Beethoven: Sonata Appassionata - First Movement

Composed around 1804, when Beethoven was 34 years old and deafness had begun to afflict him severely, the sonata No. 23, called Appassionata, was dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick, the brother of Ludwig’s students Therese and Josephine and, lo and behold, the cousin of his first love Giulietta.
Because of its boldness and novelty, the sonata was a breakthrough in piano composition; in addition to its enormous technical difficulty, it is characterized by the use of the full range of the instrument and the powerful interplay of the lowest notes. It is no coincidence that the sonata was written in the key of F minor; "F" was the lowest note on instruments of the time. 
The image shows the first page of the opening movement, allegro assai (quite fast). Obviously, the red circles are mine and not Beethoven’s. With them I wish to highlight the use in this Sonata of the musical motif that would make Ludwig known all over the world in the following centuries: the famous "ba ba ba booom", which some years later he would employ to open his Fifth Symphony.
The first time the motif appears is at 32 seconds into the piece, on the lower notes. It reappears, tempestuously, some minutes later to return towards the end with dramatic intensity.



Daniel Barenboim, live from Berlin, 2006.


The Brunswicks met Beethoven in Vienna in the early summer of 1799, on the occasion of a short trip that they made from his home in a nearby town. Mrs. Brunswick considered it was a good idea that the girls had piano lessons with the young pianist, to increase their charm vis-a-vis eventual suitors. Thus, Therese, 24, and Josephine, 20, became students of Beethoven. This was the onset of a long relationship between the maestro and the Brunswicks.
With Therese, the maestro would always maintain a cordial, transparent and very intense relationship. They used to talk about the human and the divine, and maintained a sincere friendship for many years. Whether or not Ludwig imagined something else is not clear. 
However, in those years Ludwig was captivated by the beauty of Josephine. Unfortunately for the maestro, it happened that the lady, towards the end of 1799, married a certain Count von Deym, 30 years her senior, an arranged marriage managed by Mrs. Brunswick.
But the Count proved to be a complete fiasco. First, he didn’t  have as much money as he pretended (or as Madame Brunswick wanted to believe), and secondly, he passed away because of pneumonia only four years after contracting the sacred bond, leaving Josephine widowed, with three children and expecting a fourth.
It is likely that at that time, Ludwig reconsidered his position. Whilst the marriage lasted, he had regularly taken part in parties and musical evenings at the von Deyms’s home. But when Josephine became a widow, the master of Bonn decided to get a little closer, increasing the frequency of his visits. Then, it might be possible that, little by little, something that was more than a simple friendship began to grow between them.

...to be continued...

Beethoven: Sonata Op 2 No 2

Ludwig van Beethoven, as a child

Ludwig grouped his first three sonatas, probably composed in Bonn between 1787 and 1790, in the Opus 2, and they were published in Vienna in 1796. Although they show a clear influence of Haydn and Mozart, the adagio in Sonata No. 3 in C major possesses a rather romantic character, which maestro Arturo Benedetti Michelangelli brings to light sublimely in the rigorous version presented here. In music, what appears effortless may not be easy at all.

If the Moonlight Sonata contains the annotation: "si deve sonnare tutto questo pezzo delicatissimamente", the profound and simple beauty of this adagio should command the listener to “ascoltare tutto questo pezzo delicatissimamente”.





The family

Beethoven's grandfather, called Louis, not Ludwig, is supposed to have settled in Bonn around 1730, after leaving the Netherlands. An acclaimed violinist, he had held in Bonn the position of court musician, and later the post of maestro di capella. His earnings were scarce, and he tried his luck with a wine business. It was not a good idea. Only a little earlier Louis had married Maria-Josepha —a sweet and melancholic German woman, perhaps more melancholic than sweet— and she soon took to the bottle and years later died of alcoholism.

