Advanced Music final commentry

Sonata No.4 in E flat major by Mozart and sonata No.14 in C sharp minor by L. van Beethoven are both excellent piano sonatas both staying true to the styles of their composers. The Beethoven was the first piece of classical music I ever heard and I’ve always been captivated by the simplicity yet richness of it. After looking more into it I noticed that Beethoven had taken a lot of influence in his composing from Mozart and in the case of the ‘moonlight’ sonata especially from Mozart’s No.4 in E flat major. This is why I wanted to look more into this piece to deepen my understanding of the different ways the sonata form can be explored and how the interpretation of it has changed over the years.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) was an Austrian born composer, often referred to a prodigy from a young age. He started playing publicly at the age of 6 and could play multiple instruments. During his life he performed in numerous European venues and had various patrons and employments of which being the court composer in Salzburg is probably the most well know. He composed hundreds of works that contain sonatas, symphonies, masses, concertos and operas. All of these laced with vivid and sophisticated textures. Though Mozart did in a sense stick with the customs of music of the time in his compositions, he did lace his pieces with a lot of originality and new ideas that helped new composers like Beethoven to take it to the next level.

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a German, Bonn born composer famously known as being deaf. He was a predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. Beethoven is often said to have reinvented the symphony, and redefined piano sonata. He was a prodigy like Mozart as well having been a talented player at a very young age. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets. He also composed other chamber music, choral works and songs. Beethoven’s works are often the ones that everyone can recognise thanks to their strong motifs and emotion filled melodies. 

The Mozart piece is in E flat major like stated in the name and played in common time. Unusually for a sonata of the time the piece is in adagio instead of allegro. The exposition and the principal theme start off with an intro like three bars with a descending bass line, ending in a trill. This is leading up to a simple binary motif, rich with acciaccaturas, that Mozart is known for using in his compositions. Mozart returns to the motif later in the piece. This motif starts of in bar 4 as well as an alberty bass in the left hand. Use of quickly alternating dynamics shows the use of fortepiano.  This part lasts for four bars until change happens in bar 8 which work as a bridge between the principal theme and secondary subject.   This bar is written in contrary motion and ends in an imperfect cadence.  In the start of the second subject the piece modulates into B flat and the accompaniment changes from alberty bass to quavers.  The second subject goes on and in bar 13 there is heavy use of acciaccatura and as the exposition is coming the end in the last beat of bar 14 there are a diminished 7th chord and a plagal cadence.  The exposition gets repeated from the beginning.

The development starts at bar 16 and true to him it is the shortest part of the piece. Unlike in normal sonata form, this development repeats from the start of the principal theme creating a dovetail effect with the coming recap. First three bars of the development go on regular and after that the melody and bass line get flipped. Bar 21 works as a gateway from the development to the recap. On the first beat there’s a trill and going into recap there’s a crescendo making the recap stand out. Like mentioned before, the recap doesn’t start from the beginning like it would in by-the-book sonata form but from bar 4. The recapilation from here on is from the principal subject until bar 26 which mirrors bar eight working as a bridge in between the two subjects. The recapping of the second subject goes on until 33. In this bar Mozart retrogrades bar 15 from the exposition to finish of the recapilation. Development and recap are both repeated like they were generally done in Mozart’s time.

The coda is three bars from 34 to 36. The first bar of the coda is reminding of the first bar of the whole piece and in bar 35 there is a new triplet formation. The coda is goes quieter by each bar ending in pianissimo.

Beethoven’s piano sonata no.14 in C sharp major is also known as ‘moonlight sonata’ because of its eeriness. This is a revolutionary piece of music taking classical music from classical to romantic period. First directions of this piece are given that one should play this whole piece with great delicacy and sustain pedal throughout the whole of first movement.  Beethoven is deliberately trying to convey a dark and a sad feeling in this piece. This differs from Mozart who composed music for dancing and entertainment. Mozart doesn’t give nearly as much directions for the player as Beethoven does, leaving the interpretation open. This might be because unlike Mozart, Beethoven is trying to capture a specific moment and feeling. Beethoven uses the pedal points in this first movement to create a sense of depression and sorrow. In the Beethoven there is exploring of the ‘new’ piano and its possibilities bringing different aspects to the piece where Mozart used the fortepiano. The piece is in C sharp minor and has a time signature of 2/2, which is an uncommon time for a first movement of a sonata. Like in the Mozart, the first movement is in Adagio which again uncommon since the norm for sonata form is to have an allegro to begin and after that go into a slower, but Beethoven is exploring the limits of sonata form in starting slowly and then in second movement picking the tempo up.

Exposition starts from the beginning and lasts until bar 23 which is longer than in the Mozart. Unlike in the Mozart this piece has an intro; bars 1 to 5. In the right hand you have broken chord triplet figurations while the left hand is playing the accompanying descending bass line in octaves. In bar 4 of the intro there is suspension throughout the bar and it ends in a perfect cadence and a dominant 7^th chord. Bar 5 works as a bridge between the intro and the principal theme, starting the dotted rhythm that continuous to theme. The key is changed to E major and the bar ends in an anacrusis. Theme A begins in a fanfare like motif and an inverted pedal note. This theme is carried out to the end of this movement. Unlike Mozart, Beethoven doesn’t keep this motif going for the whole piece. This simple motif is played for 5 bars and in bar 11 there is a bridge passage and after that there is a modulation to c major. Theme B of the exposition starts in bar 15, lasting 9 bars. Bar 16 has dissonance that gets resolute by the diminished chord the first beat of bar 17. Where Mozart followed the sonata form and repeats the exposition, Beethoven caries on straight to the development. 

Development of this movement starts at bar 24 and is modulated into F sharp minor. It starts with repetition of the first four bars of theme A. After this in bar 28 it goes to refer to the left hand part of bar 16. Also a pedal point is established that lasts to bar 39. In bars 27 to 31 there is imitation down the octave between the bars. The bars are played in different voices changing from tenor voice to soprano. In bar 32 the accompaniment changes into triplets making the bass less static than before this and the right hand changes from the reliving of the theme to ascending broken chords. There is a dissonance here that gets resoluted in bar 33. This bar ends in a diminished chord. In bar 36 the theme refers back to the bass line of bars 16 to 19 and the left hand uses octaves and the pedal point to create a growing tension. This tension is broken two bars later in bar number 38. The Development comes to an end in an anacrusis at bar 42.

Recap starts off with 3 bars of repetition of theme A. After this the piece modulates to E major giving the recap it’s more hopeful and cheery feeling. Where the rest of the movement is written by Beethoven to be a musical representation of sadness and the different states of melancholy, the recap is an anticipative part where there is hope that you can get through sadness. In bar 51 it goes to the secondary subject and after this there is a dissonance created in bar 52 and 54. Going into the coda in bar 59 Beethoven creates tension by suspension and ending in perfect cadence.  Unlike the Mozart Beethoven does not repeat this part. Coda starts in bar 61, playing the theme in the bass clef and repeating the C# minor broken chords from the development. The movement returns to C sharp major and finishes of with a perfect cadence. Beethoven, like Mozart makes the coda’s last bar pianissimo to bring the movement to an end.

While studying these to pieces I have come to realise how complex a simple piece of music has to be in order to sound good. The change from classical to romantic period wasn’t an automatic switch but it needed composers like Mozart and Beethoven who were willing to stretch the conventions of classical music to create something new and revolutionary.