcert hall . If the first movement provides th e piani stwith a reward ing task, the Largo is one of the deepestinspirations of Beethoven the m elancholy. Great delicacy

J9

SECO ND LECT URE

of feeling is required in passing directly from the Largointo the Minuet: if one begins the Minuet gently andcalmly it will give a sense of relief ; too heavy-handed asta rt will m ake the change of feeling sound too abrupt.The Finale is full of humour reminding us of Beethoven 'sliking for jokes and puns.

The form of the first movemen t is quite st ra ightfor­ward. The main subject, the first notes of wh ich const itutethe basic motif of the whole movement, should bephrased thus:

r..

'UII II\~P .. . . .. ,

The second sub ject (bar 53)

requires a short appoggiatura since it was Beethoven 'scustom to wr ite out long appoggiaturas in four quavers.The theme of the preceding transition in B minor sup­plies a gre ater contrast than the actual second subject .The accompaniment must be transparent: the pedalshould be used carefully, just to underl ine the bass line.The ifs after the second subject refer only to the single,horn-like notes.

The Largo e mesto is said to ha ve been composed underthe impact of reading the description of Klarcheri's deathin Goethe's Egmont. There is a striking affinity in thefinal bars with Schubert's D eath and the Maiden . Theform is ternary, with elements of sonata form. T hesecond m ain idea, in A minor, is reminiscent of Tristan:

4°

SON AT A I N D MAJOR , OP. 1 0 , NO. swild despair alternates with lament at ion. The penulti­mate sect ion of the coda requ ires the most carefuldifferentiation of th e demisem iquavers u nt il they finallydie away.

The Minuet, which begins u nder the impact of theforegoing elegy, should give a sense of release like thegentle chords after the storm in the P astoral Symphony .In the second section the sforzandos should be moderate.In the Trio the difference between staccato and legatoin the left hand should be brought ou t very clearly.

The last m ovement, a Rondo, must not give an imp res­sion of anti-clim ax. The player must h ave a vivid senseof the qu est ioning and answering, the cont inual runn inghither and thither , the hide-and-seek game that Beet­hoven carrres on with the three notes of the subject. Thesame notes, namely the step of a second followed by athird, are found in the main subject of the first movement,at the beginn ing of the Largo, in the Trio of the Minuet(in the bass), an d also in the splendid syncopated chordsat the end of this last movement (bar 1 0 2 ) . The wholemovement is lit up with flashes of summer lightning.Every return of the rondo theme should be given adifferent colouring: it will help if the orn amen ts inbars 4, 28, 59 and 67 are given varied t reatment . T hefinal passages in the r ight hand need careful study.

W e leave this work with the sense of having met a'personality who is st ill young but who has already ex­per ienced the m ain elements of human feeling, tastedsoaring ecstasy as well as deepest grief, the blessings ofconsolat ion an d the exuberance of an eternally creat ivenature.

THIRD L E CT UR E

On Practising

As with most cultural activities, so with pract IsIng ,methods differ from one individual to another accordingto the student's temperam ent, physical const itut ion andm ental attitude. One thing applies to all, however:thoughtless repetit ion should be esche wed. Whether it isa m atter of memorizing, of m astering particular tec h­nical problems or understanding the structure of a work,the player who thinks, and thinks intensely, will makethe greatest progress. T echnique res ides in the head, notin the fing ers.

Baron van Swieten , Maria Theresa's gentleman-in ­wait ing, and a fr ien d of Mozart 's, was instr ucted by theEmpress to reclaim the county of Glatz from Frederickthe Great. The King listened to the proposal and replied :, Appare ntly the powers that be in Vienna think I havethe gout in my head and not in my legs.'

Intense self-observation , aware ness of the processes ofmovement, of the difficulties and their causes will leadone to detect a problem, and to solve it by exclusiveattention to it . Alfred Cortot says, in the Preface to hi sedition of Chopin 's Etudes:

"Travaillez non seulement le passage difficile, m ais ladifficulte m eme, qu i s'y trouve contenue, en lui rest ituantson caractere element aire .' (' Do not merely practise thedifficult passage, practise the difficulty as such which iscontaine d therein by restoring to it its essential character.')

That is excellent counsel.

42

- ---,.--------------------~-~~----

ON P RACTIS ING

One of the basic movements in the world is theopening and closing of the unicellular creatures of thesea, or of the mussels and oysters. The movements of thehuman heart and lungs, too, comply with th is basic move­ment which is common to all creatures. This contract ionand expansion also underlies the work of the muscles.We must attend not only to the contrac tion but in par­ticular to the expansion .

Fundamentally, there are really only five or six basicmovements and their combinations in volved in piano­playing. The difficulties arise ma inly from the alt ernationof the movements or the use of opposite movements inthe two hands; the persistent repetition of one and thesame mo vement can also be a great strain .

The contracti on of the muscles is nature's protectivereaction to every difficulty ; but this prevents the irrecovery and the supply of fresh blood. The supreme lawis to man age with the minimum of movement, exert ionand contraction. It is incredible the amount of energythat is being squa ndere d unnecessarily ; yet it is only by arelaxed touch that we can give our playing beauty andconviction. The in ability to relax is our ene my in life ingeneral as well as in piano-playing. The Indians havebeen teaching the m anagement of t ension and relaxationfor thousands of yea rs. Whether in breathing or inhigher pursuits, every exert ion must be followed byrelaxation.

W hat is the best way, then , to set about studying awork ? To begin with, I must mention a new methodwhich you will find described in the well-known book byLeimer-Gieseking and practised in Switzerland by FrauLangenhahn-Hirzel. It is based on our ability to imagine apiece of music without actually playing it . At the outset,

43

T H IRD L ECTURE

the student is merely given the score of the work. It issubjecte d to detailed analysis and only when the studenthas assimilated the piece mentally , and in fact knows itby hear t , does work begin at the instrument. Here again,technical problems are m ade conscious by analysis.

Th is system, the benefits of which are m any, provides,first and foremost, a stupendous train ing of the mind andone's ability to concent rate, such as was provided cen­turies ago, by t he schools of t he church, We have beentremendously spoilt by the invention of music-printing ,and it is impor tant to remember that to begin with musicwas crea te d from the mind and t he memory. ' Knights ofthe keyboard ' was how Bach scorn fully dubbed playerswho were lost without their instrument .

Despite the truth of the conception on which thisteaching is based and the splendid results it obtains withmany students, I cannot help feeling crit ical about theprinciple it involves, namely the pur ely m ental assimila­t ion of music. I regard it as part of the rat ional, intellec­tual view of t he world which attempts to subdue every­th ing to the intellect and the mind, the view ofthe worldwhich has brought about this technical age with itsmany admirable features, bu t which leaves out of itsreckoning the whole wide field of the psychic and emo­t ional capacit ies in man. It is very easy to demonstratethe process of cause and effect in mechan ical and tech­nical matters, but very difficult to descr ibe the forces thatare truly creat ive. Why leave out of account these greatenergies which give us so much ?

W e also have a ' motor' memory which helps us toremember the movements of the fingers. This has oftensaved me when my conscious memory has let me down.Then there is the visual m emory which makes it impor-

44

ON PRACTISI NG

tant always to use the same edition of a work. There isalso the melodic and harmonic memory . Best of all, how­ever, is that unconscious co-operat ion of all these kindsof memory which operates so clearly in the child prodigy.

How shoul d one beg in prac tising a work ? Let usassume that one is qu ite new to the work. First of all, playit stra ight through ; then analyse its form, separatingwhat is repeated from what is new and only occurs oncein the work. Then you will already be able to see wherethe problems, specifically those of technique, lie. Workingat the m for short periods over a longish stre tch of ti me,during which you m ay study other works , is better t handrudging away at one problem for a long t ime withouta break. The in tervening nights, in which you ' sleepover ' yOUl! problems, are also of importance. '~TOl'king inth is manner, the average player will find after a whilethat he knows t he piece by hear t. Conscious attent ion, tobe sure, must be given to the so-called 'track-points',i.e. the passages tha t diverge in repeats .

W hen the t ime is r ipe for attending to matters ofinterpretati on you must str ive to get all the feeling,rhythm and beauty out of the work which you can findin it. This is where your im agination, your emot ions andpassions must be act ive in the highest degree. A per iodwill follow in which one should attend to the product ionof beautiful t one and fluency. I t is impor tant at t his stageto take into account t he composer 's personal style and thestyle of t he particular work, as well as the sty le of t heperiod. Next comes a living conception of form, a searchfor internal balance. Finally there should be a check tosee that all the composer's direct ions (dynamics, rhythm,phrasing) are being scrupulously observed. Then, playthe work through several t imes trying to combine all the

45

THIRD LECTURE

requirements we have mentioned, not forg etting to keepthe body as relaxed as possible.

It is salutary to put on one side for a t ime works thatone has studied in this way. T aken up again afte r a fairlylong rest, they will r eveal new facets . Some th ings willseem easier than they did to begin with, while newbeauties and deeper meanings will be perceived by arested ear.

Sona ta in C m inor, Op, 1J (Sonate Pa thetique)

T he popularity of this sonata is probably due to t hepublic's affect ion for t itl es. Anyway, the popular sonatasare the ones with titles. In th e present case the title camefrom Beethoven himself and he probably wanted it to beunderstood in the sense of pathos, i.e. suffering. Inciden­tally , Tchaikovsky's Sy mphonie Paihetique has a similarmain subject (in E minor).

To my mind, this sonata is not so perfect and homo­geneous as some of the lesser-known ones. The firstmovemen t is like an excerp t from the piano arrangementof a symphonic work ; the last m oveme nt is not commen­surate with the first two. The second movement , how­ever, is perfect in every respect .

The sonata was written in 1798 and dedicated to PrinceKarl Lichnowsky. This patron gave Beethoven a quartetof Italian st ring instruments and an annuity of 6 00 florin s.

The first movement is m arked by a magnificent int ro­duction. Is it an introduction or really part of the mainmovement? The repeat Jigns claim our decision on -thispoint. If it is part of the main movement we must repeatfrom the beginning; if it is an introduct ion , only from

4°

SONATE PATHETIQUE IN C MINOR, OP. ' 3

the Allegro. Riemann argues that the first idea (Grave)is introduced again before t he development an d at theend. But it seems to me that the fact t hat Beethovenomits the Grave idea in the recapitulation suggests thathe only wanted the repeat to start from the Allegro. Torepeat the whole of the opening Grave would make theexposit ion unduly protracted in relati on to the othersections. It is obvious that the Allegro sub ject and, lateron, its continuation in the development are re lated to theGrave theme. The second subject is also re lated to it.There is a difficulty here : the mordent. Performed on thebeat, it will, considering its speed , easily result in atriplet . An anticipation, however , might lead to senti­mentality. T he r ight way is anyone's guess.

T he fp of the very first chord offers a further difficulty;should th is be playedfto beg in with an d then the wholechord p until the demisemiquaver? Difficult though it isto repro duce today, the orchestral effect of the fp is tobe preferred because it is more in accord with the ideaof pathetique. No crescendo should be made before therecapit ulat ion . The sem ibreve passage before the finalGrav e gives r ise to the five bars of staccato chords at theend.

The second movement . is one of Beethoven 's mostglorious inspirations. Despite its emotionalism , it has tohave classical stance, and despite its classical simplicity,it has to be full of feeling. How to do th is? Give an ex­pressive tone to the melody and obtain simplicity andsymmetry by keeping the rhythm even.

The two -part writi ng of the last moveme nt is hard tobring off. If one takes the light rondo character of theAllegro Q: as a guide the move ment will contrastovermuch with the others; if one plays it slowly, with

47

THIRD LECTURE

meaning in every note, it may easily become wooden andclumsy. I, at any rate, play the opening sotto voce and nottoo fast, trying, at the same time, to give it some innerexcitement. To my m ind, the first E flat m ajor theme isthe real second subject , and the strain in crotchets merelyan append age (bar 44). The former is the inversion ofbars '3 to 15 ofthe ma in subject . That Beethoven attachesmore importance to this theme (bar 25) is indicated byhis direction dolce . The triplet figures (bars 51 ff.) shouldbe well ar ticulated. The central episode in A flat with itsminims should be played warmly and cantabile, notdidactically. In the coda (bar 193) the movement resumesagain the general character of this work . Harsher dyna­m ic accents are heard; the composer leads us to A flatmajor, and just as he seems to be introducing the subjectagain in A flat major, he suddenly returns to the tonicC minor.

So nata in E major, Op, 14 , N o. 1

The two sonatas , Op. '4, are usually studied first becausethey are the easiest to play (besides Op. 49). Like all suchworks, including the poems one is forced to learn byheart at school, it is difficult to appreciate them in laterlife. Dissection and repeti ti on have ma de us insensiti veto their charm and beauty. For me, however, thesesonatas are among the sweetest and most sympathet icchildren of Beethoven's heart.

Another trouble is that the masses, these ' terr iblesimplifiers ' , are incl ined to label composers and, needlessto say, the label t hey attach to Beethoven is ' the heroic ' .They refuse to believe that there can be gentle heroes,

48

•

SONATA IN E MAJ OR, OP . 14 , NO. 1

heroes of goodness and long-suffering. Let us not forg etBeethoven's gentle side.

The E major sonata was composed in 1798. It has threemovements and is elegiac in character. By way of excep­t ion, the middle movement provides the serious andaustere element and sta nds, in the m inor , between thesunlit movements in the major .

The form of the open ing movement is normal. Thefirst subject has one appendage, the second has two . Thatthe tempo is 4/4, not <1: , is proved by the second subject.The C major in the recapitulati on, with its firmeraccompaniment, is magnificent. I should like to drawattention to the customary octave doub ling of the E inthe coda (bar 151), which is perhaps contrary to Beet­hoven's intentions.

