Tiantian Liang - MTNA

Death in Beethoven‘s Piano Sonatas: An Analysis of Op. 26 and Op. 110

Tiantian Liang

Statement of Purpose

While the subject of death appears in several of Beethoven‘s compositions, a dearth of

information exists that answers how and why Beethoven explored this subject throughout his

compositional output. In the piano sonata the clue lies in his choice with the unusual key of A♭,

which many 18th

-century theorists considered to be the key of the ―grave.‖1 Beethoven‘s choice

of keys fit within the theories of key characteristics of the time. However, when it came to

expressing death as a theme, Beethoven chose keys in an unconventional manner.

Although Beethoven wrote several movements of piano sonatas in the key of A♭, Op. 26

and Op. 110 are the only two piano sonatas where A♭ is the main key for the work. Moreover,

these are the only sonatas that feature both parallel keys of A♭ major and A♭ minor in a single

work. Finally, both of these sonatas have a programmatic meaning attached to them: the third

movement of Op. 26 is in A♭ minor with the title ―Funeral March, relating to the death of a hero.‖

Op. 110 quotes Bach‘s aria in the third movement, ―It is finished,‖ from the St. John Passion,

which Beethoven chose to set in A♭ minor rather than Bach‘s original key of B minor. Coupling

the choice of unusual keys and the programmatic content of these sonatas shows that these works

make a significant statement about death. Beethoven‘s careful choice of keys reflects the

Romantic aesthetic linking key characteristics to affect.2 As performers, scholars, and listeners,

1 Rita Steblin, A History of Key Characteristics in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries (Ann Arbor:

University of Michigan Research Press, 1983). Steblin provides a comprehensive discussion on the history of key

characteristics and musical affect. 2 Steblin, A History of Key Characteristics, 115.

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understanding how key choice in the compositional process is imperative to our conception and

interpretation of these works.

I will focus on these two sonatas as primary examples of how Beethoven expresses the

subject of death. Additionally, I will include other pieces from his compositional work that also

reference death.

Background

The idea that key and emotional affect were related was an idea that went back to the

Greeks.3 During the 18

th and 19

th centuries, theorists including Johann Mattheson and Friedrich

Wilhelm Marpurg hypothesized that specific major and minor keys contained specific affects.4

Beethoven was familiar with the link between key and affect, and he most likely used it in

crafting his compositions.5 To many theorists, the key of A♭ major expressed the ―meaning of

the grave, death, putrefaction, [and] judgement.‖6

Beethoven wrote 32 piano sonatas spanning mostly his early and middle periods. Of the

32, only two sonatas are set in the key of A♭. Beethoven wrote the Piano Sonata in A♭ Major,

Op. 26 in 1800 during what scholars consider an experimental period (from 1798 to 1802) in

which his style was undergoing a transition from that of the ―first maturity‖ into that of the

―heroic decade.‖ Here, Beethoven used the piano as a ―laboratory of experimentation‖ to test

new compositional techniques before using them in more public genres like the symphony.7

3 Steblin, 14.

4 See Chapter 4 for Steblin‘s chapter on Mattheson and Chapter 6 for her discussion on Marpurg.

5 Barry Cooper, Beethoven and the Creative Process (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990).

6 Rita Steblin, A History of Key Characteristics in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, ed. George

Buelow, Studies in Musicology, No. 67 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Research Press, 1983). 7 Lewis Lockwood, Beethoven: The Music and the Life (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003). 136

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Eleven piano sonatas (Opp. 13–28 and Opus 31) come from this experimental period.8 Most

importantly, Beethoven began to expand the idea of what the piano sonata could become or even

express through its content—not only through his alterations to the formal and structural

elements but also to the character and affect. As mentioned above, the third movement of Op. 26

has a descriptive title (in lieu of the more common tempo marking) and is set in the rarely used9

and lamenting10

key of A♭ minor. This pairing of A♭ and the subject of death mark the work as a

significant step in the evolution of the piano sonata. Additionally, this movement is the first

funeral march written by Beethoven. He would later use this form in the second movement of the

‗Eroica‘ Symphony. Program music becomes a part of Beethoven‘s later compositions.

In addition, Beethoven tests new boundaries with the formal structure of the 18th

-century

sonata. His piano sonatas from 1800 to 1803 show a pattern of using unconventional movement

plans.11

Although not Beethoven‘s first piano sonata with four movements,12

Op. 26 begins to

break with the conventional 18th

-century three-movement piano sonata. Most significantly, none

of the movements are in sonata-allegro form. For the first movement, Beethoven opts to begin

with a theme and variations form with a slower and more lyrical theme. Also, Beethoven

changes the expected fast-slow-fast-fast pattern of the sonata by placing the quicker scherzo as

the second movement.

