1800s

Ludwig van Beethoven | Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61

“Ideas for the Violin Concerto (1806) can be found in the same notebook that Ludwig van Beethoven was using for the Fifth Symphony,” (Nashville Symphony). “While the latter required several years to be hammered into being, he produced the concerto in a matter of months, in 1806. But Beethoven did keep his soloist, a friend named Franz Joseph Clement who had been a former prodigy, waiting until the very last minute; he completed the score barely in time for the premiere two days before Christmas.

Beethoven had written his piano concertos up to this time for himself as soloist, but here he tailored this piece to the musical personality of Clement, who was acclaimed for the delicacy and tender refinement of his style—aspects that Beethoven highlights throughout the piece. But for all the celebrity of the soloist, the work did not catch on right away. While not as outwardly radical as the Eroica, the Violin Concerto was path-breaking in its own way and may have disappointed concertgoers expecting a mere display piece. There are few documented performances over the next three decades or so, and the Violin Concerto had to wait for such advocates as Joseph Joachim.”

After beginning in D major, the orchestra shifts with a sudden burst of increased volume (1:02) to D minor. Many more shifts occur throughout, but this one takes place before the violin soloist’s part even begins. This frequently-programmed piece is quickly recognizable — even from this introductory section alone.

Ludwig van Beethoven | Symphony #5 (2nd movement, Andante con Moto)

“In his epochal review of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor (1808), Op. 67, E. T. A. Hoffman praised it as ‘one of the most important works of the time.’ … Beethoven started to sketch the Fifth Symphony in 1804, almost immediately following the completion of Symphony No. 3, Eroica … During the long four-year period of composition, Beethoven broke convention on several aspects,” (esm.rochester.edu). “Most particularly, it was the first symphony that Beethoven wrote in a minor key—C minor. Minor-keyed symphonies were not unheard of, but were not the norm at the time.”

The second movement begins with a lighter mood than its infamous introduction, the symphony’s first movement: ” … (it) begins piano with a noble, restrained theme in A-flat in the lower strings before bursting into a brief forte contrasting C-major militaristic theme, featuring trumpets and timpani.” In this performance by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, this modulation occurs at 1:17; other shifts in tonality follow.

Ludwig van Beethoven | String Quartet Op. 18 No. 4, Movement 1 (Dover Quartet)

Kai Christensen of Earsense.org describes the context for Beethoven’s String Quartet, Opus 18 #4: “Beethoven worked painstakingly for two years to produce his first string quartets, Op. 18, published in 1801 in the fashion of the time as a set of six. Pre-dating them are the complete string quartets of both Haydn and Mozart, Haydn having written his last two complete quartets in the same years, finishing in 1799. Just as later composers were daunted by the supreme achievements of Beethoven before them, so Beethoven was acutely aware of the rich legacy of quartet literature already preceding him.”

CarnegieHall.com, in its Short Guide to Beethoven’s string quartets, provides an overview:

“String quartet: A composition for solo string instruments, usually two violins, viola, and cello; it is widely regarded as the supreme form of chamber music. (Grove Music Online). That’s the textbook definition. Beethoven inherited the string-quartet tradition from his predecessors and shaped it into something unsurpassed in virtuosity, invention, and expressiveness. The definition could well read, ‘Beethoven’s quartets are widely regarded as the supreme form of chamber music.’ He wrote 16 string quartets, and they reveal his evolution as a composer and a man. It’s all there: earthy wit (yes, Beethoven could crack a joke), volatile temper (his fury was state of the art), and personal sorrow (he had plenty to weep about).”

One of several modulations in this movement alone, there is an emphatic shift from Eb major (complete with a plagal cadence at 2:11) to G minor at 2:19. This energetic yet precise performance is by The Dover Quartet, which The Chicago Tribune reviewed as possessing “expert musicianship, razor-sharp ensemble, deep musical feeling and a palpable commitment to communication …”

Ludwig van Beethoven | Sonata #14 in C Minor (“Moonlight”)

Today we are featuring the first movement (Adagio Sostenuto) of Ludwig van Beethoven‘s iconic Moonlight Sonata (#14 in C Minor, 1801). One of the composer’s more prominent students, Carl Czerny, described the movement as “a nocturnal scene, in which a mournful ghostly voice sounds from the distance.” According to biographer Alexander Thayer, the movement was immediately and overwhelmingly popular — Beethoven was said to have been irked by this development to the point that he remarked to Czerny, “Surely, I’ve written better things.”

The piece modulates many times throughout. Just for starters: C# minor at 0:00; E major at 0:40; and B minor 1:12.

Ludwig van Beethoven | Choral Fantasy in C Minor, Op. 80

Thanks to George Fergus for contributing today’s post!

“The unprepared shift from C major to E flat major on the word ‘Kraft’ (‘Power’) at 17:38 signaled, to Beethoven, a fundamental shift in the relationship between text and music. The word is imbued with an extraordinary amount of power (pun intended) over the music itself, forcing an abrupt shift in tonality. This is a sort of prelude to Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk, or total unity of music, text, and action as a singular art (as opposed to three art forms combined).

Happens again at 18:23! This 1808 piece is also considered a ‘trial run’ for the Ninth Symphony! This same minor third motion (up a step, in D) is found in the larger, later work.”