According to Schindler, Beethoven himself played thesecond movement Allegro furioso; but we may perhapspresume that Schindler had envisaged an easy-goingAllegro and was taken aback by Beethoven's performance.All the sam e, in spite of this tradition, too fast a temposhould be avoided. On the other hand, the observationthat Beet hoven lingered on the C sfz shows that themaster had an entirely personal style which includedagogic accents for special events, such as strong disso­nances, rests and clima xes.

At the t ransit ion into the maggiore, the crescendo onthe high E and t he portamento are a reminder thatBeethoven arranged the whole sonata for string quartet.Both directions must remain illusory on th e piano but Iwould not like to live without illusions.

The last movement, Rondo : Allegro commodo, is inthe form A B A C A B-Coda. The affinity which Riemannsees bet~een the main subject of the first movement and

D 49

•

THIRD LECTURE

the first subject of the last reminds me of t he Englishteacher who derived Ross from Horse by a transposit ionof the letters.

The second subj ect (first episode) is (bars 21-5) :

The central episode is a sort of Trio in G major whichmust not be allowed to destroy the poetic framework ofthe movement as a whole. The transit ion into F m ajor isdelightful (bar 104). The bass-part preceding the codashows how Beethoven makes the most of the t in iestmotifs; the gradual dissolution of the main theme in asyncopated variation and later in quavers is like theobservation of a natural phenomenon on the part ofBeethoven: comparable to a slowly dissolving blanket ofcloud that reveals more and more fragments of blue sky .

And so we leave this lovely, warm piece in E major, thekey to which Beethoven ent rusted so many of his happiestmove ments (Op, go, second movement ; Op. 109).

Sonata in G major, Op, 14, N o. 2

This sunlit forest-scene might be called 'The Bird asProphet', so prophetic is it of Schumann. All the move­ments are written in a relaxed style. The syncopatedchords in the second movement and the bass-accompani­m ent in the second subject of the last m ovement areSchumannesque. Above all, there is an int imate feeling

5°

SONATA I N B FLAT MAJOR, OP. zz

for nature which anticipates the Romantic composers.The A llegro of the first movement should not be taken

too fast in order to give the little birds in the right handtime to sing their songs . Observe how one motif grows outof the other as organically as leaf upon leaf sprouts froma bough, and how from the beginning to the development,one melody flows on the whole time. The boughs of thetree sha ke in the second subject; in the coda darkersha dows fall.

How delightfully staccato alte rnates with legato in thesecond movement with the three variat ions ! The var ia­tion with the syncopated quavers moves along so gentlythat we must be careful not to play the sforzandos tooviolently.

The duple rhythm with in the triple barring (5/8) ofthe last mo vement shoul d free us from the bar-line.Playfully, like insects, the motifs dart about in the clearair of this G major.

Sonata in B flat major, Op, 22

No doubt it was its grateful, florid piano-writing thatmade this work formerly so popul ar ; like all Beethoven'sless dramatic works it has lost some of its popularity inour day. W ell played, however, it can afford great plea­sure by reason of its smoothness of form and charmingsound effects ; even the rather Italianate and aria-likeAdagio is given grandeur by the breadth of its phrases.The Rondo seems to me to be the most significant move­ment, significant by virtue of it s wealth of ideas, the maticrelationships and its blend of var iat ional and contra­puntal t echnique.

51

THIRD LECTURE

The first movement is in st rict sonata form . T hemati­cally everyth ing is again absolutely consiste nt . The de­velopment is formed by the codetta theme and the ma inth eme, but everyth ing flows along so naturally and easilythat one is unaware of th e the mat ic structure, onlypleasantly moved by the organ ism as a whole.

In the Adagio the sonata form is evide nt. The beatis J. , with three t imes three quavers making a rhythmicunit. The seque nce of events is: first subject, second sub­ject, developm ent, recapitulation. The development, inparticular, with its fr equent repetition of the figure:

shows that the quavers must be played in a flowingte mpo. It is wonderful how Beethoven, in the recapitula­tion, dovet ails the first-subject group and the transit ion,and continues the latter in the minor (bar 59) in order tointroduce the second subject in E flat major.

The phrasing of the Mi nuet is debat able. Should it be:

or :

~~" i_~ etc.

If the second is more natural, the first is more graceful .The m ain theme of the Rondo should be played with

ami abili ty, and the ensuing octa ves with suppleness. The

52

SONATA I N B FLAT MAJOR , OP . es

first episode (bar , 8), whi ch later elaborates the quaverfigure of the rondo theme, has already more int ensity ;

and the minor sect ion (central episode) works up to thepitch of a contrapuntal struggle in st ring quartet style(bar 80). T he demisemiquaver figure ofthis section , too,is a t ransformation of the rondo theme. The coda of th ismovement m akes one feel that Beethoven in tended it toform a conclusion to the sonata as a whole, not merely tothe fourth movement.

53

F OU R. TH L E CT UR. E

Beethoven's Personality

Beethoven's family h istory confirms the theory thatmusical genius of the first r ank never sudden ly appearsfrom a background lacking in cultural interests . In thecase of musicians, generations are needed before the ulti­mate heights are reached by one solita ry member of afamily. If painters should seem in a differ ent case, thisis mere ly a delusion. Great painters who come frompeasant stock (van Gogh, Rubens, Segantini, Nolde) enterinto ways already prepared for them since the peasantlives with the forms and patterns of nature, light andshade, lan dscape and animals, and is constantly assimila­t ing optical impressions; he can estimate distances, r eadthe weather from the atmosphere, thus preparing for thebirth of an artist in light .

The ance stors of the Bachs, of the Haydns, Couper in,Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert were all musicians, orat least engaged in allied cultural purs uits, T he ar isto­cratic sense, the feeling for arch itectural beauty, fortraditional custo ms was also a daily exper ience for most ofthem since they served at courts or in ecclesiast icalestablishments .

On the other hand, genius is brought to maturity byhard and difficult circumstances. All these great mastershad a hard youth; one might almost say they receivedmore blows than food, the blows usually taking the formof hard work, often lasti ng far into the night. It is remark­able to observe how in their struggle for existence, for

54

BEETHOVEN ' S PERSONALITY

success, for income, first as child prodigies, then as em­ployees or independent musicians, the work of all thesemasters was determined by the true artistic spir it , thespir it of service, and by a sense of profound moralobligation. None of them was more conscious of this spiritand more unyielding to the demands of the public thanBeethoven.

Let us look for a moment at the musical nourishmentth at he received. As he was early employed as an organistin Bonn it was church music that impressed him first ;besides, he heard at the concerts held at the Archbishop'scourt the music of Stamitz, Gluck, Gretry, Benda, Dit­tersdorf, Paisiello, Bach and Handel. It must not beimagined, however, that he possessed complete edit ions ofBach and Handel. He knew only a t iny fra ction of Bach'swork, including some ofthe 'Well tempered Clavi er ' , andhe received Handel' s works as a present from Londonwhen he was alre ady on hi s death-bed . In Vienna hebecame acquainted with many of t he works of Haydn andMozart, and I should like to corr ect the statement oneoften hears that th is or that passage in Mozart alreadysounds quite like Beethoven. Beethoven was seventeenwhen he visited Mozart in Vienna. W he n Mozart diedBeethoven was twenty-one, and all these surprisinglyBeethovenish passages in Mozart are entirely original.Beethoven was influenced by Mozart, not vice versa .Without Don Giovanni the Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2 wouldnever ha ve been wr itten , nor Op. 10, No. 1 withoutMozart's C m inor Sonata, nor Beethoven 's C minorConcerto without Mozart's concerto in that key. In spiteof the Mozartian infl uence, however , they all bear themarks of Beethoven's personality.

Italian music occupied a prominent position, particu­

55

FOUR TH LECT URE

larly in opera. It was from the Italians that Beethovenacquired his sense of symmetry and beauty of form, aswell as the skilful treatme nt of stringed instruments . TheFrench clavier composers did not influence him ; but thesolemn Gluck did.

What was it like in Bonn and Vienna in Beethoven'st ime? T hey only had candlelight; no large concert-hallsthat could be heated in the winter-t ime; there were nomusical societies; musical events that did not take placeprivately had to be laboriously orga nized by the musiciansthemselves; on the other hand, one of the compe nsat ionswas that Nature still reached right into the heart of thecity, and to listen to her sounds it was not necessary totravel half an hour on th e underground. By his self­assurance, which also expressed itself in coarseness an dfits of bad temper, and also by the innate nobility of hi sheart, Beethoven ra ised the social standing of the musi­cian tre mendously. Whereas the bewigged Bach couldstill write in 1750 : ' Your Grace's utterly devoted servantand most obedient subordinate ' , the wigless Beethovensigne d hi mself: ' Your fr iend, Beethoven' when writ ingto the Archduke R.udolf.

Beethoven was apparently a child ofthe French Revolu­t ion , of the T hird Estate; he acknowledged no preroga­tive of birth or money though he was aware of his ownimportance as a prince of music, with all the socialobligat ions that devolve on such an exalted public ser ­vant . At any rate he was not one to hanker afte r thefavour of the masses, and he was a passionate cha mpion ofindividual free dom on an ethical basis. His reading in­cluded Marcus Aurelius, Plutarch , Shakespeare , Klop­stock (of whom he said' He always begins r ight up at thetop, always maestoso! D flat ! '), Schiller and Goethe,

56

BEETHO VEN ' S P ERSO NALIT Y

whom he especially revered. Of conte mporary poets hecame in touch with Gr illparze r, Kotzebue, Collin, Matthi­son (Adelaide) an d Rochli tz.

There are various approaches to life, and each of usincli nes more or less to one of the following categories :

There is the outlook of the average person who isentirely wra pped up in the events of the day and hour,the shocks and blows, the pleasures and joys of thepassing moment; his hea d scarcely ever r ises above thesur face of everyday happenings. The pit iless machine ofeternal recurrence is his sad lot-s-of whi ch he is, merci­fu lly, qui te oblivious.

T hen there are the romantic natures who are carriedaway by impressions and dreams; they are, as it were, arealization of nature' s dreams, the human voice ofeternal nature.

Th irdly there are those who try to make t he ir ownbuilding out of the material that life puts into theirhands. They ignore the trivial and the commonplace,attribut ing no great value to it. The strongest of theseare followers of Prometheus, essentially' creative ' types.Beethoven was a supreme example of this cat egory, andh is counterpart Michelangelo greets h im across twocenturies .

Apart from these three types there is another andrarer kind of ma n for whom life is a mere sport in theGreek sense . Destiny is inevitable, law eternal and pre­determined. Inviolate and timeless, the gods look downon human sorrows and human destiny, at t his motleygame that is playe d out on earth; and in a similar waycer tain great m en look at the worl d. In their works wefind not m erely sh in ing heroes but characters of variouskinds in changing hues. The fool is as dear to the m as the

57

FOURTH LECTURE

king, and even the murderer is still a human being; thepoet does not judge. W ith a heart of wisdom he allowseverything to pass before our eyes as a divine sport .Among such m asters I count Shakespeare, Rembrandtand Mozart. But Beethoven was not of this kind . It is truethat he gradually developed from the individualisticfighter into an artist of more universal feeling, and in hislast works he draws a fine veil of myster ious immateri­ality over his music-fundam entally, however, he wasone of the Promethean, dynamic m en wh o struggle withtheir own gen ius and fjght for the realization of theirideals. In this sense he has had a profound influence onlater ge nera t ions.

So nata in A flat major, Op, 26

I n thi s sonata we meet for the first t ime one of thosecreations which I should like to call ' psychological com­positions' since they are intimately personal utterancesand, strictly speaking, represent transitiona l stages inBeethoven 's development. At first glance, their formseems fr eer and more u nconvent ional, t hough in fact itis as closely worked and st rictly controlled as that ofother sonatas.

The normal sequence of movements is oft en changedhere, but the psychological links between them arestronger and the demands m ade on the interpretergreat er. To this group I assign Opp. 26, 27, No. 1 andNo. 2, 78 , 8 1A, 101 and 109.

In the present sonata Beethoven begins with a quietvari ation movement followed by a forceful Allegro; t hefamous Funeral March is followed by a Rondo. It is not

58

SONATA I N A FLAT MAJOR , OP. 26

easy to make the unity of the work felt ; ill particular thelast two movement> seem to be irreconcilably opposed toone another. Some crit ics think it necessary to introducethe principle of opposites to explain the last two move­ments. That app ears to me to be rather too facile anexplanation, suggested by the apparent velocity of t heRondo. 1 prefer to moderate the A llegro of the lastmovement, attaching great importance t o Beethoven'spiano, thereby establish ing a link with the FuneralMarch. It is as if a shower of rain fell after the funeral,veiling the burial ground in a consoling grey m ist . Onecould say the stage is now empty, and Nature has the lastword; rather as Chopin 's Funeral March is followed bythe notably difficult Finale in modo di Goya. W ithoutsuch modificat ion, the piece will become a sort of Cramerstudy-and that was surely not Beethoven's intention.

I t is not easy to decide on the tempo of the first move­ment if th is is to be maintained throughout the varia­t ions. One should try and choose a golden m ean. Aboveall, beware of playing the fourth variation twice asqu ickly-a common mistake. The second variat ion is ananticipation of the brilliant violin variation in theKreutzer Sonata . It should be played loosely and softly.

