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Beethoven, c. 1804–1805; painted by Joseph Willibrord Mähler (1778–1860)

I. In tempo d'un menuetto

II. Allegretto — Più allegro

Played by Artur Schnabel in 1932

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Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54, was written in 1804. It is contemporary to the first sketches of the Symphony No. 5 in C Minor. It is one of Beethoven's lesser known sonatas, overshadowed by its widely known neighbours, the Waldstein and the Appassionata.^{[citation needed]}

Analysis

The sonata consists of just two movements:

I. In tempo d'un menuetto

Beethoven skips the opening and slow movements and moves on to a minuet in ³
₄ time, with a modulating trio. Anton Kuerti refers to this piece as a parody of uncreative composers, while Andras Schiff refers to it as portraying "Beauty and the Beast." The first theme is written in a rigidly classical style with repetitive phrases that are a caricature of elegance, while the second consists of a bombastic canon in octaves. The movement gradually increases in activity when it garners variations for its main theme. This first movement is in ABABA form where A and B are strongly contrasted themes. Theme A is of minuet dance type in F major that one might find in Joseph Haydn. In contrast, theme B, the trio, is a succession of forte triplets in C major that are played by both hands staccato or legato; the triplets are in octaves (and later in sixths) and with a dialogue between the left and right hands and with many sforzandi to interrupt the meter. The A section repeats in a whole, with a slight variation. Then the B, the trio section, reappears, this time in the tonic key of F major and of considerably shorter length. The opening A theme reappears with more ornaments. After an extended group of trills, there is a brief coda.

II. Allegretto — Più allegro

The finale, again in F major, is a cheerful moto perpetuo sonata form movement in ²
₄ time with a monothematic exposition. "If the first movement was constipated, then the second movement suffers from the opposite ailment." (Anton Kuerti) This is shown in the piece, as the main melody has a non-stop continuous, sixteenth-note pattern that does not stop for even a second in this piece. The exposition, contains only one brief theme as it is written above. It starts on F major and modulates to C major, which is the key that ends the exposition. The development is long and extended. It starts on A major and modulates to many different keys, as it passes through a great climax and ends in the tonic key, when the retransition is heard and the development section ends. The recapitulation starts in the tonic like the exposition. However, instead of being in F major and C major, this time the theme modulates through more keys and is more extended. The recapitulation ends in F minor, the parallel minor of the tonic, in which bouncy but suspenseful syncopated notes are heard between both hands. The piece becomes more agitated in the faster coda, in F major, keeping a forward motion till the end.

General Analysis

The Sonata is remarkable in its concision, a precursor in some ways to the Sonata in E major, Opus 109. The two movements present opposite faces on many levels:^{[citation needed]}

In tempo: the first movement is relaxed, the second, agitated.
In meter: the first movement is in triple time, the second, double time.
In rhetoric: the first movement is improvisatory and wandering in its unfolding, the second is a relentless moto perpetuo.
In thematic material: the first movement develops two distinct themes, the second develops one thematic idea.
In harmonic development: the first movement follows a classic tonic/dominant schema, the second includes abrupt harmonic shifts.

Donald Tovey writes:

...the whole work is profoundly humorous, with a humour that lies with the composer rather than with the childlike character portrayed by the music. No biographical details are known as to whether Beethoven thought of any person or household divinity in connection with this sonata; but its material is childlike, or even dog-like, and those who best understand children and dogs have the best chance of enjoying an adequate reading of this music; laughing with, but not at its animal spirits; following in strenuous earnest its indefatigable pursuit of its game whether that be its own tail or something more remote and elusive; and worthily requiting the wistful affection that is shown so insistently in the first movement and even in one long backward glance during the perpetuum mobile of the finale.
— Donald Tovey, Notes on the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music edition^[1]

References

^ L. van Beethoven; Edited by H. Craxton; Annotated by D. F. Tovey. Complete Pianoforte Sonatas Vol. II. London: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. p. 232. {{cite book}}: |author2= has generic name (help)

External links

A lecture by András Schiff on Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 54
For a public domain recording of this sonata visit Musopen
Piano Sonata No. 22: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Recording by Paavali Jumppanen, piano from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Beethoven - Piano Sonata Op. 54, second movement (Allegretto) - pre-romantic reconstruction by Georges Kan

[1] L. van Beethoven; Edited by H. Craxton; Annotated by D. F. Tovey. Complete Pianoforte Sonatas Vol. II. London: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. p. 232. {{cite book}}: |author2= has generic name (help)