The late piano sonatas (Opp. 109–111) were composed between 1820 to 1822. The Piano

Sonata in A♭ Major, Op. 110 (1821) is the middle work of the trio. Beethoven composed these

three sonatas simultaneously. Although these were not Beethoven‘s final compositions, they

were the last major works he composed for the piano—an instrument that played a significant

8 Lockwood, The Music and the Life, 136.

9 Steblin, History of Key Characteristics, 111.

10 Steblin, 123.

11 Lewis Lockwood, Beethoven: Studies in the Creative Process (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992), 148.

12 The Piano Sonata in B♭ Major, Op. 22 has four movements.

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role throughout his life as a composer and performer. As with the sonatas of 1798 to 1803,

Beethoven experiments with the structure within the established three-movement sonata in Op.

110. The first movement is in sonata-allegro form while the second movement is a scherzo.

However, what is most significant is Beethoven‘s use of forms found in Bach and earlier

composers. In Op. 110, Beethoven quotes Bach, who‘s pieces served as inspiration during

Beethoven‘s younger years.

The third movement of Op. 110, marked ―Adagio, ma non troppo,‖ is the most unusual

movement out of the sonata in structure. Starting with a recitative, an aria follows with a melody

that unmistakably references Johann Sebastian Bach‘s “Es ist vollbracht” from St. John Passion.

Instead of setting this quotation in Bach‘s original key of B minor, Beethoven opts instead to use

the wailing key of A♭ minor,13

which further enhances the connection to death.

Example 1. Piano Sonata in A♭ Major, Op. 110: III. Adagio ma non troppo, mm. 9–10.

13

Steblin, 123.

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Example 2. ―Es ist vollbracht‖ from St. John Passion, m. 1.

Marked Arioso dolente, the Klagender Gesang (tearful song) quotation references the moment

when Jesus Christ says, ―It is finished.‖ This is one of the last words he says before giving up his

spirit on the cross. The alto aria reflects on these words, which were part of the last seven words

Christ says on the cross.

Op. 110 represents Beethoven‘s interest in music of the past, and his key choice links the

piece to death. For the aria, Beethoven purposefully uses only six flats in the key signature—this

is the case even though seven would be required for the set key of A♭ minor. Instead of using

seven flats, Beethoven opts to write the necessary F♭ as accidentals into the score.

Example 3. ―Adagio ma non troppo‖ from Sonata in A♭ major, Op. 110, mm. 23–24.

He took this practice from the Baroque period where composers omitted the last flat or sharp in

the key signature. This is Beethoven‘s subtle nod to music of the past. This is especially notable

because Beethoven writes out the full seven flats into the key signature in Op. 26 (which is the

only other movement in A♭ minor).

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Example 4. ―Marcia funebre‖ from Sonata in A♭ major, Op. 26, mm. 1–4.

Several scholars have already noted Beethoven‘s interest in music of the past and

counterpoint in the late works.14

Beethoven also explores Baroque forms in other late works

(Grosse Fugue, Symphony in D Minor, and Missa Solemnis). Beethoven sought to incorporate

these forms into the sonata. Following the first Aria, it is fugue in A♭ major.

Example 5. ―Allegro ma non troppo‖ from Sonata in A-flat Major, Op. 110, mm. 27–30.

Key relationship is a crucial part of this movement. The music returns to the second Aria in G

minor through a descending G minor arpeggio.

14

Martin Cooper, Beethoven: The Last Decade (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), 416; Lewis Lockwood,

Beethoven: The Music and the Life (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003), 366.

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Afterward, the second aria leads into a fugue in G major through an ascending G major arpeggio.

Christian Schubart theorized that the key of G minor expressed ―discontent, uneasiness, [and]

worry…‖ while G major meant ―everything rustic, idyllic and lyrical…[and] tender gratitude.‖15

This change in key changes the affect in the fugue subject. The second fugue starts in three

voices and inverts the subject of the first fugue.

15

Steblin, 171.