In the Scherzo, the figure in thirds (bar 27) should befirmly committed to the m ind before the fingers actuallyplay it. The ties in the Trio .are Beethoven 's (do notcrescendo too early). The Funeral March shoul d beplayed portato. Too much pedal should be avoided- afterall, the dr umheads are draped in black. Beethoven writesquite clearly at the--consolatory- end: Pedal in the bass.The t ransform ation , sometimes advocated, of the drumroll from exact demisemiquavers into an indist incttremolo is not to be recommended. As in the P astoral

59

+= :

FOURTH LECT URE

Symphony, 'Not painting, but the expression of feeling 'is the motto to be borne in m ind here.

The Rondo alternates between strains of three and twobars. Between the repeats of the rondo theme there aretwo episodes, the first occurring twice, the central onebeing in C m inor; a coda on an A flat pedal-note closesthe m ovement with two poignant suspensions. Night hasfallen .

Sonata in E flat major, Op, 27 , N o. 1

The two sonatas , Op. 27, deviate from the usual sche me,and Beethoven therefore added the subtitle quasi unafantasia.

The seque nce of the movements is qui te unusual:Andante, Allegro, Andante in the first movement;Adagio, Allegro vivace, Adagio, Presto in the last move­ment of Op. 27, No. 1; Adagio soste nu to, Allegretto,Presto agitato in Op. 27, No. 2. Such str uctures needsensit ive han dling if they are to give a feeling of psycho­logical unity. The Allegro in C major in the openingmovement of the E flat sonata can collide painfully withthe Andante in E flat if it is not managed with great care.It should not be taken too qu ickly, and som ehow orother a psychological link must be establishe d betweenthe second bar of th e Allegro and the interval of the thirdat the beginning of t he Andante.

As Riemann points out, genuine linear art iculat ionkeeps a piece on the move even at a slow speed, whilefiguration, Le. the decoration of an Adagio m elody bysmall note-values, will retain its qui et character . Inother words, what matters are the implied rhythmic

60

SONATA I N E FLAT MAJOR, OP. 2 7 , NO . 1

units, and just these are not easy to det ermine at theopening of th is sonata . This is shown by the fact thatCasella gives a metronome m arking of 80 for the minims,d'Albert 84 for the crotchets, i.e. almost twice as slow.Where is the subject 's true centre of gravity? Does itbegin with an anacrusis-and if so, do the m any half-barsforzandos confirm or contra dict th is? How does oneavoid t riviality in the main theme, especially in bars 9to 12? Can there be a seque nce ' weak-strong, weak­strong , weak-strong, strong-wea k' (bar 4)?

All these questions of grammar were answere d for m eby an experience I had whe n I was on a concert tour inthe South. I was in a small town an d wanted to practisebefore my concert. Looking for an instrument, I wasgiven the name of a grocer . I called on him and wasshown in to a pleasant room where a small girl aboutfourteen years old opened a gra nd piano for m e to prac­t ise on . As she lean t against the piano listeni ng, but notlooking at me, 1 asked if she played herself and whe n shereplied that she did 1 asked her to play m e something.W ithout a word she sat down and played Op. 27, No. "with a naturaln ess, gentleness, equanimity and sadnessthat suggested that this was a true expression of somehidden suffering. She knew nothing about ' subj ects onthe upb eat ' or the m etronome m arks of various editors ,but inside her there beat the heart of the Beethoven whocomposed th is sonata. Deeply moved by her playing, Ihad found the solution to my problems.

The second m ovem ent is a genuine Beethoven Scherzo,of the demonic kind. The motifs derived from the Cminor chord scurry ghost -like over the keys. Even if youphrase in two-bar groups, weak to strong , do not hesitat eto discontinue this at the forte. Beh ind all the music of

6I

FOURTH LECTURE

the Vienna classics there lurks the dan ger of monotonousrhythm-what I call the Viennese wooden fence-thatdivid es everything off into four-bar phrases. Always feelthe shape of the melodies and mould them freely. Getaway from four-bar phrases.

In the repeat, the syn copated note s suggest a journeyinto Hades.

The form of the Adagio is A B A. The Allegro vivacemovement is in rondo form and apparently has severalthemes, but closer examination shows them all to berelated. The short Presto that occurs afte r the repeat ofthe Adagio in the tonic is also der ived from the rondotheme. After a number of performances, the player willbecome joyfully aware of the work's unity when nearingthe end, and will be able to communicate this feel ing tohis aud ience.

Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 2 7, N o. 2

Scarcely any sonata has ha d so much written about it asOp. 27, No. 2, though it only lasts sixteen minutes. InBeethoven's own t ime it was called the L aube (Arbour)sonat a because it was thought to have been composed inan arbour. The nickn ame Moonlight Sonata came fromthe poet Rellstab who was inspired to call it that by amoonlit n ight on the Lake of Lucerne. Speaking of nick­names, the Sonata, Op, 53, which in German-speakingcountries is called ' W aldstein-Sonat e ' after its dedicatee,is called L 'aurore (' dawn ') by the French . Op. 28 iscalled' Pastoral Sonata ' in France and England.

From various facts that have come to my knowledge Ihave conceived a different theory of the origin of the

62

SONATA IN C SHARP MI NOR , OP. 27, NO. 2

work which I should like to mention here without claim­ing any histor ical authe nticity for it.

There is in Vienna a m anuscript of Beethoven's whi chcontains a few lines from Mozart's Don Giovanni inBeethoven's undoubted hand : the passage after DonGiovanni has killed the Commendatore. UnderneathBeethoven has transposed the passage into C sharp m inor,and the absolut e similarity of this with the first m ove­ment of Op, 27, No. 2 is qu ite unmistakable. In particularthe postlude is note for note as in Mozart ,

At the t ime one of Beethoven's aristocratic fri endsdied and was laid out in state in his palace. One nightBeethoven is said to have improvised as he sat by thecorpse of h is fr iend; is it so unlikely that Beethoven wasreminded of the similar scene in D on Giovanni and thatthis was the reason for the str iking similar ity which wehave m entioned ? In any case, there is no romantic moon­light in this movement: it is rather a solemn dirge.

Beethoven's direction : 'Si deve suonare tutto questopezzo delicatissamente e senza sordini' should be fol­lowed precisely : the whole movement should be playedwith the utmost gentleness and without the dampers, thatis to say, unth. the pedal. The tempo should not drag :Beethoven indicat ed this by the alia breve sign. It isprobably merely an accident that the first two bars haveno legato slurs. The dotted rhythm in the fourth crotchetof the fifth bar must be executed very gently, and careshould be taken to see that the last semiqua ver (G sharp)is closely joined to the following long note. In bar 8I play the last B in the upper part with the left hand toachieve a perfect legato. In bar 12, in the middle part,I play a C instead of a B for the fifth quaver. I can offerno documentary evidence but I find it difficult to forgo

6}

FOURTH LECTURE

the step from C to C sharp in the middle part. But then,the first two pages of t he manuscript are lost .

The Allegretto should not be played too fast, otherwisethe m any suspensions from bar 9 onwards will not receivetheir due value. To my mind, the three accompanyingcrotchets in bar 10 should be played with the st r ictestpossible staccato in spite of the awkwardness this in volves.In the Trio we meet in the left hand an A flat held forfour bars and later on a D flat , both of which are markedfortepiano. These notes must therefore come throughquite independ ent ly of the bass.

The last movement depicts a storm. In bars 1 and 2

and all similar bars there should be no crescendo. T hefirst real cre scendo is in bar '9 and in this bar , too, legatoslurs appear for the first t ime . The sforzandos in bar 2

and elsewhere must give the effect of a flash of lightning.The first of the small notes in bars 155 and 155 coincidewith the first bass-note. Not ice that in bar 1 8 7 , before theAdagio, the figure in the r ight hand was wr itten by Beet­hoven in quavers : it must therefore be played slower tha nthe preceding semiquavers. It may be of interest to men­t ion t hat Li szt is said to have played the whole last m ove­m ent in a relatively broa d t empo, emphasizing the fortepassages, however, with tremendous energy and expres ­sion.

Sonata in D major, Op, 28

Composed in 180 1 in close proximity to the C sharp minorSonata, it nevertheless differs fundamentally from thatwork . T his sonata has been nicknamed the Pastoral, andnot inaptly . There is a feeling of Nature in this piece, a

64

SONATA IN D MAJOR, OP. 28

presence of the god P an such as we find only in the P as­toral Symphony itself. There, however, the themes aremore clear-cut. In the piano sonata, there is a sh immeringas of summer air , a murmuring of bees and a fragrance:one can almost feel the warm sun on one's skin. Allour instincts are aroused, and, in a trance, natural manwithin us feels at one with mother earth.

By what means did Beethoven ach ieve this sense of joyand happiness? The calm tranquillity of the D which isrepeated sixty t imes in the left ha nd contributes a greatdeal; the gradual r ising and falling of the melody in sma llintervals, the repetiti on of similar phrases-all theseelements give the work a sense of wideness and peace.

The three main ideas are easily discerned an d they areall more or less related to one another. The codetta, too,is a transformation of the second idea. The development ,the central section of which derives entirely from the lastbar of the first subject, gives the impression of a bri efafternoon storm; it is wonderful the way everythinggradually comes to rest on the F sha rp.

Then a merry sunbeam slips in like a child breaking inon a serious meeting-but it stops, sudden ly frightened.The idea is repeated in the minor , turns to the tonicmajor, and once aga in the summery magic fills the re­capitulation.

The simple te rnary layout of the second movementnee ds little comment . Provided one exactly followsBeethoven's directions, staccato and legato, the idea of themovement will emerge of its own accord. Need less to say,the sforzandos in bars '3 an d ' 4 should not all beequally loud; in bar ' 5 the C sharp re mains sounding onits own . In the Trio, the tempo should remain the same;it should the refore sound leisurely and an alternat ion as

E 65

FOU RT H LECTURE

between horns and a solo flute shoul d be aimed at. Thetempo of the movement should be determined by thedem isemiquavers in bars 71 ff. The pp of the precedingand succeeding bars will greatly modify the strength ofthe sfz. in the penul ti mate bar. In the Scherzo see thatthe two quavers are separated from the following crotchet .The Trio offers an opportunity to play the melody withdifferent tone colouring at each of its eight near-i denticalstatements .

The last movement is founded on a drone-bass and hastrue pastoral cha racter . The final Presto should be playedwith brilliance, and non legato in the final bars.

66

FIFTH LECTU R.E

Interpreters

It goes without saying that an artist's interpretati on of aparticular work is just as dependent on the environmentfrom which he com es as on the schools where he acquiredhis skill and kn owledge. His personal feelings and charac­ter will also play a great part. But I believe the deepestin fluence of all comes from the example set by the greatmasters of the keyboard.

In what follows I have no intention of criticizing theinterp retations of particular artists, I merely want brieflyto describe the m . As I have already said, there is a piano'method' by Car l Czerny which contains many referencesto Beethoven's .own character and performances. TheLiszt tradition was probably based very largely on this.His edition was a rather personal one, how ever, and is nolonger entirely acceptable. He was followed by Euglmed'Albert an d Hans von Bulow, masters whom I hear dmyself. Von Bulow, a m an of great wit, and a strong per­sonality, had wide in fluence at a time when the generalmusical public was st ill greatly in need of enlighte nment .Quite aware of this state of affairs, he dispensed instruc­ti on in his recit als by boldly underlining h is convictions.He made a habit of performing little-known works t wicein succession , notably the great Sonata, Op. 106. Hisedit ion of the Diabelli Variat ions is invaluable. Euglmed'Albert was more a man of the concer t-plat form . Hishealthy and vigorous style of playing was an example tous all. Casella represents the modern musician, above all ,

67·

FIFTH L ECT URE

the composer, and his notes are most instructive, albeitsomewhat Italian in characte r .

Artur Schnabel' s outstanding intellectual qualitiesmake his edit ion of the sonatas one of great interest ; it isa rich source of enlightenment, and if studied closely canalmost replace the personal tuit ion of the master h imself.Sometimes, admittedly, he goes too far, especially in hisrequirem ent that every t r ill, every pause, and even a restbetween two movem ents should be counted out. If onecounts out every pause, all the spontaneity of theperformance may go by the board. Schnabel made thedeepest impression on m e when he played freely andas if in pri vate, entirely engrossed in the spir it of thework.

These art ists made their greatest impact whe n theyplayed not in accordance with an interp ret ation all cutand dr ied beforehand but when they surrendere d to thesway of their imagination. It is a pity that we have noedit ion of Beethoven 's sonatas by Busoni since he was oneof the m ost personal an d absolutely independent of in­terpreters as is shown by the analysis of the fugue fromOp. 1 0 6 in hi s edit ion of Bach.

W henever I listened to d' Albert and other great ar t ists(Reger, Bartok) I often wondered how they ach ieved theastonish ing musicality and inner logic of the ir per­formances. I came to see that it was a clear awareness ofthe harmonic progressions which m ade their playing soconvincing an d absorbing . No show was made of theordinary course of eve nts, but whe n a true modulationbegan it was significantly und erlined. They led us with asure hand from one key to another, from one sect ion ofthe work to the next, giving us the impression of some­thing that had grown organically . That may be what dis-

68

---------------------

THE THREE SONAT AS, OP. 3 1

tinguishes interpreters who alsocompose from players whoare fundamentally uncreative.

The Three Sonatas, Op, J1

These three sonatas, which were written in 1801 and1802, represent a rene wed search for the pianistic andcreative possibilities latent in piano sonata form. Thegreat diversity of the three works in itself is sufficientproof of that . While the first is sere ne and almostHaydnesque in style, the second, in D minor, is demonic,and the third is full of j oie de vivre in so capricious avein as we rarely meet in Beethoven.

