Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German
composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most
admired composers in the history of Western music; his
works rank among the most performed of the classical
music repertoire and span the transition from the
Classical period to the Romantic era in classical
music. His career has conventionally been divided into
early, middle, and late periods. His early period,
during which he forged his craft, is typically
considered to have lasted until 1...(+)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German
composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most
admired composers in the history of Western music; his
works rank among the most performed of the classical
music repertoire and span the transition from the
Classical period to the Romantic era in classical
music. His career has conventionally been divided into
early, middle, and late periods. His early period,
during which he forged his craft, is typically
considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to
around 1812, his middle period showed an individual
development from the styles of Joseph Haydn and
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized
as heroic. During this time, he began to grow
increasingly deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to
1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and
expression.
Beethoven was born in Bonn. His musical talent was
obvious at an early age. He was initially harshly and
intensively taught by his father, Johann van Beethoven.
Beethoven was later taught by the composer and
conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe, under whose tutelage
he published his first work, a set of keyboard
variations, in 1783. He found relief from a
dysfunctional home life with the family of Helene von
Breuning, whose children he loved, befriended, and
taught piano. At age 21, he moved to Vienna, which
subsequently became his base, and studied composition
with Haydn. Beethoven then gained a reputation as a
virtuoso pianist, and was soon patronised by Karl
Alois, Prince Lichnowsky for compositions, which
resulted in his three Opus 1 piano trios (the earliest
works to which he accorded an opus number) in 1795.
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 24 in F? Major (Op. 78),
nicknamed "à Thérèse" (because it was written for
Countess Thérèse von Brunswick) was written in 1809.
It consists of two movements: Adagio cantabile /
Allegro ma non troppo & Allegro vivace. The second
movement is a variation to the ending of the popular
patriots song "Rule, Britannia!".
After a pause of four years, Beethoven returned to the
piano sonata genre in 1809. Unlike its predecessor, the
f-minor Sonata op. 57 (the “Appassionata”), this
work strikes a new and lyrically cantabile tone that
must have been the reason for its tradition-breaking
two-movement structure; a slow middle movement would
not have provided the necessary contrast to the outer
ones. Just as unusual as the general character of opus
78 is its four-measure Adagio introduction; this does
not directly refer to the subsequent motifs and themes,
and serves no other purpose than to “conjure up the
atmosphere of the entire sonata in our hearts” (Hugo
Riemann). According to Carl Czerny, Beethoven himself
singled out this sonata and the "Appassionata" Sonata
as favourites (once written, the "Hammerklavier"
Sonata" would also become one of Beethoven's
favourites).
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._24_(Bee
thoven)).
Although originally written for Solo Piano, I created
this Interpretation of the Sonata in F# Major (Op. 78
No. 24) for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