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After three statements of the subject, the key shifts to C minor at m. 147. This leads to a circle of

fifths sequence which ends on a dominant pedal of A♭ major (m. 168). In the build up to the

climax, Beethoven uses notes of shorter and quicker rhythmic value. These faster notes increase

the tension until the arrival of the home key of A♭ major with a statement of the subject in the

left hand. At this point, the characteristic of A♭ major is no longer sorrow and death but rather

heroism and victory like the closely related key of E♭ major; this has a more similar affect to the

Symphony No. 3 in E♭ Major ‗Eroica‘ and the Piano Concerto No. 5 in E♭ ‗Emperor.‘

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Beethoven provides resolution to the tension created at the opening of the sonata. At the

beginning of Op. 110, a sighing third descends from C5 to A♭4 in the melody. At the conclusion

of Op. 110, a descending A♭ major arpeggio on C6 descends to A♭2, which is the same third

interval from the opening of the sonata. Then, he fills the space from A♭2 to A♭6 with full

arpeggiation before ending on an A♭ major chord. Here, Beethoven resolves the opening third at

the end of the work.

Example 10. ―Moderato cantabile molto espressivo,‖ Sonata in A-flat Major, Op. 110, mm. 1.

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The sonatas Op. 26 and Op. 110 have a connection about death that goes beyond their

shared keys. Both sonatas make an important statement about death by referencing the death of a

heroic figure. Op. 26 already has the death of a hero in its programmatic title. In Op. 110, the aria

on Jesus‘ death combined with the triumphant conclusion of the sonata characterizes Jesus as the

central heroic figure in Christianity. Through a combination of programmatic elements, symbols,

and the unusual pairing of A♭ major and A♭ minor, Beethoven expresses the tragedy and triumph

in death.

Death in Additional Works by Beethoven

The piano sonatas are not the only pieces that use A♭ in unusual ways to express the

subject of death. In another of his compositions, Beethoven references death in his arrangement

of the song, In questa tomba oscura (In the dark tomb), WoO 133 (1808). Dedicated to Prince

Lobkowitz, the subject of the piece is death and is also set in A♭ Major.

In questa tomba oscura

Lasciami riposar;

Quando vivevo, ingrata,

Dovevi a me pensar.

Lascia che l'ombre ignude

Godansi pace almen

E non, e non bagnar mie ceneri

D'inutile velen.

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In this dark tomb

let me lie;

you should have thought of me

when I was alive, you ingrate.

At least leave naked spectres

to enjoy their peace

And do not bathe their ashes

with futile venom.16

The combination of text and key is not a coincidence. Written in ABA form, the first

stanza (mm 1–12) expresses the thoughts of someone who has already deceased and is in the

grave. Here, the speaker is telling the listener to let him lie in the dark tomb and that the

ungrateful listener should have thought of the speaker while alive. The chordal homophonic

accompaniment in Lento quarter and half notes evokes the strains of a funeral hymn.

16

Translation by Emily Ezust https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=3620

https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=3620

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Example 12. In questa tomba oscura, WoO 133, mm. 1–10.

The middle section (mm. 13–22) starts with a repeated-note tremolo in the right hand of the

piano part on A♭, which then transforms into a B and G♯ tremolo.

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Example 13. Transition into B section of In questa tomba oscura, mm. 11–16.

The presence of only two notes in the tremolo creates harmonic ambiguity. The dyad formed

between B and G♯ sounds like a transition into A♭ minor because G♯ still sounds like the

enharmonic A♭. However, the key changes to E major (m. 14). This distant relationship of a

tritone makes a jarring transition into the middle section. Here, the speaker tells the listener to

leave ghosts in their peace. In every way, this section is a contrast the outer sections with its

tremolos in the accompaniment, marked dotted rhythm in the voice, and a constantly shifting key

center. The middle section closes by moving to a dominant on F minor before modulating back

to the relative key of A♭ major. According to Schubart and Knecht, E Major expressed ―noisy

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shouts of joy‖17

and ―fire and wildness.‖18

Composers often used this major third relationship

(A♭, C, and E major) in their pieces during the 19th

century.19

Beethoven uses the keys of A♭ major and F minor, both of which have four flats in the

key signature, in his other works during sections of pieces about death. In the Credo from Missa

Solemnis, the text ―et seplultus est‖ (―and was buried‖) is set in D minor. However, an unusual

moment occurs at the very last statement of the text with the appearance of a unison D♭ during

the last four measures of the Adagio expressivo section. This D♭ leads to a second inversion F

minor chord, which sounds like a cadential 6/4 chord that should resolve to F minor—a key with

four flats and the relative of A♭ major. The lowest bass parts (double basses, etc.) begin a

descending passage on C, B♭, A♭, and G (scale degrees 5-4-3-2) that pauses on G. The tension

created here sets up an anticipation to resolve on F minor but does not. Beethoven hints at this

key of pathos and death when expressing the text about Jesus‘s death and burial.