It is not easy for us to discern t he great progress fromone work of Beethoven 's to another because we know ofthe later developments. W e cannot forg et the 7th sym­phony whe n we listen to the end, and whe n we ar eworking at the C minor Sonata, Op. 10, we are uncon­sciously aware that Op. III was to come . Most difficult ofall, perhaps, is to remember that Beethoven himselfcould know nothing of the works that he was called uponto create subseque ntly .

That he was seeking for new paths is clear from aremark which he made to his friend, the Bohemianviolini st W enzel Krumpholz: 'I am not sat isfied with myworks to date ; from now on I want to take a differentroad.' That he was grappling with t he problem ofrenovating the sonata is also shown by the reply he madeto the publisher Hoffmeister who had conveyed to him acommission from a lady for a revolutionary sonata on ne wlines: ' Are you possessed by the devil, the whole lot ofyou, gentlemen- what, suggest to me that I should write

69

FIFTH LECTURE

a sonata of that sort ? At the time of the revolutionaryfever, well, at that time it would ha ve been worth con­sidering, but now that everyth ing is trying to get backinto the old rut, Buonapar te has mad e his concordat withthe Pope- a sonata of that sort? . .. Good heavens, asonata of that sort at the beginning of this new Christianage-ho-ho! count me out of that, for nothing will comeof it .- Now my reply, post-haste. The lady can have asonata of mine, and indeed I will follow her general planas far as the aesthetics of the t hing is concer ned- but Iwon't stick to her key-scheme. T he price abou t 5 florins­for that she can enjoy the sonata for a year, during whichneither I nor she may publish it . When that year haspassed the sonata is mine exclusively- i.e. I can and shallpublish it, while she can insist, if she thinks that this willr edound to her honour, that I dedicate it to her.'

Let us now look at the rarely played

Sonata in G major, Op , It, No . t

First movement : after a dashing start, the main charac­teristic of the movem ent appears: the anticipation of theleft hand by the ri ght. T he same pattern is repeated inF major. After the dominant, D major, has been reached,the pattern appears again in G, and modulates to F shar p,the dominant of B, in which key the second subject isint roduced. A short codetta with a melancholy alterna ­tion of major and minor is reminiscent of Schubert. Thedevelopment and recapitulation are normal ; the extendedcoda is particularly charming. I ts humour and delightfullittle surprises show us clearly just how Beethoven wishedthe whole movement to be conceived. Beethoven main-

7°

SO NATA IN G MAJO R, OP . 3 ' , NO. 1

tained his sense of humour, though it som etimes took arather grim turn, to the very end.

It is doubtful whether the piano at the beginning ofthe movement is correct . I play it forte ; at any rate,Beethoven wanted the third bar to be a contrast , as isshown by his direction piano.

The second movement : Have you ever come across anold country-house in the middle of an old-world park witha murmuring fountain? When the great venet ian blindsare opene d the light floods into a world long since van ­ished-a world of faded carpets, furniture of all periods,with an old spinet and a smell of withered rose-leaves.The atmosphere of such an old house fills one with nos­talgia for a past in which there was still t ime to exchangesweet sesr ets with the flowers and listen to birdsong atevent ide.

This is the kind of feeling I get in the second move-• ment, with its ornaments, trills and its adagio grazioso­

may Beethoven not have been looking back to the pastquite deliberately for once? The form is A B A, Abeing in three sections. B, with its semiquaver staccatos,introduces rather more movement . It is import ant toplay the ornaments of the main subject very fluently andwithout too strict a metrical division, while the basskeeps to str ict t ime. When the opening theme, which isreminiscent of Haydn's Mit Wii rd' und Hoh eit angetan,appears in the bass it must be played softly and trans­parently, not clumsily.

The third movement is a cheerful Rondo-the episodesare the D m ajor section which flows along in triplets, andthe sect ion in the minor which is characterized by a seriesof modulations. The whole movement may be conceivedas in sonata form with the contrapuntal passages in the

7I

FI FTH LECT URE

flat keys being the development .' In the coda, one mustbe careful not to take the bars m arked adagio too slowly­all that the composer intended was an improvisatoryfreedom such as often occurs, later on, in Schubert.

Sonata in D m i nor, Op, Jl , N o. 2

First movement: ' Read Shakespeare's T empest', Beet­hoven said when asked to explain the meaning of th issonat a. It must be admitted, however , that th is remarkdoes not help us very much- it merely tells us thatnature's demons, wind and water, have a hand in thismovement .

The arpeggio six-three chord of A m ajor r ises at t heopening like a questi on mark, like an improvisat ion­there is no start on the tonic, not even the domin ant is inits root-position-everything is vague and underter­mined. Nevertheless this is the first subject , just as thesucceeding allegro bars with their ' imbricated ' m otifcontain the nucleus of the second subject . To m ake thefirst subject , whe n it appears in definit ive shape in bar 2' ,

clearly recognizable for what it is, the initi al arpegg iomust not be play ed too slowly and the uppermost not emust be given plenty of m elodic force . This will best bedone with extended fingers. For the second subject(bars 4' ff.), the fingering 4-2, 2-5, 4-2 and later (for the

1 The customary term for Rondos whose central episode developsthe first theme is Sonata ROlld o. P .H .

SO NATA I N D MI OR , OP . 3 1, NO . 2

broken dimi nished seventh) 2-4, 2-4, 2-4 is to be recom­mended ; the latter fingering also in bars 13 ff . All these, imbricated ' figures must, of course, be played from thearm . From bar 22 onwards play the melody every t imewith the left hand, crossing over the r ight . The phras ingof the second subject is as follows:

- - ~-- ~

but for the third time I suggest :

Similarly the first Allegro of the movement. R eferring tothe second subject 's seque l (bars 55 ff.) Beethoven said :'The piano must break!'

T he repeat should be observed. The three broken chordsat the beginni ng of the development should be played onthree different levels of tone , the last in F sharp ppp .I play the B flat in the first triplet of bar 1 2 0 with theright hand.

Because of the recitatives which follow the main sub­ject in the recap itulat ion, the work has sometimes beencalled the ecitaLive Sonata . These passages should have afantastic, somehow indeterminate character. On themodern piano Beethoven 's long pedal-marks are notalways appropriate. I hold the chords C sharp-E-A andE-G-C silently with the left and use the pedal asnecessary for the right hand.

7J

FIFTH L ECT UR E

I divide the passage in bar ' 70, beginning already in169, between the left and right hand :

~le f t if

le ft

In the var iant (bars 189 ff.), which it is possible to playin octaves on the modern piano, I prefer Beethoven'sversion with the harsh D:

The final two chords should be played with greatmeaning and a slight emphasis on the interv al of thethird in the upper part (inversion of the third at thebeginning of the movement). One feels tha t the wholemovement has been striving after the calm of these lastthree bars from the very outset.

The second movement in bin ary form breathes an airof calm ; only the second idea with its drum-like tripletshas a marching motion. The second bar should be playedas an appendage to the first. The second subject proper, inF m ajor, which is m arked dolee, has a moving, ch ildlikesimplicity. The dreaded demisem iquaver-passages in theleft hand at the repeat of the main subject can be givento the r ight hand: that was, however, probably not Beet­hoven 's intention. Qui et concentration should overcomethe difficulty. Notice that in bars 69 If. duplets appear inplace of the triplets.

It is strange that the whole movement should consistalmost enti r ely of major chords, whereas the third move­

74

SO NATA I N E FLAT MA JO R , OP . 3 1, NO. 3

m ent is wholly in the m inor, with the exception of twobrief episodes which seem all the brighter by contrast .

There is an interest ing story that Beethoven composedthe last movement in the twilight as h e saw a r idergalloping past through the mist. Perhaps that explainsthe notat ion of the left hand with its implied rhythm

which reproduces the fall of a horse's hooves. Accordingto the sketch-books this rhythm (or iginally with a str ingquartet in mind?) was the germ of the mo vement.

Every four-bar strain must be t aken as a unit with theemphasis on the th ird bar , as is confirmed by Beethoven' sown expression m arks (sfz.-aesc.-dim .). The form issonata form : first subject, second subject , development,recapitulation and coda. Be care ful not to play the move­ment too fast. I t is only A llegretto-a light mist shouldveil the whole scene in spite of a few passiona tely excite dpassages. Beethov en only wrotefftwice in the moveme nt .

Sonata in E flat major, Op , J1 , No . J

One is incl ined to exclaim : 'How otherwise upon meworks th is sign! '1 yet here, too, the first movementbegins away from the tonic chord.

For m e the whole work has a feminine psyche, tender,supple, fiery, qu ick, changeable, rather capricious, evenmoody. The tempo must be determined by the passage

1 Quotation from Goethe 's Faust, Part I.

75

FIFTH LECTU RE

with the twelve demisemiquavers in the second subjectgroup. Reinecke already demanded that the accent in thevar iant of the the me (bar 20) shou ld come on the firstnote:

The hand should be lifted off every t ime .The form of the movement is easily discerned.The second movement, Allegretto vivace, is sometimes

regard ed as a substitute for a slow movement. That is notthe case; it is rather the qui et , cantabile Minuet whichfollows that takes the place of a slow movement. Despitethe vivace, however, the t empo should be slow enough forthe demisemiquaver upbeats in bars 4-3 ff. to be audibleafter the semiquavers in the r ight hand . Nor should agraceful, singing line be lacking in the opening them e ofthe r ight hand . The sforzandos should only be relati velyloud. The form is sonata form . Owing to the change ofkey, Riemann describes the passage from bar 4-3 onwardsas a second subject . To my mind, the new idea alreadyenters with the previous fortissimo in F m ajor. Consider­able technique is requ ired in the left hand. T iny, lightlower-arm movements seem to help here; the main thingis to be absolute ly loose. The change of fingers in the lefthand in the closing theme must be practised. Anyone whoheard d'Albert play th is piece will not forget the parl an do,the charm, the air iness of his playing- midsummer­night's-dream music by Beethoven.

The Minuet is warm and inti mate, and the Trio mustbe phrased with deliberation . It inspired Saint-Saens towr ite a set of br illiant and witty vari ations for two pianos.

76

THE SON AT AS, OP. 49

The last movement, in sonata form, pro vides thevirtuoso with a rewarding task. The opening is, as it were,the consequent of a non-existent antecedent. It starts offtwice before it decides to be a real beginning. Both thebeginning and the accompaniment of the second subjectin the left hand should be played in a light non-legatostyle with det ached fingers.

The appearance of the dominant of B flat m ajor in bar34 gives me the impression of a second idea morestrongly than the actual second subject, since the lattermerely reproduces the rhythm of th e first. Everyth ingmust be exceedingly light and airy in this movement, andone' s enjoym ent of playing, of ' having a technique ', mustvie with the t emperament and rhythmic verve of themusic.

T he Sonatas, Op, 49

The sonatas, Op. 49, which are also called Sonatesfaciles,are often thought to have been composed in an earlierperiod, or to have been intended as exercises for amateurswhose technique was not very advanc ed. No doubt Beet­hoven may have gon e back to early works as he can beshown to have done in the case of the sonatas, Op. 2;the well-known Minuet of Op, 49, No. 2, goes back tothe Septet, Op. 20 . And as for Beethoven obliging anam ateur; it would be altogether wrong to imagine him asa sort of Olympian god. He was not above taking anoccasional hint from others, as is shown by the flashyviolin part of the Sonata, Op, 47, written with a view tothe style of Bridgetower, or by the easy piano part of theTriple Concerto, written for the Archduke Rudolf. It

77

FIFTH LECT UR E

would be wrong , however, to relegate the two sonat as toBeethoven's youth and dismiss them as unimportant . 'They contain a few characte ristically late features suchas the transfer of the melody to the left hand in therecapitulation of No. 1, and the coda of the samemovement .

Sonata in G minor, Op. 49, N o. 1

The work consists of two movements. The first is in st rictsonata form, the second is called a Rondo. The episodein B flat is enclosed, however , by a little paragraph inG minor with semiquaver accompaniment , probably in­tended to prepare for the key of B flat. This modulation"is unnecessary when the episode re turns in G major , andis therefore omitted.

Sonata in G major, Op, 49, No. 2

Here, too, the first movement is in sonata form. Thedevelopm ent is remarkably brief. The well-knownMinuet has a lively littl e middle section which is omittedin the recapitulation. The Trio in C maj or is on the shortside. A compar ison with the Septet , Op. 2 0 , is instructi ve.

Sonata in C major, Op, ; J

This sonata was dedicated to Count Ferdin and von W ald­ste in , Beethoven's first patron in Bonn where the Count

7~.

....= ------ - - ------ - - - - --- - - - - - - - - -

SONA T A I N C MAJ OR, OP . 55

was in the service of the Elector Maximilian , Beethoven 'semployer . When Beethoven left Bonn in ' 792, CountW aldstein wrote in his autograph-book : ' Mozart 's gen iusis still mourning the death of his ward. In the inexhaus­tible Haydn he found a refuge, but no employment.. ..Through unremitting in dustry you sha ll receive Mozart'sspirit from the han ds of Haydn.'

It is puzzling that there is no evidence of any furthe rcontact between the two m en up to 1805/4 when thissonata was composed. In any case, Beethoven did dedicateone of his most important works to the Count as a tokenof gratitude.

The work is possibly the most pianist ic of all Beet­hoven's works. It belongs to the ser ies of works from Op.50 to Opi 60 which represent the consummation of hisart. Ev erything-contents, form, presentation, the pro ­portions of the movements and their interrelation-com­bines to form a perfectly harmonious whole. Later worksre veal further developments and achieve greater heightsin one or othe r respect-but as far as the perfect balanceof all the re qu irements is concerned the works betweenOp. 50 and 60 represent the summit.