They had an only child, Johann, who inherited his father's musical gifts and his mother’s love for fine wines. In turn, Johann married the daughter of the Court’s cook, who he met when he was a tenor in the Choir of the Prince’s chapel.  Although Grandpa Louis had initially opposed the marriage, because of Maria Magdalene’s low social status, he became very fond of her as he witnessed her efforts to rectify his son’s disordered life.

Of all the children the couple had, only three boys reached adulthood. Ludwig was the oldest, and as such, he had the sad obligation to attend the local prison to identify his father among the other men detained for drunkenness. One should assume that Johann must not have spent all his time drinking; after all, he was able to recognize his child’s musical talent - not quite the precocious genius of Mozart, but astonishing skilled in musical interpretation. Johann decided to lock him up every day in a room to practice his lessons, letting him off only when he could demonstrate a thorough mastering of the lessons.

Thus, Ludwig’s musical training was a duty rather than a desire, a torment rather than innate vocation or creative enthusiasm. Little by little, diligently, he would transform this obligation in an intimate, strictly personal retreat, the only place from where his creative genius could break free.

Beethoven: Pathétique Sonata - Movt. 1

View of Graben Street, in Vienna, roundabout the time Beethoven visited the city for the first time (in 1787)

By 1800, Beethoven had already made a name for himself in Vienna as a pianist and composer. In his circle, there were princes and counts who regularly invited him to their palaces. The purpose of these gatherings was to enjoy a pleasant musical evening, although sometimes Ludwig would bring his nightcap in case they let him spend the night there.

An indispensable participant in these evenings was Prince Karl von Lichnowsky, one of his best friends, to whom Beethoven dedicated, among other pieces, the sonata called "Pathétique", published in 1799. Right from the beginning, this piece received popular acclaim.

The first movement, allegro molto e con brio, begins with an introduction marked Grave, where some bleak and sorrowful bars oscillate between forte and piano. Then, a very rapid chromatic waterfall will link with the allegro proper in a perfect blend.

Sonata Opus 13 "Pathétique" - First Movement - Piano: Daniel Barenboim

Beethoven had arrived in Vienna in 1792, at the age of 22. Whilst passing through Bonn, Haydn had invited him to be his pupil in Vienna, but their incompatible personalities made their teacher-student relationships extremely difficult. The same happened with other musicians, until he met the opera director Antonio Salieri, maestro di capella of the Court and alleged poisoner of Mozart. Ludwig ended up taking lessons with Salieri for more than 8 years. The relation proved fruitful and for this reason it can be said —if we forget his incipient deafness— that when the Pathétique was published the young Ludwig was having his best years. In fact, he had integrated fully to the Viennese society, hobnobbing with members of the nobility, which came with the previously unimaginable privilege, in the words of one of his biographers, "of falling in love with their daughters".

However, hanging out with the aristocrats was not cheap. It was de rigueur to have lackeys and dress well. The latter was Ludwig’s weak point, since he was somewhat plump and had to try harder than ordinary people, and this meant spending money.

But money was not a problem for Beethoven, at least not in the 1780s or onwards. His income came from four main sources: public performances as a pianist; teaching, preferable to the more select and prosperous clientele possible; the organization of concerts based on his own or other composers’ music; and finally, the publishing of his pieces, which his editors would fight tooth and nail about, as he used to boast. In a letter to his friend Dr Wegeler (who eventually beat him in seducing Eleonore von Breuning), Ludwig stated:

“My compositions are very profitable, and I may really say that I have almost more commissions than it is possible for me to execute. I can have six or seven publishers or more for every piece, if I choose; they no longer bargain with me —I demand, and they pay— so you see this is a very good thing.”

Being a musician does not imply being a serf, seems to have been Beethoven’s motto. Hence, the genius of Bonn will seek relentlessly for the quality of life and social consideration that he thought was owed to an artist of his standing. The romantic musician had been born!

The picture is an engraving showing Beethoven improvising at the piano for his friends. The musician and great piano teacher, Karl Czerny, is standing behind the maestro, in the foreground, to the left, Prince Lichnowsky; at his side, Prince Lobkowitz; on the right, Baron Van Swieten.

