Piano Sonata Lecture 17

Piano Sonata Lecture 17 9/20/07 The piano sonata no. 30 is dedicated to Maximiliana Brentano, daughter of Antonie Brentano, the woman now generally believed to have been Beethoven’s “immortal beloved”, and found greatness through both its meaning and its technique. Firstly, the meaning of this sonata, the emotional stock that Beethoven put into it was great. He wrote it about his “immortal beloved”, the girl who could replace no other. Interestingly, he was never able to have a relationship with her for whatever reason, and this created great sadness, which accounts for the sound of lamentation that this piece shows. Just as some of the greatest songs of modern day have been written in grievance of true love, so was the music of Beethoven. The inspiring and effusive sounds of the piano sonata no. 30 were delivered through the expression of Beethoven’s great lamentation. Secondly, what did Beethoven do with this piece musically that made it so moving. His techniques are always abstract and original in the context of their use, but always make an amazing impression on the listener. For example, in the first movement of this particular piece, the theme starts with a quiet, lyric phrase that ends with a gentle thrill; the second part consists of a broad, arching melody heard over a steady sixteenthnote accompaniment. This kind of technique was generally used for a happier song, but by combining the movement of his hands with the minor scale base of choice, he created a lamenting and graceful sound of emotion. The way that Beethoven utilized these techniques for abstract purposes is comparable to if an artist were to use food stains on paper to create a master-piece landscape. In conclusion, the sonata no. 30 is most well known for it’s original inspiration, but is also a complex piece theoretically and mixes

interesting blends of different techniques to create the lamentations of the loss of true love.