The French call this sonata L'aurore, and the titlesuits it very well. The first movement in particular hasthe radiance of dawn, an ' aura ' which reminds us ofGoethe's ' Ganymed '; and perhaps it is more than acoincidence that a bird-call in Schubert's setting of thatpoem repeats exactly a certain figure in this sonata. Buteven without any such poetic interpretation, the work isobviously a m asterpiece on its purely musical meri ts. Itis remarkable for the way in which logical developmentand organic construction produce just the right emotionaleffect .

79

FIFT H L ECT URE

Let us look more closely at the first movement. It isimportant to re alize how novel, for the period in which itwas written , was the introduct ion of B flat major as earlyas the fifth bar in a C major work. This B flat is the sub­dominant of F, which is the sub-dominant of the tonic.But perhaps Beethoven's m ain concern was with thechromatically descendin g bass which moves from C to G.The harmonic ground-plan in the exposit ion is deter­m ined by the attainment of B major, the dominant ofE major, in which key Beethoven introduces the secondsubject . Once again a case in which the second subjectappears in the key a third above that of the first sub ject .A figurated subject brings pianistic delights which lead tothe theme of the codet ta . This is not easy to play if thecrescendo and the subito piano are to sound emotionallyjustified . The crescendo ought perh aps to be combinedwith a slight broadening, tempo primo returning at t heP sign. It is this passage which gives us th e key to thecorrect tempo, which is usually taken too fast, thus for­feiting all the poetry ofthe small notes (y d and 4th bar).

The magnificent development, which leads us first ofall into deep, mist-shrouded ravines, gradually moves to­wards the pedal point on G above which the sun r iseswith a thunder ing roar . In its way, this seems to me anexact ant icipation of Faust's Monologue from th e secondpart of Goethe's work.

A difficult juncture are the bars marked with pauses,just before the end, with their crescendo and piano subito.Observe that the ritardando is written out in note-valuesthe second t ime, and the same formula extended by anadditional ritardando the t hird t ime. But above all, wemust recreate the psychological impulse behind th is thre e­fold hiatus with its alternat ion of A and A flat .

80

SON ATA IN C MAJOR, OP. 53

The second movement, which is ent itled Iruroduzione,is a substitute for the piece in F major wh ich was origi­nally intended but which Beethoven published separatelyas the Andante f avori. Possibly his fr iends' objection thatthe move ment was too long was the reason why hedropped it . In any case, we cannot, at this t ime , conceiveof a more apt preparati on for the Rondo than thisIntroduzione. I t is likely that the E of the left hand inthe second bar was intended to be played an octave lower .Although Beethoven used keyboards with a very extendedupper range from Op. 53 onwards, the last note in thebass was F, .

The last movement is a theme montagnard. The first Cin the left hand is very important. The pedal-sign over thefirst eight bars can only be carried out with some cun­ning on modern pianos, yet it makes an essential contri­bution to the theme 'echoing from the mountains' . Anextreme pianissimo in the right hand an d a slightvibrating of t he pedal will give the effect the composerhad in mind. In form, the movement is a strict Rondo,its only irregularity being the brief suggest ion of the thirdepisode before the first in A m inor.

The trill against the theme in the right hand should beexecute d continuously. Only where the m elody plungesinto its G is a brief pause necessary. The tempo will bedetermined by the need to keep someth ing in reserve forthe Prestissimo an d by the clean execut ion of the semi­qu aver triplets in the thi rd episode in which the handshould be kept very relaxe d. In a word, do not take themovement too fast .

The fact that the Prestissimo is reminiscent of the dueto namenlose Freude from Fidelio suggests the kind ofexecut ion required. The octave scales should be played

F 8I

FIFTH L ECTUR E

glissando, which is often almost impossible on heavypianos. Try playing the first octave very firmly. Themodulatory sect ion of the coda with its trills calls forloving devot ion. In accordance with its bright, silveryC major tonality the whole work will come off best on alight piano with a bright tone.

S IXTH LECTU RE

Beethoven's Instrum ents

When I try to imagine the condit ions which Beethovenencounte red in Vienna when he arrived there in 1787 andwhen he returned there later on, I cannot help comparingthem with the situation to day whe n artists find in mostlarge houses an up-to-date ra dio and record player butmore often than not a totally untended piano . Admittedly,it is much cheaper to buy a modern record player todaythan it was to buy a piano in those days. In his youngdays, Beethoven would have found an occasional spinetand harpsichord in his fri ends' houses since people onlyacquire d pianos very gra dually . W e know that Beethovenwas given W alter , Broadwood and Erard grand pianosand that he owned Graf and Streicher grands. In lettersto fr iends he waxed enthusiastic about the new inventionof una, due, tre corde, and illustrations of his pianos showup to six pedals. T he compass of h is keyhoards varied agreat deal. Especially in the second half of his life he m adealterations in his works which take into account the ex­tended compass of the later instr uments. But there arest ill many passages where a transfer to the now cus­tomary h igher register m ay mean sacr ificing beautieswhich arose from Beethoven's having made a virtue ofnecessity. To make up for a literal transposition that wasnot possible for him he ofte n invented cha racteristic turnsof phrase which it would be a pity to sacr ifice. In the lowerregisters, too , the re are now possibilities which were notavailable to h im, but downward transposition and octave-

8}

SIX TH LECTU RE

doubling are not always an improvement. Such m attershave to be handled with good taste and great discret ion.The ear must always be the ultimate judge.

Sonata in F major, Op. 54

Despised by some and ignored by others, this sonat a istreated as a stepch ild. Unjust ly, however, insofar as it isa product of the m atur e Beethoven and his features ar eunmistakably present in it. The first movement of thework, which was composed in 1804, is remarkable for theabr uptness of the second m ain idea in octaves. Manypeople criticize this for being a typical expression of Beet­hoven 's offhandedness. I am inclined to think that weshould somehow adapt this second subject to the firstwhich is, after all, entitled I n tempo d'un Menuetto. W eshall be more likely to establish the unity of the mo ve­ment if we do not turn it into a m ere clatter of octaves.The form is A B A B Coda (A).

The second movement , Allegretto, is a piece which , ifwell played, can easily hold its own alongside the lastmovem ents of other early sonat as. The fact that only oneidea is developed in uninterrupted motion is m ade up forby the wealth of modulat ions and the charmingly pian is­t ic sounds it produces. The first part shoul d be repeated,as directed; I omit the second repeat. One may im agineoneself on the bank of a river which passes by in ch angingpatterns, long, calm waves alternating with eddies-butthe element of water, t he symbol of ever-renewed life, isalways present.

SONA TA I N F MINOR, OP . 57

Sonata in F minor, Op, 57

When we study this m agnificent work we cannot fail torealize that we are confronted with one of the greatestpeaks in the history of the sonata and that a player musthave attained maturity to present a clear picture of it tothe listener. T echnical mastery must be complemented bythe ability of unifying its vast outl ines by highlighti ngeach climax. Much wrong is done to this sonata, and oneneed only ask a pian ist to write down the opening barsfrom memory to see how few have an accurate knowl edgeof the work.

The soneta appeared in 1807 but the sketches go backas far as 1804. As to its incepti on , Ferd inand Ries recordsthat he once accompanied Beethoven on a walk in stormyweather during which Beethoven hummed and sang th ewhole t ime; on arriving home, he improvised for hourson en d and then sent Ries home apologizing for nothaving given him a lesson that day. Beethoven had thema nuscript of the work with h im when he was asked inGratz to play for the French general for whom CountLichnowsky was giving a recept ion. Beeth oven l~efused toappear before the French (who had just marched in),went off in anger and , with the manuscript in his hands,got caught in a sudden downpour. His fri end Marie Bigotplay ed it from a manuscript that had been soaked in thera in. The work was dedicated to Count Brunswick, thebrother of Beethoven 's beloved Therese Brunswick.

It is important to find the right t empo. Usually, the12/8 is turned into four groups of triplet crotchetswhereas what is re qu ired is the dist inct playing of each

85

SIXTH LECTURE

of the twelve quavers . In this work every note is so sig­nificant, so related to the whole, that any indistinctnesswill lead to the gravest errors in interpretation. Thetempo should not be the kind of race into which playersare somet imes misled by the t itle A ppassionata for whichBeethoven himself was not responsible, though it wasprobably invented in his lifetime and is qu ite apt. I donot see the point of slowing down on the appearance ofthe second subject though it is advocated by some dis­t inguished editors ; after all, the second subject is merelya transformation of the first . You should continue to playin the tempo at which you play the first three quavers. Inview of the importance and the difficulty of deciding onthe ri ght tempo it may be well to follow the example ofsome great artists who, before they begin, make a pointof recalling some cha racteristic theme about the tempo ofwhich there can be no qu estion (such as the horn-motifof the Ninth). In th is case, the third subject in A flatminor (bar 51), wh ich R iemann calls the 'epilogue', is agood theme to bear in mind. I find the power of this ne widea too compelling to th ink of it as a mere epilogue.'That the repeat of the opening in G flat (bar 5) must sounddifferent from the beginning itself is obvious; pp and alead by tl\e left are indicated.

All appoggiaturas should, of course, come on the beat.The habit of writ ing out or even thinking out trills inexact time is pedant ic. Trills and ornaments such asmord en ts and appoggiat uras are a test of the player 's ownjudgement. A trill is any numb er of repet itions of twonotes: how many should be left to the player to decide.The same applies to pauses: they should not be calculated

1 Strictly speaking, Riem ann's 'epilogue ' is the transition betweenthe second subject proper and the codetta. P .H .

86

SONATA I N F MI NOR , OP . 57

in advance. They are interruptions of the rhythmic pulseand have various causes, meanings and effects. If thelength of a pause were to be m easured, its aim, namely thesuspension of count ing, would be den ied. Feel them,don 't count them!

The transition to the development is effected by theenha rmonic change from A flat minor to G sharp minor;the latter is the relative minor of B m ajor which is thedominant of the ensuing E major.

T he following phrases containing t rills should be'orchestrated ' in different colours. Ways of obta ining th isare round or flat fingers, accent ing the upper or lowerpar ts, the use, or omission, of the pedal or soft pedal. Atthe close of the rising figures in bars 2 1 9 ff. the rhythmshould be well articulated:

The D flat in bar 228 should be played with the r ighthand.

The fact that audiences have been known to applaudafte r the fortissimo chords in the Pi u allegro of the codais a sign of the ir ign orance but psychologically interesting.In spite of Beethoven's dir ection to keep the pedal down,the last bars after the fortissimo F (bar 257) should beredu ced, with the help of the soft pedal, to a volume whichallows the melodic line to come through clearly.

The second movement in the solemn key of D flatmajor is in vari ation form. Notice the A ndante con moto

87

I ,

SIXT H L ECT UR E

but remember that this refers to the quavers, not crot ­chets, Most difficult is, perhaps, the first vari ation whe rean exact alternation between quaver chords and rests inthe right hand is confronted with the perfect legato ofthe syncopated bass. In the subseque nt vari at ions them usic r ises to ever grander heights. T he demisem iquaversmust be played expressively, though lightly and tenderly.Theff which is printed in most edit ions at the climaxesof the third var iation is not authe nt ic. All bri lliancy mustbe eschewed. The last variation becomes calmer andcalmer. The penultimate bar, with the diminished

. seventh, really belongs to the previous bar (bar 95). TheD flat in the treble of bar 96 should be played as am elody-note :

'gA , 1':\ ., .

" ' d '-r

IfP ';' 1'!

~ l'~sIn the autograph, the arpeggio sign of the last chord

applies only to the left han d. The unbroken touch of ther ight ha nd gives this chord its piercing intensity. Theterrible relentlessness of the following bars should be ob­ta ined by stabbing at the keys with a fixed wrist .

According to Riemann, th e last moveme nt is in sonat aform. I rather regard it as a Rondo whose first episode inC minor, though it opens with the rondo theme, goes offin a different direction. After the double-bar the themecomes back in a strange harmonization and then givesway to a second episode in B flat minor.

88

SONATA I N F SHARP MAJOR , OP. 78

It is important to stress the anxiety inherent in thissubject . Beethoven's instruction to repeat the long sect ionafter the doubl e-bar is odd. It is never compli ed with , butanyone who has the necessary sta mina should try it ,t aking the t empo allegro ma non troppo as directed andholding back his final reserv es of strength , and-thisapplies to the whole work- seeing that the whole body isrelaxed even in the great est bursts of fury.

And so we leave this work, awestruck by such cre at ivepower. His first encounter with it must be an unforget­tabl e exper ience for every musical person.

Sonata in F sharp minor, Op, 78,Beethoven himself stoutly championed this sonata againstthe claims of the more popular ones. The dedication toTherese von Brunswick suggests that a great deal of deeppersonal feeling went into the work, so much so, in deed,that Reinecke thought it should always be played inpri vat e. I would not myself attribute the composer'schampioning of the work to such purely personal reasons,nor to the proverbial fondness of parents for their lesssuccessful ch ildren but rather to the fact that it repre­sented a new style . Everything is in a state of flux here,cross-references and allusions appear throughout thework, though the re is never any direct imitation; every­thing is homogen eous, yet everyth ing is different. Thereis a meaning in every note which we feel but cannot ex­plain. For m e, the eighth bar of the Allegro is a concen tra­tion of the two introductory bars-thus, one may safelyconsider the Adagio the first subject . In the second move­ment we ha ve the picture of a happy love, caressing and

89

SIXTH L ECTURE

conversing, until the piece ends with loud rejoicing. Theform is A A BA B and Coda (der ived from A).

