The Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Opus 111, is the last of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas. Along with Beethoven's 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, op. 120 (1823) and his two collections of bagatelles—Opus 119 (1822) and Opus 126 (1824), this was one of Beethoven's last compositions for piano. The work was written between 1821 and 1822. Like other "late period" sonatas, it contains fugal elements and is technically very demanding. C minor (abbreviated Cm) is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E-flat, F, G, A-flat, B-flat (often raised to B natural to function as a leading tone) and C. Its key signature consists of three flats. ... Opus, from the Latin word opus meaning work, is usually used in the sense of a work of art. In this sense the plural of opus, opera, is used to refer to the genre of music drama. ... A portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820 Ludwig van Beethoven (IPA: ), (baptized December 17, 1770[1] – March 26, 1827) was a composer and one of the pillars of European classical music. ... A piano sonata is a sonata written for unaccompanied piano. ... The 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli Op. ... A bagatelle is a short piece of music, typically for the piano, and usually of a light, mellow character. ... Bagatelles Beethovens Op. ... Beethovens last work for his own instrument, the piano, is a set of six bagatelles. ... In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred to as voices, irrespective of whether the work is vocal or instrumental. ...

Structure

The work is in two highly contrasting movements: In music, a movement is a large division of a larger composition or musical form. ...

1. Maestoso; Allegro con brio ed appassionato
2. Arietta: Adagio molto, semplice e cantabile

The first movement, like many other works by Beethoven in C minor (see Beethoven and C minor), is stormy and impassioned. It abounds in diminished seventh chords, as in for instance the first full bar of its opening introduction: In the compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven, C minor is commonly regarded as a special key. ... A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chords root. ...

The final movement, in C major, is a set of variations on a 16-bar theme, with a brief modulating interlude and final coda. The third variation is remarkably jazzy and often referred to as the "boogie-woogie variation", and the last two are famous for introducing small notes which constantly divide the bar in 36 resp. 27 parts, which is very uncommon. Beethoven eventually introduces a trill which gives the impression of a further step (ie. dividing each bar into 81 parts), though this is extremely technically difficult without slowing down to half-tempo. Image File history File links The opening of Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... A one octave music scale in C major. ... In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition; reiteration with changes. ... Coda sign Coda (Italian for tail; from the Latin cauda), in music, is a passage which brings a movement or a separate piece to a conclusion through prolongation. ...

Beethoven’s markings indicate that he wished variations 2-4 to be played to the same basic pulse as the theme, first variation and subsequent sections (using the direction "L'istesso tempo" at each change of time signature). Typical performances take 8 to 9 minutes for the first movement, and 15 to 18 minutes for the second.

The work is one of the most famous compositions of the composer's "late period" and is widely performed and recorded. The pianist Robert Taub has called it "a work of unmatched drama and transcendence ... the triumph of order over chaos, of optimism over anguish." [1].

History of the work

Beethoven conceived of the plan for his final three piano sonatas (op. 109, 110 and 111) during the summer of 1820, while he worked on his Missa Solemnis. As with many other works of this magnitude, the composition of Opus 111 was long and complex, drawing inspiration much further than one might imagine. Thus, although the work was only seriously outlined by 1819, the famous first theme of the allegro ed appassionato was found in a draft book dating from 1801–1802, contemporary to his second Symphony.^[1] Moreover, the study of these draft books implies that Beethoven initially had plans for a sonata in three movements, quite different from that which we know: it is only thereafter that the initial theme of the first movement became that of the String Quartet No. 13, and that what should have been used as the theme with the adagio—a slow melody in A flat major—was abandoned. Only the motif planned for the third movement, the famous theme mentioned above, was preserved to become that of the first movement.^[2] The Arietta, too, offers a considerable amount of research on its themes; the drafts found for this movement seem to indicate that as the second movement took form, Beethoven gave up the idea of a third movement, the sonata finally appearing to him as ideal.^[3] Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized December 17, 1770 – March 26, 1827) was a German composer of Classical music, the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. ... Sonata (From Latin and Italian sonare, to sound), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to cantata (Latin and Italian cantare, to sing), a piece sung. ... Opus 109 is the first of the last Beethoven Sonatas (Opus 109-111). ... The Piano Sonata in A flat major, Op. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Missa Solemnis in D Major, Op. ... In music, a theme is the initial or primary melody. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Symphony Number 2 in D Major, (Op. ... The String Quartet No. ... Also see: A-flat minor, or A major. ... In music, a motif is a perceivable or salient reoccurring fragment or succession of notes that may used to construct the entirety or parts of complete melodies, themes. ...

