Beethoven, Piano Sonata No 13, Op 27-1

The aukward modest Opus companion of Moonlight sonata

The first years of the 19th century were sweet and sour for the master Beethoven.
He is already in his thirties and has become the fashionable pianist in Vienna. He frequents a circle of noble friends, and money is not a problem. But his deafness has already begun and threatens to become a tragic affair.

In 1801, he wrote to a friend: "My compositions bring me good money [...] I don't need to sign a contract with them [his publishers], I state my conditions and they pay me immediately".

But in the summer of 1802, he is in seclusion in Heiligenstadt. Immersed in deep regret over his loss of hearing as a musician, he writes to his brothers the famous Heiligenstadt Testament, which he closes with a heart-rending plea, "O Providence, guarantee me at least a single day of sincere joy!"

The charming Piano Sonata Opus 27 No. 1 in E♭, composed in 1801, has had the misfortune of being the companion to perhaps Beethoven's best-known sonata, the celebrated "Moonlight" sonata (Opus 27 No. 2). However, they were published separately, although both share the same apostille, "sonata quasi una fantasia", which scholars translate as "sonata in the style of a fantasia", a character that is much more proper to it than to its illustrious companion since its movements are linked (played without interruption) and the themes of one section can also be part of any other. Here, precisely, themes from the third movement are quoted in the fourth.

Indeed, this sonata has four movements, in an unusual arrangement. The first of them is not an Allegro but an Andante, very simple, almost naive. But the work gains shape as it develops. Instead of the scherzo, for example, the maestro offers us an Adagio with which he gives us one of his most glorious melodies, which alone should arouse the enthusiasm of a wider public for the complete sonata.

As was the custom, Beethoven would dedicate both sonatas to members of the nobility. In the case of the famous Moonlight, we know that its dedicatee was the condessina Giulietta Guicciardi, Beethoven's pupil of tender 17 years. On the other hand, the opus's helpless accompanist was dedicated to Princess Josephine von Liechtenstein, whose relationship with the master we have no idea.

Movements:

00:00  Andante - Allegro - Andante

06:00  Allegro molto e vivace

08:10  Adagio con espressione

11:40  Allegro vivace

The performance is by the Chilean maestro Claudio Arrau (1903 - 1991).