Cello Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven)
Encyclopedia
Ludwig van Beethoven
's Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major
, Op.
69 was written
in 1808
. It consists of three movements
:
in contrast to the normal sonata form fast–slow–fast.
In the early 19th century, sonatas for piano and instrument were usually advertised as piano sonatas with instrumental accompaniment. Beethoven's first violin sonatas, for instance, were published as "sonatas for piano with accompaniment by the violin." The cello sonata was especially so plagued, as it grew out of sonatas for continuo
; as late as the beginning of the 19th century it was still common for the cello in cello sonatas to double the left hand of the piano part, with the piano right hand playing obbligato
figurations and melodies. Beethoven, indeed, is credited with composing the first cello sonatas with a written-out piano part.
The Sonata in A Major, Op. 69, dates from Beethoven's most productive compositional period. Composed in the same year were the Violin Concerto
and the two piano trios of Op. 70
; the same year also saw the completion and publication of the Fifth
and Sixth
Symphonies. The first movement opens with the cello alone; variations of its expansive main theme and a pair of contrasting secondary ideas give much cause to contrapuntal and melodic interplay between the two players. The scherzo which follows, in the tonic minor
(i.e. A minor
), prominently features off-beat accents
and is interspersed with a trio in the major that is heard twice. The finale is preceded by a short slow introduction.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major
A major
A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
, Op.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
69 was written
in 1808
1808 in music
-Events:*December 22 – Ludwig van Beethoven puts on a marathon benefit concert in Vienna, including the first performances of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies and the Choral Fantasy*Harvard forms its own orchestra.-Popular Music:...
. It consists of three movements
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- Allegro, ma non tanto
- ScherzoScherzoA scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
- Adagio cantabile – Allegro vivace
in contrast to the normal sonata form fast–slow–fast.
In the early 19th century, sonatas for piano and instrument were usually advertised as piano sonatas with instrumental accompaniment. Beethoven's first violin sonatas, for instance, were published as "sonatas for piano with accompaniment by the violin." The cello sonata was especially so plagued, as it grew out of sonatas for continuo
Figured bass
Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones, in relation to a bass note...
; as late as the beginning of the 19th century it was still common for the cello in cello sonatas to double the left hand of the piano part, with the piano right hand playing obbligato
Obbligato
In classical music obbligato usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ad libitum. It can also be used, more specifically, to indicate that a passage of music was to be played exactly as written, or only by the specified...
figurations and melodies. Beethoven, indeed, is credited with composing the first cello sonatas with a written-out piano part.
The Sonata in A Major, Op. 69, dates from Beethoven's most productive compositional period. Composed in the same year were the Violin Concerto
Violin Concerto (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, was written in 1806.The work was premiered on 23 December 1806 in the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Beethoven wrote the concerto for his colleague Franz Clement, a leading violinist of the day, who had earlier given him helpful advice on...
and the two piano trios of Op. 70
Piano Trios Nos. 5 - 6, Opus 70 (Beethoven)
Opus 70 is a set of two Piano Trios by Ludwig van Beethoven, written for piano, violin, and cello. They were published in 1809.The first, in D major, known as the Ghost, is one of his best known works in the genre . The D major trio features themes found in the second movement of Beethoven's...
; the same year also saw the completion and publication of the Fifth
Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and best-known compositions in all of classical music, and one of the most often played symphonies. It comprises four movements: an opening sonata, an andante, and a fast...
and Sixth
Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven)
Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony , is a symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, and was completed in 1808...
Symphonies. The first movement opens with the cello alone; variations of its expansive main theme and a pair of contrasting secondary ideas give much cause to contrapuntal and melodic interplay between the two players. The scherzo which follows, in the tonic minor
Minor scale
A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether...
(i.e. A minor
A minor
A minor is a minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The harmonic minor scale raises the G to G...
), prominently features off-beat accents
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
and is interspersed with a trio in the major that is heard twice. The finale is preceded by a short slow introduction.