Beethoven, Piano Sonata No 30, Op 109

 
In addition to his total and irreversible deafness, the last ten years of Ludwig van Beethoven's life were marked by family problems derived from the dispute over the guardianship of his nephew Karl, son of his brother Kaspar, who died in 1815. His temper became irritable to an extreme degree, making it even more difficult for him to interact with his peers. These were the years of the conversation notebooks, when his interlocutor had to write down what he wanted to say to Beethoven and the latter, depending on his mood, would respond with a verbal reply or write in the same notebook.

Domestic life

Of course, his domestic life also became complicated. Although they may seem slightly comical today, the letters he sent in 1817 to the landlady who provided him with some services are a reflection of a real tragedy:

"I thank you for your interest in me. Matters are already better — meanwhile I have endured much today from N., but have thrown half a dozen books at her head as a New Year's gift. 

"...N. has quite changed since I threw half a dozen books at her head. Probably something of it has settled in her brain or bad heart; at any rate, we have a buxom deceiver.

"Yesterday the infernal tricks recommenced. I made short work of it, and threw at her my heavy chair which stands by the bed; for that I was at peace the whole day. "

Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Painting by K.J. Stieler, 1820

A diminished and intimate oeuvre
During those years, his creative capacity became considerably diminished. Between 1815 and 1820, that is, when Beethoven's life was between 45 and 50 years old – a stage of life that today we would consider highly productive – he only wrote six works: two sonatas for cello and piano, the songs To the distant beloved, and the piano sonatas opus 101, 106 (Hammerklavier) and 109. 

It is a period in which his music shows little connection with worldly events, producing an intimate work in which grief and despondency are the predominant feelings. However, he is getting ready to compose the Ninth Symphony, in which he will sing, in spite of everything, of human joy and fellowship, in 1823.

Sonata No. 30, opus 109

Composed in 1820, published in 1821, and dedicated to Maximiliane Brentano, an advantaged disciple daughter of a friend, it is the first of the epic trilogy of his last piano sonatas. Due to the untraditional arrangement and length of its movements, to this day scholars disagree on the number of them, whether two or three. Assuming there are three, let us say that the first lasts just over four minutes, the second (where the slow movement would traditionally be) is marked prestissimo and lasts less than three, and the last is a theme with variations of sublime beauty that surpasses in length the previous two movements taken together.

The performance is by the Chilean maestro Claudio Arrau.

[Listening guide, following the video] 

Brief listening guide:

00  Vivace ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo   Written in sonata form, after the first theme's exposition in a scant eight bars, it immediately takes on the character of adagio, which it will sustain for no more than seven bars before returning to tempo primo.

4:26  Prestissimo   It is linked to the first by sustaining its last chord with the pedal. Hence, perhaps, the controversy over the number of movements. Its scant two-odd minutes suffice, however, to sustain the allegro sonata structure typical of the first movement but not of the second. It's Beethoven.

6:55  Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo   The tempo indication (which Beethoven took care to point out also in German) is prescribed for the theme, whose melodic beauty announces the proximity of Romanticism, which rehearses its first steps. It is followed by six variations: 

Var I: 9:28 / Var II: 11:41 / Var III: 13:18 / Var IV: 13:46 / Var V: 16:55 / Var VI: 17:55. 

The piece concludes with the original theme, taken up softly and serenely.