Legacy

Chopin was known to have greatly admired this sonata. In two of his works - the second piano sonata and the Revolutionary Etude, he alluded to the opening and ending of the sonata's first movement, respectively^[4] (compare the opening bars of the two sonatas, and bars 77-81 of Chopin's Etude with bars 150-152 in the first movement of Beethoven's sonata). Frédéric-François Chopin as portrayed by Eugène Delacroix in 1838. ... Frédéric Chopin composed his Piano Sonata No. ... Étude in C minor, Op. ...

References

1. ^ Zwei Skizzenbücher von B. aus den Jahren 1801 bis 1803, Breitkopf, p. 19 and 14 - cited by R. Rolland, in Beethoven: Les grandes époques créatrices: Le chant de la résurrection - Sablier editions, Paris, 1937, p. 517
2. ^ Rolland R, Beethoven: Les grandes époques créatrices: Le chant de la résurrection - Sablier editions, Paris, 1937, p. 518-520
3. ^ Rolland R, Beethoven: Les grandes époques créatrices: Le chant de la résurrection - Sablier editions, Paris, 1937, p. 513
4. ^ for the allusion in Chopin's second piano sonata, see Wayne C. Petty's article, Chopin and the ghost of Beethoven, 19-Century Music XXII/3, 1999, pp. 281-299.

5. Mann Thomas, Doktor Faustus - Fischer Verlag GmbH Frankfurt am Main 1947, Chapter VIII

External links

• Recordings of this Sonata by Alberto Cobo
• Piano Sonata No. 32: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.

The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) is a project for the creation of a virtual library of public domain music scores, based on the wiki principle. ...

Media

Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven v • d • e

Op. 2, No. 1 • Op. 2, No. 2 • Op. 2, No. 3 • Op. 7 (Grand Sonata) • Op. 10, No. 1 (The little Pathétique) • Op. 10 No. 2 • Op. 10 No. 3 • Op. 13 (Pathétique) • Op. 14, No. 1 • Op. 14, No. 2 • Op. 22 • Op. 26 (Funeral March) • Op. 27, No. 1 (Quasi una fantasia) • Op. 27, No. 2 (Quasi una fantasia — Moonlight) • Op. 28 (Pastoral) • Op. 31, No. 1 • Op. 31, No. 2 (The Tempest) • Op. 31, No. 3 (The Hunt) • Op. 49, Nos. 1 and 2 • Op. 53 (Waldstein) • Op. 54 • Op. 57 (Appassionata) • Op. 78 (A Thérèse) • Op. 79 (Cuckoo) • Op. 81a (Les adieux) • Op. 90 • Op. 101 • Op. 106 (Hammerklavier) • Op. 109 • Op. 110 • Op. 111

Beethoven - Sonata opus 111 -1. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ... Beethoven - Sonata opus 111 -2. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ... A portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820 Ludwig van Beethoven (IPA: ), (baptized December 17, 1770[1] – March 26, 1827) was a composer and one of the pillars of European classical music. ... Download high resolution version (662x826, 99 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Beethovens Piano Sonata in F minor, op. ... Beethovens piano sonata in A major, Op. ... Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens opus 10 no. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata no. ... The Piano Sonata no. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... The Piano Sonata No. ... Beethovens piano sonata in G major, Op. ... Beethovens piano sonata in B-flat major, op. ... Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens piano sonata in E-flat major, Op. ... The Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens fifteenth sonata of Op. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... Piano Sonata No. ... The Piano Sonata No. ... Are sonatas writen by Beethoven (c. ... The Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... The Piano Sonata No. ... The Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens opus 90 is the Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... Opus 109 is the first of the last Beethoven Sonatas (Opus 109-111). ... The Piano Sonata in A flat major, Op. ...