Sonata in G major, Op , 79 (Sonatina)

' Sometimes even Homer nods' , one is inclined to say inregard to th is harmless littl e trifle whi ch is usually andr ightly called a Sonatina.

But it is possible to extract poet ry from this landscapepictur e with its cuckoo calls in var iegated keys. The Prestoalia tedesca is a real presto. The dolce in bar 67 provesthat the harmonic cha nges of the cuckoo-calls do notcoincide with the four-bar phrases, in spite of the p signof the bar before. The new four-bar phrase begins everyt ime at the corresponding place. The leggiermente in bar1 2 , and the end of the first movement, should be playedlightly and playfully.

T he second movement has a melancholy air , of thekind expressed in Goethe's "Schafers Klagelied' . Thefirst , fourth and seventh qu avers of the bass-line shouldbe som ewhat accented .

The last movement, in rondo form, reminds us of thecounte r-statement to the first subject in the last move­ment of the G major concerto. The first episode is inE minor , t he second in C m ajor.

Sonata in E flat major , Op. 81A

T his sonata was dedicated to the Archduke Rudolf, Beet­hoven 's pupil in composit ion , and it bears the autographt itle : ' Das Lebewoh!. Rei der Abre ise S. Kaiser!' Hoheit

90

SON AT A I E FLAT MAJO R, OP. 8 l A

des Verehrten Erzherzogs II.udolf. W ien , am 2 1. May, 80g.' Beethoven was indignant when the publisherBreitkopf, with an eye on the international market, pub­lished the sonata with the French titl e Les Adieux. Atthe t ime, a wave of patriot ic feeling was passing throughthe land. Beethoven was caught up in it and it led him tothe use of German tempo directions and of the termH am merklauier . Duri ng the occupa tion of Vienna by theFrench the Archduke had to leave the city, and Beet­ho ven wanted to express h is feelin gs of fri endsh ip to­wards h is most distinguished patron. Later on, incident­ally, he reverted to Italian in his tempo dir ections.

Thanks to the breadth of Beethoven's emotions, thegrief of parting and the joy of r eunion have acqu ired auniversalihuman refer ence and appl icati on in this sonata,wh ich is an exa mple of the kind of programme music ofwhich Beethoven hi mself said (r eferr ing to the P astoralSymphony) : ' Not painting, but the express ion offeeling.'

In th is sonata, too, we find the interwoven style whichwe have already met in Op. 78. Once aga in, everyth ingis so interrelat ed that it even is doubtful where the secondsubject begins: if it is in bar 55 (bar 'g of the Allegro)then neither of the themes begins in the tonic and thetreble is an inversion of th e main subject; but perhaps itis the espressivo passage of bar 50 (bar 54 of t he Allegro)wh ich r epeats the main subject note for note: we m eetthe three notes of the int roduction everywhere . Theclear B flat major in bar 50 is more of a quiet contrastto the m ain theme than bar 55; most likely, t his is thesecond subject proper. That Beethoven used the notesG- F-E flat with conscious intent in t he Allegro sub­ject is shown by the tenuto ma rk in bar , 8.

The coda is particularly t ender and poetic. 'vVe hear

91

SIXTH LECTURE

the posthorn vanishing in the distance and the belovedfr iend disappeari ng in a cloud of dust , yet the realm ofabsolute music is never abandone d.

The interwoven style also predominates in the secondmovement, entitled L'Absence, wh ich recalls the intro­duction to the first movement. It has two the mes ofcontrasting mood: a sigh of forsakenness at the beginn ing ,and then a consoling cantabile-with the left hand enter­ing somewhat rude ly in staccato demisemiquavers: thestaccato should be played in the usual Beethoven manner ,that is, it should be a r ing ing, not a piercing staccato;when Beethoven wants the harsh kind he uses the wedge­shaped staccato sign. Unfortunately this distinction wasabolished by nineteenth-century engravers.

The m ovement falls in to two halves: from bar 21

onwards the first half is repeated note for note in anothe rkey. In this lament, the fingers must become spir itualfeelers conveying the fines t tremors of emotion to t helistener's mind and heart.

After the introduction to the Finale, whi ch stands forthe first embrace of the reunited fr iends, there is thedifficulty of giving adequate expression to the simpletriads of the main theme. The movement is in sonataform. Its technical difficulti es, specially those of the lefthand, can best be overcome by using a loose ha nd an dloose arm . The joy of reunion should not be stifled by toomuch panting and puffing but expressed in a fr ee andhappy style of playing.

-~---------- - -- --

SEVE NTH LECT URE

Tempo and Metronome

In connexion with the subject of tempo and the observa­tion of metronome markings I cannot help rememberingthe experience of Beethoven's pupil Ferdinand Ries whe nhe endeavoure d to secure a re pr int of Beethoven 's Sym­phonies in London. He asked Beethoven for m etronomenumbers, which the composer duly sent to Ri es by letter.The letter did not arrive and Ries asked the master tosend them again. Beethoven metronomized the sym­phonies again and sent the numbers to London. Mean­while the first letter had arrived and it turned out thatBeethoven had given completely different numbers eacht ime . When he heard about it he cr ied: 'Let us not haveany metronome numbers at all ! ' It is said that whe nBrahms was asked to supply metronome numbers for theIntermezzi he answere d: ' Do you think I'm such a foolas to play the m the same way every day?'

W e have passed through three stages in the question oftempo . To begin with, the re was the object ive andacademic attitude which Liszt later r idiculed as pedanticand' Lipsian' . In the interpret ation of Bach, in particular,it led to that dry professorial style of playing which m akesBach sound boring, and whe n applied to the other classicsmakes them appear to have been constructed with a tape­measure. Yet it is unquestionable that a great deal ofgood musical literature has been based on th is academicfoundation, and it is certainly more pleasant to hear anacademically correct performance than -a babbling andstammering one lit up by flashes of genius.

9J

SEVENT H LECTUR E

There followed the Romant ic mo vement, the late, in­t eresting, beautiful, delicate chi ld of the Revolution.Since phases of development in interpretation alwayscome later than the corresponding phases in the creat ivesphere, we rea ped what the romantics Schuman n andLiszt sowed, beauty and freedom certainly, but also con­siderable licence in the m atter of pedalling and t empo aswell as an excess of emot ion .

T hen came the purifiers: Buson i, Stravinsky, Bartok,Hi ndemith , Toscanini. And we interpreters are now fol­lowin g in the ir footsteps. T he kind of performance weaspire to is one that accords exactly with the composer'sintent ions, respects the note-values and all the composer'sdirections, is stripped of all u nnecessary trimmings, but isnot devoid of feeling and expression. Do not let us forget ,however, that it is impossible for the composer to puteveryth ing in the score . Our aim should not be the kindof pure soil and ster ile air in which nothing will grow.Without humus, without bacteria, there can be no life!I t is all very well to exa mine the manuscript with a m ag­nifying glass to try and see where the c of a 'crescendo 'begins, so as to perform it in accordance with the text;one must also have the emo tional capacity to shape thecrescendo in the way Beethoven intended. Fidelity to thescore is not enough, vita l though it was to correct the sub­jecti ve and irreverent attitude with its plush curta ins anddim med lights. Let m e quote, therefore, what Sch indlersaid about the playing of Baroness Dorothea Ertrnann, towhom the Sonata, Op. 10 1 , was dedicated :

' She divined even the most h idden intenti ons in Beet­hoven 's works as certainly as if they were in black andwhite in front of her.. . . She appeare d to have an inbornsense of rubato. . . . She gave a different nuance to the

94

SO ATA I N E MI NOR , OP. go

main motif in the second movement of the Sonata, Op, go,at every occurrence, somet imes flattering and caressing,somet imes melancholy. In th is way th is artist was able tosway her aud ience.'

Sonata in E mino r, Op, 90

The interwoven style again predominates in this work.Rhythms and motifs undergo metamophorses pro ducingpatterns which differ externally but are inwardly related.Like the nymph who is turned into a laurel-t ree or areed, the divine soul lives on within the new form. Thus,the dri ving force in the first movement of Op. go is therhythm l

which occurs all over the place, even in the transition tothe second subject and in the second subject itself thoughthere it loses its an acrustic character, going, as it does,from a strong to a weak beat. The melodic elementG-F sharp of the opening subject undergoes similarchanges, in the second subject , in the codetta and at theend of the development. Bar 25 resul ts from a combina­tion of the rhythmic elem ent of the m ain sub ject withthe beginning of its m elodic consequent.

The form is simple. Whether, as Riemann thinks, thesecond subject begins at bar 45 is open to doubt. Surely,the character of the movement does not cha nge untilbar 55, and Beethoven's ritard. before bar 55 and thesubseque nt a tempo show that the composer felt that

95

SE VENT H L ECT UR E

something new was starting at this point. Before t herecapitulation there is a t ra nsition skilfully worked byaugmentat ion and diminu tion, whi ch it is qui te difficultto bring off.

Even though the second movement is strictly commit­t ed to its rondo form, the interwoven style is st ill presentin the developing sections and the coda. It is splendid, theway Beethoven abbreviat es, twists and transforms theth ird bar of the rondo theme until the very last barwhere it reappears in its first shape . Such thi ngs m ake usfeel that Nature's laws of organic growth are reproducedon the spir itual level- we are re minded even of theinoculation of plants by t he way a secondary them e isgrafted onto simple, strong, primary material.

The sonata was composed in 1814 and dedicated toCount Moritz Lichnowsky, the brother of Karl, whom wehave already met. T he Archduke Rudolf made his ownhandwritten copy of it. T he directions are only in Ger­m an . Billow rightly draws attention to the fact that whenBeethoven wrote ' Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbarvorzutragen' he was th inking of the average pian ist'shabit of rattling off all Rondos as if they were' Rondeauxbrillants '. The tempo must remain perfectly flowing,however , and in place of the rather ind efin ite and in­volved German words a better direction for the manynon-G er m an speaking players would be someth ing likeAllegretto oantabile or amabile.

Sonata in A major, Op, 101

Apart from the first movem ent of Op. 109, this sonata isthe last in the interwoven style. The novel incorporat ion

96

SON AT A I N A MAJ OR, OP. 101

of a fugue in the sonata sche me is not a structural device,but aims at enhanced expressiveness. T hat is the greatdifference between a Bach and a Beethoven fugue. Justas in the I inth Symph ony Beethoven thought it neces­sary to introduce the chorus in the last movement to giv eeven grander expression to his visions than the instru­ment al re sources of the other movements ha d enabledhim to do, so in the late piano works he uses the fugue asa vehicle for the expression of strong , concentratedemotion . W e sha ll return to this in our discussion ofOp. 106. Here, in Op. 101 , the form is still ra ther open ;but the way one thing grows out of another, the way theform of the sonat a is h idden, as the structure of a tree isconcealed by the foliage, the way the syncopated notes be­come the' very pulse of the work-all th is is qui te unique.

The in timate connexion between the movements isproved by the repeat of the beginning of the first move­ment before the Fina le . The whole piece should soundlike a continuous fantasia. This sonata demands every­thi ng : lyri cal feeling, rhythm, absorpt ion and virtuosity .The work is only for mature souls and affords greaterinterpret ative difficulties t ha n the Sonatas, Op. 109, Op,II 0 and Op. 11 1.

On closer acqua intance we appreciate how well theItalian an d German tempo directions supplement oneanother here.

A characterist ic of the first movement is that any feel­ing of fulfilment, of finality, is denied until the codamotif. Everyth ing remains open and undecided. Thedevelopment resumes the syncopated rhythm we first findin the exposition. The best way to bring this out is totake pedal on every strong beat.

The second movemen t, Alia Marcia , should be played

G 97

SEVENTH LECT URE

rather in the manner of a string quartet. The indepen­dence of the parts leads to overlappings in the rhythm,which are not easy to negoti ate within the fixed m etre.The harmonic changes from the tonic F major to theupper th ird, A major, and the lower th ird, D flat major;which replace the usual to nic-dom inant relation, alsocontribute an eccentric element . By such means Beet­hoven avoids over-emphasizing the heroic aspect of them arch . His pedalling in the D flat major passage (bar 50)shoul d be strictly observed. The Trio--a canon-has a'curtain' of two bars, as Ri emann calls those introductionswhich do not contain the fully developed materi al of thesubject . In the manuscr ipt, Beethoven thought of insert­ing a repeat afte r bar lo- an idea worth trying.'

The in troduction to the last m ovement-A dagio manon troppo- should be played with the soft pedal-unacorda. It is faintly reminiscent of certain melismata inBach 's Chromat ic Fantasia. It must never be allowed totouch the ground of r eality, so that after the quotationfrom the first movement the worldliness and earthinessof the finale may be given full vent. The free fugato ofthe last movement behaves very austerely to begin with ,but veers repeatedly into a mood of pian istic merriment.T he form is sonata form, with the fugue repr esenting thedevelopment.

The passage in bars 5 '7 ff., whe re Beethoven seems tostart the fugue all over again , is typical of the kind ofhumour he shows in the late quartets. It is amusing tosense the relief of an audience when instead of the strictfugato, he suddenly goes cheerful again and finishes thepiece in gay excitement .