The maestro could hardly complain about lack of attention!

Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata - Adagio

"Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon". A painting by Caspar D. Friedrich, c. 1824

When, years after Beethoven’s death, the opera singer Magdalena Willmann was asked why she had rejected the maestro’s proposal of marriage, she responded: "Because he was very ugly and half crazy."

We know nothing about Magdalena, but it seems she did not mince her words. However, even if she was exaggerating, the truth is that Beethoven's relationships with women were never straightforward, but rather complex and awkward. His dour features and (according to some contemporaries) the marks of smallpox, did not help the situation either.

Apart of the singer, the list of candidates to become "Mrs Beethoven" was long: the Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, the two sisters Therèse and Josephine von Brunswick, Therèse Malfatti, Bettina Brentano, Amalie Sebald and others.

Despite all his efforts, the genius of Bonn never married. Countess Guicciardi was the dedicatee of Beethoven’s most famous sonata, the popularly known Moonlight Sonata; she was happy to accept the honor but refused to tie the knot.

Although not a great beauty, Giulietta was a charming seventeen-year-old girl when she commenced her music lessons with young Beethoven. Ludwig had recently arrived in Vienna in 1793, and after a few months of mutual education, he succumbed to the spell of la contessina. Unfortunately, the 23 year-old newcomer who was attempting to make his mark in the Viennese musical society was small fry for the young lady.

But Ludwig did not bear a grudge against her. The sonata, composed during Beethoven’s stay at the home of the Brunswicks in 1801 (where he spent the season looking at the already mentioned sisters out of the corner of his eye), was published in 1802. It was dedicated to la contessina with affection, but also with a printing error: "... composta e dedicata alla damigella contessa Guilietta Guicciardi".

The initial movement of the sonata represents a break with the classic mold. Instead of the traditional structure fast - slow - fast, Beethoven started the piece with a very slow adagio, with the precise indication: adagio molto - a beautiful and simple melody against a background of triplets.

The popular title of the sonata is due to Heinrich Rellstab, a poet and music critic of the time, who compared the adagio with the vision of the Swiss Lake Lucerne, on a luminous night. Most titles traditionally given to the sonatas of Beethoven, owe their names to the wits of publishers or some enthusiastic romantic poets.

In the last bars, in the low registry, the left hand takes charge of the G sharp with which the melody had started.

Bach Prelude No. 2

Whilst serving as maestro di cappella in the city of Köthen, Johann Sebastian Bach composed the 24 preludes and fugues that form the Book I of The Well-Tempered Klavier. He had arrived in Köthen in 1717, shortly after his then employer, the Duke of Weimar, had lifted the punishment he had imposed upon Bach, releasing him from prison.

The Duke had an assortment of peculiarities which had been slowly but surely worsening his relationships with his "lackey" Bach (i.e. an assistant for various purposes), who had been serving him from 1708 as both chamber musician and organist of the Court. To the mix, we should add the rebellious character of konzertmeister Johann Sebastian, and his stubbornness and obstinacy, traits that accompanied him throughout his life, often hampering his dealings with his superiors.

In 1717, Bach learned that he had been recommended for the position of kapellmeister at the Court of Köthen, which he accepted with alacrity, sending at once his family to that city. Alas, he had not requested the mandatory authorization from the Duke...

When he did it, it was too late. Exasperated, the Duke did not respond and after Bach’s insistence, surely not very tactful, the boss lost his patience. After four weeks of imprisonment, Bach “was freed from arrest with notice of his unfavourable discharge”, as reads the note by the Registrar of the Court. Eventually, Bach reunited with his family in Köthen and took charge of his post, where he remained until 1723.

JS Bach - Prelude No. 2

This version of the Prelude No. 2 of The Well Tempered Klavier, Book 1, by Glenn Gould, is unmistakable. The Canadian pianist and composer renewed the interpretation of Bach (despite the fact that he used to play sitting at the piano on a short-legged chair, with his chin almost touching the keyboard!).