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|Piano sonata written by Beethoven}}
-[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s '''Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major''', [[opus number|Op.]] 54, was written in [[1804 in music|1804]]. It is contemporary to the first sketches of the [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 5 in C Minor]]. It is one of Beethoven's lesser known sonatas, overshadowed by its widely known neighbours, the ''[[Piano Sonata No. 21 (Beethoven)|Waldstein]]'' and the ''[[Piano Sonata No. 23 (Beethoven)|Appassionata]]''.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}<br>
+[[File:Beethoven18045JosephMähler.jpg|thumb|Beethoven, {{c.|1804–1805}}; painted by [[Joseph Willibrord Mähler]] (1778–1860)]]
+{{Listen|filename=Klaviersonate Nr. 22 F-Dur op. 54 - I. In tempo d'un menuetto.ogg|title=I. In tempo d'un menuetto|title2=II. Allegretto — Più allegro|description2=Played by [[Artur Schnabel]] in 1932|filename2=Klaviersonate Nr. 22 F-Dur op. 54 - II. Allegretto.ogg}}
+[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s '''Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major''', [[opus number|Op.]] 54, was written in [[1804 in music|1804]]. It is contemporary to the first sketches of the [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 5 in C Minor]]. It is one of Beethoven's lesser known sonatas, overshadowed by its widely known neighbours, the ''[[Piano Sonata No. 21 (Beethoven)|Waldstein]]'' and the ''[[Piano Sonata No. 23 (Beethoven)|Appassionata]]''.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}
+== Analysis ==
 The sonata consists of just two movements:
-# '''In [[tempo]] d'un [[Minuet|menuetto]]''': Beethoven skips the opening and slow movements and moves on to a minuet in {{music|time|3|4}} time, with a modulating trio. [[Anton Kuerti]] refers to this piece as a parody of uncreative composers. The melody commences, but grinds to a halt, and after doing this again, it decides to suddenly end the phrase in an attempted friendly way, which is anything but friendly, and nothing but awkward. This piece gradually redeems itself (but not much) when it garners variations for its main theme. This first movement is in ABABA form where A and B are strongly contrasted themes. Theme A is of [[minuet]] dance type in [[F major]] that one might find in [[Joseph Haydn]]. In contrast, theme B, the trio, is a succession of forte [[tuplet|triplets]] in [[C major]] that are played by both hands [[staccato]] or [[legato]]; the triplets are in octaves or sixths and with a dialogue between the left and right hands and with many [[Sforzando (musical direction)|sforzandi]] to interrupt the meter.  The A section repeats in a whole, with a slight variation.  Then the B, the trio section, reappears, this time in the tonic key of [[F major]] and in a more fuller form.  The opening A theme reappears with more ornaments.  After an extended group of trills, there is a brief [[Coda (music)|coda.]]
-# '''[[Tempo#Basic tempo markings|Allegretto]] — Più allegro''': The finale, again in [[F major]], is a fast, cheerful, and active sonata form movement in {{music|time|2|4}} time with a [[Sonata form|monothematic exposition]]. "If the first movement was constipated, then the second movement suffers from the opposite ailment." (Anton Kuerti) This is shown in the piece, as the main melody has a non-stop continuous, sixteenth-note pattern that does not stop for even a second in this piece.  The [[Exposition (music)|exposition]], contains only one brief [[Subject (music)|theme]] as it is written above.  It starts on [[F major]] and modulates to [[C major]], which is the key that ends the exposition.  The [[Musical development|development]] is long and extended.  It starts on [[A major]] and modulates to many different keys, as it passes through a great climax and ends in the tonic key, when the retransition is heard and the development section ends.  The [[Recapitulation (music)|recapitulation]] starts in the tonic like the exposition.  However, instead of being in [[F major]] and [[C major]], this time the theme modulates through more keys and is more extended.  The recapitulation ends in [[F minor]], the [[Minor key|parallel minor]] of the tonic, in which bouncy but suspenseful syncopated notes are heard between both hands.  The piece gradually gets more and more agitated in the coda, in F major, keeping a forward motion, unwilling to close.
+=== I. In [[tempo]] d'un [[Minuet|menuetto]] ===
-The Sonata is remarkable in its concision, a precursor in some ways to the [[Piano Sonata No. 30 (Beethoven)|Sonata in E Major, Opus 109]]. The two movements present opposite faces on many levels:{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}
+[[File:Sonata No. 22 1st Movement.png|none|600px]]
