Sonata para Piano Nº 8, Op. 13, Pathetique - II. Adagio Cantabile by Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Method - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1864438

Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, subtitled "Grande Sonata Pathétique" and known as "Pathétique" or "Pathetic," was written by Ludwig van Beethoven between 1798 and 1799, when the composer was 27 years old. The score is dedicated to Prince Carl von Lichnowsky.

The composition of the piece took place between 1798 and 1799. Drafts dating from 1796 contain fragments of ideas possibly used in this work. Some fragments were found among the sketches used for the String Trios, Op. 9. In any case, Op. 13 was not completed until only a few months before its publication, as shown by a draft dated 1799, which contains a sketch of the first bars of the sonata's opening motif in a version that is not yet final. The autograph score does not survive.[1]

It is Beethoven's earliest piano sonata to achieve the status of a masterpiece and also constitutes a milestone in the evolution of the piano sonata genre.[3][5] Many of this composer's great sonatas are known by nicknames, such as the "Waldstein," "Appassionata," and "Moonlight." Op. 13 is also known by the nickname "The Pathétique". But unlike the others, which didn't receive their nicknames until the 19th century, it was Beethoven himself who gave it the title "Grande Sonate pathétique." Only one other piano sonata has an original nickname: "Les adieux," Op. 81a.[3] Although, according to Charles Burkhart, it was actually christened "Grande Sonate pathétique," with Beethoven's approval, by the publisher who was impressed by the work's tragic sounds.[6]

The nickname stems, first and foremost, from the use of the key of C minor, which had a very special character for his contemporaries and cannot be recreated with our modern, well-tempered musical instruments. Music theorists of the time described the sound of C minor as "afflicted" (Rousseau) or "sad" (Mattheson), but also as "angry" and "furious" (Quantz), and imbued with all kinds of emotions. passionate. This character is reinforced by the tempo marking of the first movement ("Grave") and the dotted rhythms of the opening motif. Gustav Schilling, in the Encyclopedie der gesammten musikalischen Wissenschaften (Encyclopedia of Collected Musical Sciences) of 1837, defined a composition as pathetic if "it is in a high style and therefore harmonically rich, strong and without any sweetness or mere delicacy," criteria that Beethoven's "Pathétique" fulfills in every respect.[3].