A cheerful work before the storm
With the exception of its lively finale, Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 18 is a quiet, rather cheerful work, which does not at all convey bitterness or gloom. Written in 1802, its frolicsome character in no way reveals that a few months later the master would radically change his mood, to sit down and write to his two brothers, sharing with them all his torments in the letter we know today as the famous Heiligenstadt Testament:
"Alas, how could I proclaim the lack of a sense which I should possess in a higher degree than any other? [...] I am estranged from amusement... from the pleasure of conversation, from the effusions of friendship.... [...] Such circumstances have brought me to the verge of despair [...] Patience, so I have been told. This must be my guide. [...]
The letter ends with a heartbreaking plea, "O Providence, grant me at least a single day of sincere joy!"
We know the letter was never sent. It was discovered among his belongings after his death in 1827, together with the letters to the Immortal Beloved.
Of course, Beethoven was deeply affected by his deafness and he was not in Heiligenstadt by chance but on the recommendation of his doctor to "rest his ear". But at the same time, the maestro was aware that he had to embark on a new path, tackling new forms of musical expression. "I am not satisfied with what I have done so far," Beethoven remarked in a letter to a friend shortly before the appearance of the Sonata No. 18, according to Karl Czerny.
The new paths
In the Sonata, according to Czerny himself, "one can trace the partial fulfillment of his new purpose". Indeed, later would come the portentous Waldstein and Appassionata sonatas (both 1804) to fully implement the master's resolution of 1802.
The sonata was published in 1804 without an opus number. It would later be incorporated into Opus 31. Interestingly, the work was not dedicated to any nobleman, nor was it dedicated to anyone else. The piece has no dedication.
Piano Sonata No. 18, Opus 31 No. 3, in E flat major - "The Hunt"
This is the third and last of the three sonatas of Opus 31 (the second being the most popular, The Tempest sonata, and the first the most "classical" - a characteristic, the latter, not well regarded by some scholars).
It is also known as "The Hunt" because of its last movement, which contains a theme reminiscent of a hunting call by trumpets or horns. The nickname, of course, only applies to this movement (just as "Moonlight" only applies to the first movement of the same moniker's sonata).
As on several previous occasions (six, exactly), Beethoven structured the piece in four movements, opting for a scherzo and a minuet instead of the usual adagio.
Movements:
00:00 Allegro
08:31 Scherzo. Allegretto vivace
13:22 Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso
17:48 Presto con fuoco
The rendition is by the Argentine-Israeli (also Spanish and Palestinian) maestro Daniel Barenboim.