+Beethoven skips the opening and slow movements and moves on to a minuet in {{music|time|3|4}} time, with a modulating trio. [[Anton Kuerti]] refers to this piece as a parody of uncreative composers, while [[Andras Schiff]] refers to it as portraying "Beauty and the Beast." The first theme is written in a rigidly classical style with repetitive phrases that are a caricature of elegance, while the second consists of a bombastic canon in octaves. The movement gradually increases in activity when it garners variations for its main theme. This first movement is in ABABA form where A and B are strongly contrasted themes. Theme A is of [[minuet]] dance type in [[F major]] that one might find in [[Joseph Haydn]]. In contrast, theme B, the trio, is a succession of forte [[tuplet|triplets]] in [[C major]] that are played by both hands [[staccato]] or [[legato]]; the triplets are in octaves (and later in sixths) and with a dialogue between the left and right hands and with many [[Sforzando (musical direction)|sforzandi]] to interrupt the meter.  The A section repeats in a whole, with a slight variation.  Then the B, the trio section, reappears, this time in the tonic key of [[F major]] and of considerably shorter length.  The opening A theme reappears with more ornaments.  After an extended group of trills, there is a brief [[Coda (music)|coda.]]
+=== II. [[Tempo#Basic tempo markings|Allegretto]] — Più allegro ===
+[[File:Sonata No. 22 2st Movement.png|none|600px]]
+The finale, again in [[F major]], is a cheerful ''moto perpetuo'' sonata form movement in {{music|time|2|4}} time with a [[Sonata form|monothematic exposition]]. "If the first movement was constipated, then the second movement suffers from the opposite ailment." (Anton Kuerti) This is shown in the piece, as the main melody has a non-stop continuous, sixteenth-note pattern that does not stop for even a second in this piece.  The [[Exposition (music)|exposition]], contains only one brief [[Subject (music)|theme]] as it is written above.  It starts on [[F major]] and modulates to [[C major]], which is the key that ends the exposition.  The [[Musical development|development]] is long and extended.  It starts on [[A major]] and modulates to many different keys, as it passes through a great climax and ends in the tonic key, when the retransition is heard and the development section ends.  The [[Recapitulation (music)|recapitulation]] starts in the tonic like the exposition.  However, instead of being in [[F major]] and [[C major]], this time the theme modulates through more keys and is more extended.  The recapitulation ends in [[F minor]], the [[Minor key|parallel minor]] of the tonic, in which bouncy but suspenseful syncopated notes are heard between both hands.  The piece becomes more agitated in the faster coda, in F major, keeping a forward motion till the end.
+=== General Analysis ===
+The Sonata is remarkable in its concision, a precursor in some ways to the [[Piano Sonata No. 30 (Beethoven)|Sonata in E major, Opus 109]]. The two movements present opposite faces on many levels:{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}
 * In [[tempo]]: the first movement is relaxed, the second, agitated.
 * In meter: the first movement is in [[triple time]], the second, [[double time]].
@@ Line 13: / Line 24: @@
 [[Donald Tovey]] writes:
-{{Quote|text=...the whole work is profoundly humorous, with a humour that lies with the composer rather than with the childlike character portrayed by the music. No biographical details are known as to whether Beethoven thought of any person or household divinity in connection with this sonata; but its material is childlike, or even dog-like, and those who best understand children and dogs have the best chance of enjoying an adequate reading of this music; laughing with, but not at its animal spirits; following in strenuous earnest its indefatigable pursuit of its game whether that be its own tail or something more remote and elusive; and worthily requiting the wistful affection that is shown so insistently in the first movement and even in one long backward glance during the perpetuum mobile of the finale.|sign=[[Donald Tovey]]|source = Notes on the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music edition<ref>{{cite book|title = Complete Pianoforte Sonatas Vol. II|author1=L. van Beethoven |author2=Edited by H. Craxton |author3=Annotated by D.F. Tovey | publisher = Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music| location =London|page = 232}}</ref>}}
+{{Quote|text=...the whole work is profoundly humorous, with a humour that lies with the composer rather than with the childlike character portrayed by the music. No biographical details are known as to whether Beethoven thought of any person or household divinity in connection with this sonata; but its material is childlike, or even dog-like, and those who best understand children and dogs have the best chance of enjoying an adequate reading of this music; laughing with, but not at its animal spirits; following in strenuous earnest its indefatigable pursuit of its game whether that be its own tail or something more remote and elusive; and worthily requiting the wistful affection that is shown so insistently in the first movement and even in one long backward glance during the perpetuum mobile of the finale.|sign=[[Donald Tovey]]|source = Notes on the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music edition<ref>{{cite book|title = Complete Pianoforte Sonatas Vol. II|author1=L. van Beethoven |author2=Edited by H. Craxton |author3=Annotated by D. F. Tovey | publisher = Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music| location =London|page = 232}}</ref>}}
