Beethoven, Piano Sonata Op 49 No 2

Around 1800, the "classical" sonata, understood as the one that came out of Clementi, Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven, was not yet a concert piece in the sense of a work to be performed within the framework of a piano "recital". And for many reasons, including the fact that recitals did not exist, nor did solo performers. All this will take time. Moreover, as late as 1838, Franz Liszt, the virtuoso par excellence, was to receive a cold reception at La Scala in Milan for a program entirely devoted to Beethoven's sonatas. The public was simply not prepared, even though the maestro had been dead for eleven years.

Opus 49
Less well prepared it was, of course, at the turn of the century. But the publication of the works did bring economic benefits. It is thus understandable that, being twinned in time to the portentous Appassionata or Waldstein from 1804, Beethoven decided to publish in 1805 a pair of very simple sonatas that make up his opus 49, the so-called "easy sonatas" or also, "sonatinas". Very simply structured and technically undemanding, they were certainly written much earlier, in the previous decade, for the study and enjoyment of his pupils, who must have performed them at home, as was the custom, in the company of their parents.

Sonata No. 20 (op. 49 No. 2) in G Major
Written in the key of G major, the second of the two sonatas of opus 49 is easier, and certainly the easiest of all Beethoven's sonatas. For this reason, listening to it in a live concert is only possible on the occasion of the complete master's sonatas, an opportunity offered by Daniel Barenboim in Berlin in mid-2005.

Movements
The beautiful and simple sonata just eight minutes long has only two movements and, interestingly, almost no dynamic indications (only two pianissimo in the minuet), which at first glance might seem a complication but rather results in an interesting challenge for the performer who must show signs of good taste born of his own musical intuition.

00     Allegro ma non troppo   Exhibition, in G major: 00 - 1:22. It must be repeated. Development section, with a bit of drama: 2:43 - 3:03. Recap: 3:04.

4:32 Tempo di menuetto   Beethoven also gave no indication about the left hand articulation, legato or not, for the main motif (which Beethoven would reuse in his Septet opus 20). Barenboim chose legato.

         Middle section: 4:48. Repetition of the theme in the upper octave: 4:55.

         Separated by several episodes, the theme is repeated six times, which has inspired some performers to add, each time, one or another ornamentation. This is not the case of Barenboim, who strictly kept to Beethoven's writing.

         6:33 New episode, with some brio.

         7:43 The piece is heading towards its conclusion, ending very quietly with two dominant and tonic chords; delicatissimo, is the generalized approach, although Beethoven did not say a word about it.

As noted above, Beethoven again used the minuet theme in the Septet opus 20, this time with a certain rustic dance character. The piece is presented here in a rendition by the Chicago Chambers Musicians.

With all due respect, I'll stick with the piano version for the longest time.