17

Steblin 161 18

Steblin 161 19

Matthew Bribitzer-Stull, "The Ab–C–E Complex: The Origin and Function of Chromatic Major Third Collections

in Nineteenth-Century Music," Music Theory Spectrum 28, no. 2 (2006).

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Example 14. ―Et sepultus est‖ from Missa Solemnis, Op. 123, mm. 184–187.

Another piece where Beethoven uses the key to express death occurs in the Mass in C

Major. In the Gloria movement, the text ―Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis‖ (―who takes

away the sins of the world, have mercy on us‖) is also set in the key of F minor and A♭ major.

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Example 15. ―Gloria‖ from Mass in C Major, Op. 86, mm. 139–147.

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However, the symbolism here is much subtler as understanding Jesus Christ‘s role in

Christianity‘s redemption from death is important. Christians believe that Christ came into the

world to save humankind from their sin and that by believing in him they will have eternal life

(and not face eternal death in hell). Beethoven uses a F minor and A♭ major to symbolize the

central importance of Christ‘s death in Christianity.

Context Matters

Beethoven only uses the parallel keys of A♭ major and A♭ minor in two piano sonatas--

Op. 26 and Op. 110. Death is certainly part of the affect. However, A♭ does not always mean

death in Beethoven‘s music. The important determiner here is the context in which A♭ exists. In

other words, A♭ has different meanings depending on its relationship with other keys within a

work.

Op. 10, No. 1 in C minor: 2nd

movement in A♭ major (VI)

Op. 13 in C minor: 2nd

movement in A♭ Major Sonata in C minor (VI)

Op. 26 in A♭ major: A♭ major and A♭ minor—parallel keys

Op. 27, No. 1 in E♭ major: 2nd

movement trio section and 3rd

movement are A♭ major (IV)

Op. 31, No 3 in E♭ major: 2nd

movement in A♭ major, it is a scherzo (IV)

Op. 110 in A♭ major: A♭ major and A♭ minor—parallel keys

Figure 1. Beethoven Piano Sonata Movements in A♭.

Note that the only piano sonatas with A♭ as the home key also reference the parallel

minor. Take for example the “Pathetique” Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13. As one of Beethoven‘s

most often used keys, the key of C minor meant unhappy love, grief, and yearning.20

Placed in

between two movements of this key, the second movement marked ―Adagio cantabile‖ makes a

20

Steblin, 170; Steblin, 179; Steblin, 180.

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poignant movement in A♭ major. While sometimes meaning death, A♭ could also stand for grief.

In the case of C minor, the second movement did not express death but peace.

In other instances, A♭ could have a completely distinctive character unlike the one

typically described for it. In the Piano Sonata in E♭ Major, Op. 31, No. 3, the second movement

Scherzo in A♭ fits more into the closely related key of E♭ that many theorists described as a

majestic key.21

Beethoven used E♭ in grand pieces like the ‗Eroica‘ Symphony and the ‗Emperor‘

Piano Concerto. Additionally, the playful quality of the scherzo makes it clear that this piece

does not express grief or death. One can also look at the motives and figuration to consider the

context of a given key. Yet another example is Beethoven‘s Piano Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, where

Beethoven sets the middle movement in D♭ major instead of the enharmonic spelling of the

sonata‘s main key of C♯. Beethoven did this because playing in D♭ major is easier than C♯ major,

where the performer only needs to play in five flats instead of seven sharps.

One could argue that because Op. 110 is set in A♭ and has subjects such as the

Crucifixion does not mean that not all sections in the key of A♭ major mean death. In Op. 110,

the key of A♭ could have multiple meanings. Op. 110 is not just about death or a key that means

death. While the aria certainly has symbols tied to death with the quote from Bach‘s St. John

Passion, the conclusion of the sonata has a more triumphant affect see in the rising and

cascading A♭ major arpeggios. The darkness of A♭ major becomes light.

As performers, scholars, and listeners, understanding how key choice in the

compositional process is imperative to the conception and interpretation of Beethoven‘s works.

Although not every composition can have a direct relationship between key and meaning, Op. 26

21

Steblin, 143.

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and Op. 110 illuminate a part of Beethoven‘s method where the key choice does play a critical

role in bringing extramusical meaning to a work.

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