1 Good editions, such as Heim-ich Schenker's, contain thisrepeat. P.H.

E I G H T H L E CT UR E

B eethoven's Circle of Friends

It is possible to a large exten t to deduce the composit ionof Beethoven's circle of fr iends from the dedications ofhis works. He dedicated Op. 2 to Joseph Haydn but therelat ionship with him was more that of pupil and teacher.T he dedicat ion of Op. 7 to the Countess Babette vonKeglevics was perhaps already a token of manly affection .In Bonn, Beethoven was on fri endly te rms with the vonBreuning family which consisted of a widow, three sonsand a dau ghter . Whilst Frau von Breun ing tried to be amother to him, and t each him good m anners, he becamethe inti m at e fr iend of the daughter Eleonore an d left he)'a page from his album on his departure from Bon n,

His grea t patron in Bonn, Count W'aldstein , has alre adybeen m entioned in connexion with the Sonata, Op. 55 ,whi ch was dedicated to hi m. It was t lu'ough the Count 'sgood offices that Beethoven came to Vienna and gainedadmittance to ar istocratic circles in that city. The Pri nceCarl von Lichn owsky and his wife gave hi m a cordialwelcome, and he lived for a t ime in their palace. ThePrince' s brother, Count Moritz Lichnowsky, to whomBeethoven dedicated the Sonata, Op. go, was also one ofhis grea t admirers. Through the Lichnowskys he wasreceived by Count Browne, who became a champion ofhis music; the three piano sonat as, Op. 10, were dedicat edto the Countess Anna Margarete von Browne. Beethovenwas also on fr iendly t erms with the Brunswick family.He dedicated the Fantasia, Op. 77, and the Sonata, Op. 57,to the Count Franz, and Op. 78 to his sister Therese.

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EIGH TH LECT UR E

A few of his pupils also became close fri ends. These in­cluded Ferdinand Ries who later went to England to devotehi mself to the publicati on of Beethoven's works in thatcountry. He also wrote the ' Biographical Notes ' on Beet­hoven 's life with W egeler. Car l Czern y should also bem entioned. He was the pupil who supplied valuable in­formation about Beethoven 's own interpretations in hispianoforte m ethod. Since Czerny was the teacher of Lisztthe interpretations of these two artists represent a directline from Beethoven to us.

Beethoven made fr iends with the musicians at the CourtTheatre, including the violinist Ignaz Schupp anzigh , thecellist Nikolaus Kraft, and the violinist Georg Hellmes­berger and others. Among the singers who made a deepimpression on him were Herr Dem mer, who sang Flores­tan in Fidelio, and the two women Henriette Sontag andW ilhelmine Schroder-Devrient, The latter contributed agreat deal to Beethoven's fame by her portrayal ofLeonore in Fidelio.

The letters to the Immortal Beloved and the m eet ingwith J:lettma Brentano belong to this period. Her livelyspir it , imagin ation and enthusiasm for Beethoven led toa free dom in her conversation with him that was rare.Her main purpose was probably the desire to supplyGoethe with news about Beethoven. She put letters fromBeethoven into circulat ion of which the authent icity isdoubtful. Goethe himself described his meeting withBeethoven and summed it up by saying : ' I have neverseen a more concentrate d, energet ic, ferv ent art ist . I canwell understand how queer this world must seem to him. '

It is not clear how much of what Bettina says aboutBeethoven is true but at least she did have the soul of anartist and was able to divine what went on in Beethoven 's

1 0 0

BE ETHOVEN' S CIRCLE OF FR IENDS

m ind and soul better tha n many a stickler for academ icexactness. Goet he and Beethoven did not become greatfri ends because they were both such strong characters .The shrewd, wordly-wise court ier Goethe was unable tofathom Beethoven's tempestuous nature.

I do not wish to say anyth ing about Beethoven 's' Immortal Beloved' because there was great doubt abouther personality for a long t ime an d the stories that werefasten ed to her are too fantastic. But I will m ent ion onepossible explanat ion: the letter to the Immortal Belovedwas found among Beethoven's effects. It had thereforenever been sent. Is it not conceivable that Beethoven didnot want such a beautiful letter to be lost and kept it forhimself?

Beethoven was caused great anxiety by h is nephewKarl and his unsuccessful attempt at suicide. Beethoventri ed to ful fil his obligations towards his family but he wastoo ignorant of the world to do much good. It is wellknown that the hard of hearing easily tend to becomesuspicious. That may have been the reason why Beet ­hoven's circle of fr iends became smaller as t ime went on.His best fr iends often had to suffer from his suspicious­ness. For example, th e fait hful, though somewhat pedan­t ic Sch indler, whose task it was to check the takings forperformances of Fidelio at the Court Theatre, was accusedof inexact itudes in h is accounts . He was only appeasedwhen Beethoven called on him at the Opera House toapologize in person .

Some of his fr iends remained loyal to the end. Pri nceLichnowsky woul d wait pati ently in the ante-cha mberwhen he knew that Beethoven was composing or im­provising with in . The older Beethoven became the morehis fame extended and fore ign musicians came to visit

fOf

EIGHTH LECTURE

him, often making long and difficult journeys to do so,but these visits only made Beethoven the more reservedan d withdrawn. At the t ime of the Congre ss of ViennaBeethoven celebr ated great triumphs; the Empress ofRussia instructed Pri nce Narishkin to present him with200 gold ducats in order to secure h is appearance at herhouse, and he also took part in the concerts of theAustrian court.

Yet how difficult it is to bring the general public torealize what they owe to the memory of Ludwig vanBeethov en, we are still finding today. For example, itneeded the energet ic lead of an artist like Elli Ney, whois a native of Bonn, to bring the plan for rebu ilding theBeethoven Hall in Bonn to fruit ion.

Looking back, one may say that whilst Beethoven'smany fr iends had some idea of the greatness of h is per­sonality and made every effort to understand him, lifeitself- the circumstances of the t ime, the wars and Beet­hoven's own character-s-often made it impossible forthem to give him the kind of fri endship he really needed .

Sonata in B fla t major, Op, 106(Grosse Sonate fiir das Hammerklavier )

Published in 1819 by Artar ia, and composed in 1818 aboutthe same t ime as the Ninth Symphony, th is is indisputedlythe greatest of the sonatas, a fact which Beethoven him­self expressed in these words : 'There you have a sonatawhich will make the piani sts work, and which will beplayed in fifty years' t ime.' In fact , it had to wait formore than fifty years: it was only at the end of the last

I 02

SONATA I N B FLAT MAJ OR, OP . 10 6

century that Bulow won for it the place which it deser vesin the concert -hall.

' The sonata was written in dismal circumstances; it ishard to have to write for one' s bread,' is another state­ment of Beethoven' s refer ring to th is work. At the time,the soles of his shoes were so worn that he could not goout of doors.

Liszt's re ndering of the work is said to have been thegreatest feat any piani st might h ave been capable of. Hescored the Adagio for strings, and this work was the lastthat he playe d before his death. W eing artner arra ngedthe whole work for full orchestra.

In connexion with the dedication to the ArchdukeRudolf, it is in teresting to note that there is extant in thelibrary of the Gesellschaft del' Musikfreunde in Viennaa sheet of music in Beethoven's hand entit led: ' Kant atefu r Orchester und Chor auf den T ext "Vivat , vivatRudolfus " '- which coincides exactly with the openingof the sonata . This version for choir and orchestra con­firms us in our opinion that Beethoven's metronomem ark of J = 138 for the first movement (and, inciden­tally, also that of the Adagio) is wrong, because too quick.It is unpleasant even on the piano to perform the pieceat this tempo. In particular the passage in G flat after thestart of the recapitulation (bar 239) with its r ich har­monies

IO]

EIG H T H L E CTURE

is impossible at th is speed. The listener would fail to graspthe sequences and Beethoven's direction cantabile wouldbe impossible to fulfil. But it would be utterly impossiblefor a choir to sing ' Vivat Rudolfus ' at this speed.

The main subject , which Brahms imitat ed in his Cmajor Sonata, Op. 1, contains the essent ial germs of thewhole movement. To eliminate the difficulty of th einitial skip by taking the first B flat m ajor chord in ther ight hand would m ean losing the tension of this mightylion-li ke leap. On the oth er hand, it is possible to play thefirst bass-note with the r ight hand. Small hands may omitthe D of the r ight hand on the fourth beat of the first ,and the F on the fourth beat of the third bar . Notice thepedalling sign from the beginning to bar 4 and the pausewhi ch follows. The surprising D maj or in bar 37 is thedominant of G major, in which Beethoven int ends tointroduce the second subject . But before this, the handsmust glide and wh eel in perfect concord over the angelicfiguration of the transition . The small > signs in bar 76

and also in bars 78, 82 and 84 probably indicate a slightlengthening of the note. The t r ill on the G in bar 1 0 6

and the following bars must be cont inue d without a

break. In bar ' 72 I play e instead of f which is harsherc c

but seems more Beethovenish to me!1 Ma ny edit ions haveG sharp instead of G in bars 2 1 0 and 2 12 in the firstquaver in the right hand .

1 Yet contrapun tally, the F (contained in all editions) would seemharsher, breaking as it does the symm etry of the sequence. P .B.

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SONATA I N B FLAT MAJ OR , OP. 10 6

Then follows the famous transition to the recapitula­tion in which Beethoven writes A sharp in bars 224-6,thereby anticipating the B flat in the return of the ma insubject . Ma ny people think that all t he A sharps ought tobe A naturals, wh ich would produce the F major chord,the dominant of B flat . If that is so, Beethoven forgot thenatural before the A eight t imes. This assumption is sup­ported by a preliminary sketch . Plausible though th is maysou nd it seems to me quite possible all the same thatwhen he came to work on the passage Beethoven intro­duced this crazy, concea led anticipat ion of B flat major;there are too many ha rmonic extravagances and m eta­morphoses in this work to reject the possibility that thesimple cadence of F major to B flat major see,?ed toocommonplace to him. In any case, it is hardly a matter oflife or death, and a m istake in the tempo is much moreser ious than an error here. evertheless, this passagemakes the loss of the manuscript particularly r egrettable.

After the recapitulation comes the glor ious transitionto G flat major which is later changed to F sharp major .

. The second subject follows, in t he main key of B flat .T he coda recalls the or iginal purpose of the work : onecan see the congratulators withdrawi ng and hear theircheers dying away in the distance.

The Scherzo wh ich , astonish ingly, appeared afte r thegreat Adagio in the London edit ion , m ust glide swift lypast like a ghost. T he exact re petition of the notes isdifficult and a m atter of keep ing the wrist loose, not ofchanging fingers. The Trio, which resembles the one inthe Sonata in E flat, Op 7, must also gi ve a feeling ofinsubstanti ality. The canon concealed in the triplet­figures of the r ight hand should not be emphas ized butshould merely be allowed to glimmer through. The

I 0 5

EIGHTH LECTURE

Presto, 2/4 paragraph is a modificat ion of the Triosubject. The great F major passage which covers the who lekeyboard is, according to Lenz, one of the 'three greatAmazon r ivers of the piano' . In the coda, the conflictbetween B and B flat is an excit ing stroke of genius.

A pause should separate this movement from theAdag io sostenuto. This twenty-minute colloquy with thepiano is perhaps the most beautiful contribution evermade to the literature of our instrum ent . The Apas­sionato e con molto sentimento which Beethoven requiresseems to cont radict the mezza voce, but the contradictionis only apparent, since when we have someth ing to saythat comes from the depths of the soul, we lower ourvoices to a whisper.

'The mausoleum of the collective anguish of the world'was Lenz's description of this move ment; but it is in facta passionate argument with God which ends in submis­sion and humility, aft er the gift of heavenly consolationhas been received. Metaphors and words are only up­sett ing here, however, and the state ment that 'Musicbegins where language ends' is nowhere more applicable.

,Holy peace, how beautiful, how glorious. Here is God,here rest to serve Him ,' Beethove n wrote in his sketch­book.

The first bar was added by Beethoven at a late stage.It serves to force the listener on to his knees . I regard them ovement as consisting of two sect ions, i.e., the whole ofthe first part (which includes second and third groups indifferent keys) is repeated. What comes between is not adevelopm ent but a cadenza in the nature of an improvisa­ti on . A coda is appended to the second repeat. Its pas­sionate outcry, with the seven F sharps, demands a breakbefore the re -entry of the first subject. The subject should

I06

SONAT A I N B FLAT MAJOR, OP . 10 6

then be played quite softly and resignedly. The consola­tory passage, with the A sharp pointing to the m ajor,shoul d be played with particular gentleness. Despite thenew ent ry of the first idea in the m inor, the re solu tionwhich t ransfigures the end has now taken place. Thetenths m ust be struck together, not broken up. Thefollowing aid,

that is, pl'aying the A sharp with the r ight hand , is bettertha n an arpeggio, which Beethoven reserves for the lastchord.

The way Beethoven leads into the last movement is oneof h is greatest st rokes of genius: leading the player awayfrom the sublimit ies back to the ear thly conflict of thefugue, foregoing bar- lines, starting four t imes over andfina lly, after the great outburst in A ma jor , attaining theF, whi ch he had begun with as in a dream, establishing itnow as the domin ant of B flat- all th is is psychologicallymagnificent .

It is not possible to analyse the fug ue here. Thestudent should refer to Busoni's consummate analysis in

. h is edit ion of Bach . The fugue is difficult to play, cer ­tainly, but I believe that Beethove n's intent ion was notmerely to write a fourth m ovement worthy of the pre­ceding music, but also to give the pianist a rewardin gtask. But it needs a great m aster like Busoni to make usfeel that the piece is well-written for the instrument.

I 07

EIGHTH L ECT U RE

Most pian ists regard it as a mere contrapuntal exerciseand m any musicians crit icize it severely on that account.It was, in fact , in ten ded to be a fine-sounding piano-pieceof great expressive power-the thematic work is merelythe means to an end. W ith all t he inversions, augme nta­t ions, crab canons, the fugue in D major with in thefugue- ' Stage on the stage', as Busoni calls it- and thecollapse on the double t r ills, Beethoven intended to con­vey a great emotional experience . From the ruinousbreakdown of the last page the opening of the fugue­subject r ises like a phoeni x and we realize that this leapof a tenth harks back to the beginning of the wholesonata. And so, despite all the suffering, the circle closeswith a posit ive affirmation .

