An Analysis of Beethoven Pathetique Sonata - 4398 Words

An application of Analysis of Beethoven’s ‘Pathetique’ piano sonata No. 8 inC minor, Op.13 with particular focus on musical features such as melody, thematic content, rhythm, form and structure, and harmony. Bent states that analysis is the means of answering the question, how does it work? According to Bent, analysis is a relatively young discipline â€Å"analysis as a pursuit in its own right became established during the 19th century† (Bent, 2006, p.13), although basic methods of analysis of music has been suggested to date back to the eighteenth century and have become a seductively compelling and important topic for music scholars over the last fifty years, and as a result, an extensive range of literature proclaims the value of†¦show more content†¦8 in C minor, Op. 13 composed in 1798 focussing on musical features such as melody, thematic content, rhythm, form and structure and harmony. This sonata has been chosen for analysis as it is the most popular Beethoven sonata within the performance circuit, as it is a well known piece worldwide. Secondly, Beethoven developed Sonata form, adding more thematic contrast and contrasting melodies reflecting his own personal st ruggles with his progressive loss of hearing and also his failures in his love life which all contributed to the passion and despair that is depicted within the sonatas during his second compositional stage in his career. Firstly, I will discuss the methods used in order to analyse the Form and Structure of the piece. The emphasis in analysis was often given to the form and structure of the piece, especially during the nineteenth century as this allows performers to gain knowledge more directly regarding the overall style of the piece. The sonata is composed in Sonata form and is separated into three movements, firstly the Grave- Allegro di molto e con brio movement, followed by the Adagio Cantabile middle movement and finally the Rondo Allegro movement. There are different meanings to the word structure in music, the first is to do with locating the different movements or the different sections of the piece and the second is to look at how the piece has been putShow MoreRelatedThe Music of Beethoven Essay1710 Words   |  7 PagesThe shift of music from Classicism to Romanticism could not have simply occurred without the many contributions brought by Ludwig van Beethoven, who was one of the most inf luential German composer and pianist of all time. And the music within his lifetime acted almost as if it was simultaneously rising, then revolutionized through Beethoven’s hands as he absorbed the classical style directly from many well-known musicians such as Mozart and Haydn and then served his audiences with vast variety kindsRead MoreThe Form and Tonal Structure of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13, Ii. â€Å"Adagio Cantabile†609 Words   |  3 PagesThe Form and Tonal Structure of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, II. â€Å"Adagio cantabile† March 19, 2013 Form and Analysis Many consider Ludwig Von Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 as his first major musical accomplishment, more commonly known as Sonata Pathetique. Written at the age of 27 in 1798, the young composer had gained instant fame and his work was published only a year later. Beethoven, being one of the first significant musicians to work forRead MoreOn James Weldon Johnson’s â€Å"The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man†2065 Words   |  9 PagesBeethoven’s Pathetique sonata to a white Connecticut audience† (Ruotolo 252). While in Florida, Ruotolo goes on to say, the narrator gives piano lessons so that he may be able to interact with the better class of colored people in that area. Why the narrator chooses Beethoven’s Pathetique for his Connecticut audience may be explained by examining the work itself. One analysis of the structure of the music itself reveals what might be a viable reason Johnson choose this particular work: â€Å"Beethoven wroteRead MoreBiography of Ludwig Van Beethoven3909 Words   |  16 PagesCONTENTS Biographical Essay Further Readings Source Citation Updates BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY The instrumental music of the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) forms a peak in the development of tonal music and is one of the crucial evolutionary developments in the history of music as a whole. The early compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven marked the culmination of the 18th-century traditions for which Haydn and Mozart had established the great classical models, and his middle-period