November / Month of the Sonata – 10
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Category: paintings to ponder
November 8, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata – 8
“Schubert at the Piano II“ (1899)
Gustav Klimt
______
before going any further, it’s about time
I brought up Schubert, had he survived,
he might, I think, however conservatively,
have rivalled Beethoven
he died at the age of 31, of a sexually
transmitted disease, I believe the reason
for his relative obscurity
but he is titanic
listen to one only here of his sublime piano
sonatas, his Piano Sonata No 21 in B-flat
major
though one mustn’t discount his other
transcendental masterpieces, his D956,
for instance, for string quintet, is, well,
characteristically, transcendental,
you’ll leave the planet, I promise
listen
enjoy
R ! chard
November 7, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata – 7
“The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog” (1818)
Caspar David Friedrich
_____________
meanwhile, back at sonatas for one
instrument, it’s about time I brought
up Chopin, the one composer that
everyone associates before anyone
else with Romanticism, 1800, say,
till about 1880, he incorporates it,
not without reason, Chopin
personifies the Romantic Era, like
Mozart represents the Classical
others who count would be Elizabeth
Barrett Browning, her “Sonnets from
the Portuguese” – How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways – Victor Hugo’s
“Les Misérables”, and Charles Dickens
preaching, in all his works, humanity
Caspar David Friedrich‘s, also, iconic
Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog“,
see above
Chopin sounds a lot like Beethoven,
indeed, the first notes of his Second
Piano Sonata, in B-flat minor, Op. 35
are a reference to Beethoven’s
Sonata no 8, his “Pathétique“, listen,
you’ll hear the same peremptory,
commanding, chord, demanding
attention, the rest is consummate,
however, Chopin
in the last movement, you’ll specifically
hear what Chopin brought to the table,
texture, soundscape, rather than a
narrative line, music as background,
atmosphere, context
enjoy
R ! chard
November 6, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata – 6
“The Cello Player“ (1896)
Thomas Eakins
_________
if there could be violin sonatas, there
could be sonatas for, also, other
instruments
here’s one for cello, Beethoven’s utterly
magical Cello Sonata no 1 in F major,
Opus 5, no 1, 1796
note that the structure of the sonata is
being challenged, two movements only,
though the first has two sections that
are linked without pause, the aim is to
connect the musical information, the
work becomes a narrative, not a
collection of disparate pieces
Beethoven is telling a story, speaking
in notes, listen, it’s revelatory
I wish you ears
R ! chard
November 4, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata – 5
“Primavera“, or “Spring“ (1478 – 1482)
Sandro Botticelli
_________
here’s a violin sonata from Beethoven,
1801, his No. 5, in F major, Op. 24,
nicknamed “Spring“, it is ebullient
Beethoven is more forthright than
Mozart, he’s passionate, wears his
heart on his sleeve, is tender, then
rambunctious, you’ll hear it in the
extremes of volume, loud, soft,
often with spontaneous outbursts,
it’s like talking to a friend, the
appeal is emotional, personal,
where Mozart was earlier decorative,
it’s the Romantic Era taking over
from the Classical
you’ll notice also that Beethoven is
chipping away at the conventions,
there are four movements here
instead of just three, he’s saying
that his stuff is not just decorative
but important, Beethoven has
something to say, he’s got a story
to tell, there’s even a narrative feel
to his composition, like there’s a
conclusion to his story, a point
we’ve moved from a variety of
artefacts, disparate pieces, to a
cohesive and meaningful entity
the sonata is a trinity, three
essences in one
R ! chard
November 4, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata – 4
“Violinist“
Blek le Rat
____
it must be pointed out that sonatas could be
written for other instruments than keyboard,
but since any other instrument could play
just one note at a time, it became the custom
to make a keyboard instrument, which is to
say, essentially, the piano, its accompaniment
therefore, you’ll find that sonatas can be
comprised of more than just one instrument,
more about which later
don’t be confused, the history of music
is one of contradictions, as it is with, for
that matter, any representation of reality
including, incidentally, religion, art’s
historical ancestor, before the modern
world took over, before the advent of
democracy, the French and American
Revolutions, before our secular
21st Century, when artists took over
from preachers, where we started
getting our gospel from literature,
rather, movies, television, concerts,
instead of the Bible, for better or
for worse
here’s, meanwhile, Mozart’s Violin Sonata
no. 26, in B-flat Major, K. 378, of 1779,
telling it like it was, back then, starting
the process
listen
R ! chard
November 2, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata – 3
“Mona Lisa“ ( c.1503 – c.1519)
Leonardo da Vinci
__________
the next sonata, Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata
No 8 in C minor, Op 13, the ‘Pathétique’“,
is one that everyone’s heard, if only ever in
fragments, right up there with “Jingle Bells”
in our musical repertory, in our cultural DNA,
or, for that matter, Beethoven’s, also, other
iconic piece, the “Moonlight Sonata“, the
“Mona Lisa“, nearly, see above, of music
the initial chords are peremptory, have
resonated, echoed, reverberated,
throughout the ages
this is not, however, the way one should
be addressing the aristocracy, Beethoven
was speaking for the growing Middle
Classes, who, hungering for the status
and refinement of the elite, the French
Revolution having just happened, were
crowding the burgeoning concert and
recital halls cashing in on that interest
the artist was now the main attraction,
where earlier the performer had been
merely decorative, the sponsored
employee of an, however benevolent,
aristocrat, see Mozart, see Haydn
listen to Beethoven strutting, for the
ages, his revolutionary stuff, thumbing
his nose at convention, demanding
attention
enjoy
R ! chard
November 1, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata – 2
“Joseph Haydn“ (1791)
Thomas Hardy
________
Haydn, profoundly underrated, was the
other pillar of Classical music during that
period, Beethoven, with half a foot only
in that era, uses its elements to yank us,
yelling and screaming, into the next, the
Romantic Era, 1800 to 1870 more or less,
more about which later
if Haydn sounds a lot like Mozart, it’s that
this piece was also written in 1789, both
were catering to the aristocracy, courts,
salons, music was therefore frivolous,
meant to be entertaining, not inspirational,
trills, a lot of decoration, technical agility,
prestidigitation over profundity
Beethoven will change all that, stay tuned
meanwhile, listen to, enjoy, Haydn’s Piano
Sonata in A-flat major, no 31, Hob XVI-46,
today’s prescribed apple
R ! chard
November 1, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata – 1
“Still Life with Seven Apples“ (1878)
Paul Cézanne
_____
a sonata is to the concerto what an apple
is to an apple pie, its essential component,
after which the rest is decoration, however
inspired
sonatas existed before Mozart, but he’s
the one, along with Haydn, as well as
early Beethoven, who put them on the
musical map, 1750 to 1800, more or
less
it seems to me appropriate, therefore,
to start my Sonata Month then
here’s something by Mozart, 1789, his
last piano sonata, No. 18, in D major,
K. 576
three movements, fast, slow, fast – allegro,
adagio, allegretto – a perfect example of
the sonata as it was establishing itself
then, a piece of music consisting of
several distinct sections, movements,
meant to highlight contrasts, musical
agility in the artist, compositional
imagination
listen, enjoy
R ! chard
October 30, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata
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