Bach Gounod Ave Maria

Many people have walked in pomp and circumstance along the aisle, arm in arm with their future life partner. Their slow happy steps were perhaps marked by that most beautiful melody  known as Schubert's Ave Maria, one of the many Ave Marias composed by numerous authors over the years. It is the most popular for such occasions; no doubt, it was the one that many of us heard in our own wedding, whilst we bowed here and there to friends and relatives, with a radiant smile of happiness. 

However, an author unintentionally composed half of an Ave Maria; to be fair, more than one-half. It was 1772 and Johann Sebastian Bach was beginning his greatest pedagogical and systematic work for the keyboard, The Well-Tempered Clavier. The book includes 24 preludes and fugues for the twelve major keys and twelve minor ones. Of enormous significance, the work helped to impose the division of the octave in exactly twelve chromatic halftones, which allowed for the mechanism of modulations (the smooth transition from one key to another within the same piece), to develop to its limits.

The first prelude is in C major; here we hear it in a modest version performed on a digital keyboard:

Clave Bien Temperado - Preludio N° 1

Many years later, during the 1850s, the author of the opera Faust, Charles Gounod, was enjoying his own interpretation of this prelude when suddenly his Muse delicately touched his shoulder suggesting to him a tune he immediately called, "Meditation on Bach’s Prelude No. 1". Soon afterwards, the French composer realised that the words of the very old prayer called in Latin Ave Maria, fitted his beautiful melody perfectly.

This is what we know today as the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria. Although less popular, it is in my opinion as beautiful as the one written by Schubert, if not more.

The version presented here is for harp and violin, which allows for a clear recognition of the prelude, and at the same time the appreciation of the obviously talented work of Gounod. Those who like singing can learn the melody here, and then use the Prelude above to rehearse their own version of the piece.

Hannibal Lecter and the Goldberg Variations

Title page of the Goldberg Variations (first edition).
Clavier Ubung means "keyboard exercises".

You would not find a person in the world who would not believe that the so-called classical music soothes the soul and helps to eradicate our inner demons. Those people also see themselves as good folks, sensitive souls that would be incapable of killing a fly. However, this is not always true.

The Goldberg Variations is a work that would confirm the perceived virtues of classical music. Composed for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, it was completed around 1742, almost at the end of his life, while serving as kantor in Leipzig. The work includes an aria and 30 variations; it all ends with a shorter version of the initial aria, as if to remind us where everything came from. The complete piece lasts a little less than an hour and it is customarily played in one go, even though the interpreter generally takes a break after Variation 15th. This is what noticed during Alfredo Perl's recent rendition at the Municipal Theatre in Santiago.

According to one of Bach's biographers, the Variatons were composed at the request of a count in Dresden, to be performed by his harpsichordist (a certain Herr Goldberg) during the count's long sleepless nights. The purpose was succesfully fulfilled and Johann Sebastian was generously rewarded.

Let us now listen to the Aria. The version is from the Taiwanese pianist Chen Pi-hsien.

Goldberg Variations - Aria (3:13):

Many, many years later, The Silence of the Lambs, a novel by Thomas Harris, was published. Its male protagonist, the fearsome killer psychiatrist, Dr Hannibal Lecter, is a great lover of the music of Bach. Later, the homonymous film was unveiled; on it we can see that minutes before Dr Lecter savagely killed the police officers who guarded him, the prisoner  is enthralled to the aria of the Variations, just as we do it right now.

The officers are taking the supper to him and have to open the gate of the cage where Hannibal is locked. During this scene, parts of 6th and 7th variations can be heard.

6th Variation 

7th Variation

While the hideous killing occurs, part of the 12th, 13th and 21th variations are played. Here you can listen to them in their entirety:

12th Variation 

13th Variation

21th Variation

Dr. Lecter got rid of his jailers. He devoured a chunk of the face of one of the guards, and trashed to death the other one. Once the mission is accomplished, ecstatic, Hannibal enjoys the shorter, final version of the aria.

Sensitive souls can be found anywhere!