In this work, in one creat ion of the spirit, a mortal m anhas portrayed and sublimated all the facts of life, itsrigours, injustices, joys, its heavenly consolations, thetemporal and the eterna l, the conceivable and the incon­ceivable.

Sonata in E major, Op. 109

Dedicated to Maximiliane Brent ano, this sonat a was com­posed in ,820 an d published by Schlesinger in P aris.Once again, Beethoven reveals a new side of h is per ­sonality . The work has the cha rm and luminosity of anold sweethe art met again aft er twenty years, with thesame noble features but spiritualized an d more trans­parent.

The tonal sequence of the movements is Major-Minor­Major . T he emot ional seque nce is Soft -Hard-Soft . Theopening of the first movement is not easy to play : the

J08

SONATA IN E MAJOR, OP . 109

rockin g, hovering effect must be 'described' with smallarm movements. Finger tech nique alone will not obta inthe requir ed effect. T he difference between the Vivaceand the Adagio is only apparent. The whole th ing must beof one piece, like a good improvisation. Every noteshould be illuminated with a golden light.

Bars 12, 13 and 14 are me rely a paraphrase of bars 9,10 an d 1 1. All is me lody, not passage -work. The m anu­scr ipt contains, again and aga in, the words ligato orlegato in red pencil. The p in bar 9 is only over the righthand. I continue to play forte in the left hand, thus:

The developm ent should be played in one long, un­broken line. In bar 48 (91 bars before th e second Adagio)the r ecapitulation begins.

The movem ent is in str ict sona ta form , the Adagioespressiio being the second subject. It takes t ime for themany expression marks to becom e so ident ified with theplayer's own feelings that they do not appear m ere labelsbut part of an org an ic and absolutely inevitable whole.

The chords in bars 75-77 are important. Insignificantthough they m ay appear, t hey su m up the essence ofwhat has gone before.

Though the second movement is marked Prestissimo,the t ime must be felt as a real 6/8, not 2/4 in triplets.Every quaver should therefore be given its full value. The

I09

EIGHTH L ECTURE

movement is in sonat a form, the second subject beginningat bar 33. The third movement is in vari ation form andrepeats the theme, this uniquely beautiful and simplesong, at the end. T his concluding repeat shoul d beplayed even more t enderly and with the deepest expres­sion . The variations without repeat marks are doublevari ations. Below the last t rill on B, one bar before thefinal statement of the theme, Billow added an F sharpand D sharp to the m elody on the fourth and sixthquavers. This is not to be recommended : the A shoul dlead to the G sharp of the theme.

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NI NTH LECTURE

B eethoven Biog raphies

There is a great number of biograph ies of Beethoven. Ishould like to m ake a few personal comments on some ofthem . It seems to m e that those by authors who knewBeethoven personally or lived in hi s im m ediat e circle aremore authentic and alive than those which are merescholarly compilations of the facts of his life and work.Naturally hi s later biographers had access to certainsources which were not available to h is own contempor­ari es. But .that is not always of decisive importance.

The first writers who lived with Beethoven and m ay beconsidered to have been authent ic witnesses of his lifewere h is fr iends Ri es and W egeler. Ferdinand Ri es wasa hi ghly-gifted pianist and a pup il of Beethoven's inVienna. He later lived in London, and in the last years ofBeethoven's life ma de great efforts to br ing him toLondon and find good publishers and suppor ters for hisworks. The tokens of gratitude and the m aterial assistancewhich h e received from London were at any rate a great,albeit belated, joy to Beethoven on his death-bed. Inco-operat ion with Dr. Franz W egeler, a fri end of Beet­hoven's youth, Ri es published the Biographical Notes onL udwig van Beethoven in 1838.

One of the most important witnesses of Beethoven 'slife ' was Anton Schindler. Later on, there broke out abitt er conflict of opinion about h im which was evoked byBeethoven's own cha nging attitu des towards him.

On his death-bed Beethoven himself was asked whoI H

NIN TH L ECT UR E

was best qualified to write his biography as he conceivedit . R e nominated Rochlitz. Johann Friedr ich Rochlitz wasa well-known author and as editor of the Allgemeinemusikalische Zeitung in touch with every aspect of musicallife .

When questioned about the pri nciples on which abiography should be based, Beethoven replied : ' Only thewhole truth!' And in his opinion a biography should notappear until ten years after the subject's death.

Schindler kept to that and did not publish h is book onBeethoven unt il , 840 . It is true that he was a pedant, buthe was nevertheless a genuine fr iend of Beethoven, con­cerned with the truth an d above all with fidelity to Beet­hoven's musical intent ions. One thinks of h is pious col­lect ion of sketches for a T enth Symphony-in whoseexiste nce m any people refuse to believe, since in theirview a T enth would have been impossible afte r theNinth. All the same , we do know Beethoven's intentions:he was aspiring in that work towa rds a union of absolutemusic with religion.

The most important of the later biographers was theAm erican, Alexander Wheelock Thayer , who devoted hislife and resources to the writ ing of his work. It wasedited by R ermann Deiters an d complete d by RugoRi em ann. Unfortunately Riemann used the work to sub­stant iate his theory of the predomin ance of subjects start ­ing on the upbeat; he also omitted to explain which par tswere written by himself and which by Deiters. A newedit ion of T hayer's work would the refore be verywelcom e.

For the rest, I woul d m erely like t o sketch the impres­sions I have received from the innumerable biograph ieswhich have been written since then.

112

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BE ETHO VEN BIOGRAP ITIIL

The biography by the Russian Wilhelm von L nz,written in the middle of the last century, is fascinat ingbecause of the very personal point of view from which itwas conceived. Often over-exuberant, it is full of the trueenthusiasm and im agination whi ch are character ist ic ofthe romantic period in Russia,

Adolf Bernhard Marx went about h is task of descr ibingLudwig van Beethoven's Life and W ork ( , 859) with Ger­man thoroughness and exha ustiveness; his book not onlybecame the ma in source of information about Beethovento my mother's generat ion (1858- 1947), but can stillserve the you nger generation of today,

T he work of P aul Bekker (19 l1 ) is written in apessentially modern spir it and determin ed by a com­pletely different judgement of Beethoven's music.

The most significant quality of Romain Rolland'swri t ings on Beethoven is their poet ic force and theFrenchman's insight into Beethoven 's artistic personality.

Thomas-San Galli's biography is another beautiful anddistingui shed work.

The most impor tan t of the I'OC nt works on J3 ihov nis the book by W aIt I' lliezl r. It is 11 t nl 0 vividlywritten biography but also take into 0 cou.u tit prob ­lems of form whi ch OCCU)' in Beet hov 11, Ilis oualysls fthe first movement of the ' Ero ica ' is xemplnry. Oil willfind here something of the spir it which enabled W ilh lmFurtwiingler to be such a unique in terpreter of J3 et­hoven's music.

The them atic-bibliographical catalogue compiled byGeorg Kin sky, which was published after the author 'sdeath by Hans Halm under the title Das Werk Beethovens,is a compendium of everything one could wish to knowabout Beethoven's compl ete works, and I should like to

H II}

NINT H L E CT URE

end my little survey with a reference to th is book whichcontains exhaust ive details about the date of origin, auto­graph, publication, first edit ion, references in letters,dedicati on and literature of each work.

Finally, a word about the books which deal specificallywith the piano sonatas : the most important are KarlReinecke's book; Theodor Pfeiffer 's Studien bei Hans vonBiilow; Jacques-Gabri el Prod'homme's Beethoven's Piano­forte Sonatas ; an d Tovey 's great work, A Companion toBeethoven's Pianoforte Sonatas .

Sonata in A fla t major, Op , 110

Composed in December 1821 , without a dedication, at thet ime when Beethoven was writ ing the Missa solemnis.The childlike simplicity of the main subjects warms theheart as 'one re members all the vicissitudes that the com­poser had to overcome before he could reach this point.If we call Op, III a masculine work, this sonat a isfeminine, though such descriptions do not go to the heartof the matter. The Adagio with the two fugues fore ­shadows the 'Danksagung eines Genesenen an die Gott­heit', from Op. ' 52. Beethoven wri tes ' Ermattet klagend'over the Arioso-'Neue Kraft fuhlend ' , as in Op. '52,could be written over the fugues. The style of all threelast piano sonatas strongly points towards the last qu artets.

In the first movement it should be remembered that theprimal roots of every rhythm are to be found in breath­ing, the heart-b eat, or the dance-step. T he only qu estionis, what are the rhythmic units ? They are the crotchetshere, and by referring the Moderato to them, we sha llkeep the tempo from sagging . Yet , in the final bars , every

II4

SON AT A I NA FLAT MAJ n, P . " Q

note must be given its utmost value. I n th fifth bru f" on,the end the opening subj ect app ears in the left ha" I.The movement is in sonata form, with a notably simpledevelopm ent.

The Scherzo should be thought of in c-bar strains (4/4)with the accent on the second bar. The Trio shows thatthe whole movement must be taken fairly steadily, so thatthe Chopinesque filigre e figuration in the right hand canach ieve its full poet ic effect . The m ain notes in the lefthand (D flat , to start with) ought perhaps, ideally, tocontinue sounding . In the coda, the chords fall on theunaccented bars and this gives a pleasantly comfortingeffect to the final F major chord which comes on a strongbar .

No break should be m ade before the next movement .Rubinstein used to ti e the last left hand F in the Scherzoto the Adagio .

Care should be taken not to str ike the chord s in theleft too loudly dUl'ing t he so-called Bebung (mar ked byBeethoven with th e fingerin g 4.-3). I n th e s miquaveraccompaniment of the Ario 0 th le ys should not bcomplet ely released at all : the chords sh old b pa k cl ast ightly togeth r as possible.

The sanglots intercoupes at the repent l' th r i so(bar 116) must be played as sensit ively os possible, like­wise the re surgence of the heart-beats in the last majorchords (bar 132).

The second fugue with the inversion of the fugal sub­ject presents the considerable difficulty of integrat ing therhythmic augmentation and diminution into the context,and of developing the accompanying figure of the endfrom the fugue subject . That the diminution is notexactly twice the speed of the first statement is show n by

H5

NINTH LECTURE

Beethoven's own meno allegro and the subseque nt piumalo.

Great intensity of touch and skilful pedalling are de­manded by the h igh -lying, radiantly transfigured melodyof the end. Any acceleration in the last bars would bewrong.

Sonata in C minor, Op. 111

Dedicated to the Archduke Rudolf, this work puts thefini shing touch to the colossal str uct ure of the thirty-twosonatas , and we find in it a summing-up of Beethoven'swhole nature, a testament of his spiritual world which leftnothing for h im to say in the form of the piano sonata .At least , that is how it appears to us poor mortals.

The two movements of this work symbolize this worldand the worl d to come . Thus, the relentless figuration ofthe first movement in which Beethoven expressed life' shard struggle should be ch iselled out with steely fingers,whilst the Arietta, which represents the transcendental,should be played with a touch so dematerialized as not toseem to be of th is wor ld. How is this to be ach ieved? It isthe spirit that creates for itself the body to dwell in ; it isthe idea that discovers the necessary technique . Be com­pletely conscious of the relat ive unimportance of details;be conscious of the eternal laws that rule the stars, andthen your hands and fingers will become 'Jlla gnetic' andconjure up a t ranscendental light from wood and strings.

The first move me nt, Maestoso, should be begun in thegrand m anner. What was said about the dreaded leaps atthe beginning of Op. 106 also applies here. Beethovenmay have been aware that bars 11 and 1 2 (upper part)

II6

SON AT A I N C MINOR , OP . '"

contain the upbeat of the first subject of the Allegro illdouble augmentation . On the other hand, I cannot en­t ire ly agree that there is an affinity between the secondsubject and the first, as demonstrated by Schenker(Riezler). In this connexion, there is also the questionwhether the second m inim in bar 115 should be E flator c. It is true that the harmonization of the two parallelpassages is different, but I think the interval of thediminished seventh, existing bet ween bass an d treble inthe exposit ion, is impor tant and should recur here in theform of F sharp-E flat.

The Arietta in var iation form requires a completecha nge of attitude on the part of the player . I n the firstvariation the pedal should be used so carefully that thecello-like part in the left hand can come thr ough qui teclearly. The time signatures 6/16 and 12/32, alt erna tingwith the basic 9/16, might suggest that bars 33 an I ~,9

are longer , but the three qu aver uni ts alwn s ,. mnin thsame , in accordance with the subje t- w lt lit ,. lit ordivid ed into triplets, se rn iq unv rs, d rnis miquuvers 01'hem idem isemiquaverso

The section from bar 106 to 129 b tw 11 tit fOll tl, alldfifth variat ion (t he fifth is a doubl vuriuu 11 ) with tltumodulation to E fl at, in troduced by the s v n J3 llnts illthe lower part in bars 112 and 11 3, should be mad tosound like an improvisation, preparing for th e great sixthvariation. At the end one shoul d be conscious of th ebeginning of the subject and its inversion in the bass. Thet ie in bar 161 comes off better if the G is taken by the lefthand .

"Ve have come to the end. It shoul d have become clear

Il7

NINT H L E CTURE

by now that Beethoven possessed with in hi mself thecreat ive power of nature herself, Tremendously subjec­ti ve though he was, he ra ised the personal to the level ofthe typical and the universal and gave us an example ofhow it is possible in spite of mat er ial and human limita­t ions to reveal the eternal in the t emporal.

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1II1