-French musicologist [[Georges Kan]] says the two movements might be musical painting of [[Flight to Varennes]] and [[Battle of Valmy]]. On first publication's cover (A Vienne au Bureau des arts et d’industrie) one can read "'''LI''' me SONATE", "LI" in bold as if it was engraved marble. It can't be the 51st Sonata because Beethoven composed 32 sonatas and because never had he indicated the row of his works by instrumentation. ’LI’ is a secret reference to both [[Louis XVI]] and Valmy: 10 (X) multiplied by 5 (V) plus 1 (I) equals 51 (LI), while VY interlaced letters could be seen as a crossed out V (an old L version) and an I.
-In bars 3 and 7 of first movement at left hand there is an interesting quotation of 6 quavers excerpted from ''Menuet'' by [[André-Joseph Exaudet]] (''F-A-C-A-B-G-F'') which were used during [[French Revolution]] with lyrics "Imagine, un beau matin" in Parody ''Sur l’inimitable machine du médecin Guillotin propre à couper les têtes et dite de son nom Guillotine''.
-Pun in french on title ''In Tempo d'un Menuet tô(t)'' accounts that the [[Guillotine]] is one main topic of this Sonata by Beethoven.
-Minuet of 1rst movement describes sadness of Louis XVI (bars 1-24, 69-93, 105 and following) caused by threat of [[Sans-culottes]] (thema in octava triplets), then Flight of Varennes (bars 126-136) and imprisonment (bars 137-154) after [[10 August (French Revolution)|The storming of the Tuileries]].
-Allegretto in 2nd movement paints the battlefield from afar (bars 1-36), from aclose (bars 37-44), cavalry charge (bars 45-64), canonnade's roar (bars 65-74), shell whistling (using [[Doppler effect]] description - 3 notes chromatism towards bass in bars 36, 64, 126, 129), clamour (bars 115), and final victory (piu Allegro). The two last quavers played staccato might be transcription of guillotine, an evocation of the decapitation of Louis XVI. The same technique will be used later by [[Hector Berlioz]] in his [[Symphonie fantastique]] (at the end of Fourth Part, ''March to the Scaffold'').
-Sforzandi in the first movement's triplets create a Revolutionary theme quoted in retrograde form in [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)]] (Finale, bars 822-824, using lyrics ''was die Mode streng geteilt'').
-Therefore Georges Kan's proposal for tempi are:
-. ''In tempo d'un menuetto'' - 40 Maelzel Metronome for a bar.
-. ''Allegretto'' - 60 MM for a bar. ''Piu Allegro'' - 80 MM for a bar.
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
+==Further reading==
+*Frohlich, Martha (Winter 2001). "Beethoven's Piano Sonata in F Major Op. 54, Second Movement: The Final Version and Sketches." [[The Journal of Musicology]], vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 98-128.
 ==External links==
+{{Commonscat|Piano Sonata No. 22 (Beethoven)}}
-* [http://download.guardian.co.uk/sys-audio/Arts/Culture/2006/12/05/01_22fmajop54.mp3 A lecture] by [[András Schiff]] on Beethoven's piano sonata op. 54
+* [http://download.guardian.co.uk/sys-audio/Arts/Culture/2006/12/05/01_22fmajop54.mp3 A lecture] by [[András Schiff]] on Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 54
 * For a public domain recording of this sonata visit [http://musopen.com Musopen]
 * {{IMSLP2|work=Piano Sonata No.22, Op.54 (Beethoven, Ludwig van)|cname=Piano Sonata No. 22}}
+* [http://traffic.libsyn.com/gardnermuseum/Beethoven_Op54_Jumppanen.mp3 Recording by Paavali Jumppanen, piano] from the [[Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum]]
-* Article about Beethoven's piano sonata op. 54 by [[Georges Kan]] on [http://www.physinfo.org/chroniques/opus54.html physinfo.org]
+* [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YUESaUpwvNQ Beethoven - Piano Sonata Op. 54, second movement (Allegretto)] - pre-romantic reconstruction by [[Georges Kan]]
-{{Commonscat|Piano Sonata No. 22 (Beethoven)}}
 {{Beethoven piano sonatas}}
 {{Authority control}}

v t e Piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven
Early sonatas	No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1 No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2 No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3 No. 4 in E♭ major, Op. 7 (Grand Sonata) No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1 No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2 No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3 No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 (Pathétique) No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1 No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2 No. 11 in B♭ major, Op. 22 No. 12 in A♭ major, Op. 26 No. 13 in E♭ major, Op. 27/1 No. 14 in C♯ minor, Op. 27/2 (Moonlight) No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 (Pastoral)
Middle sonatas	No. 16 in G major, Op. 31/1 No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31/2 (The Tempest) No. 18 in E♭ major, Op. 31/3 (The Hunt) No. 19 in G minor and No. 20 in G major, Op. 49 No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 (Waldstein) No. 22 in F major, Op. 54 No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (Appassionata) No. 24 in F♯ major, Op. 78 (À Thérèse) No. 25 in G major, Op. 79 No. 26 in E♭ major, Op. 81a (Les adieux) No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90
Late sonatas	No. 28 in A major, Op. 101 No. 29 in B♭ major, Op. 106 (Hammerklavier) No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 No. 31 in A♭ major, Op. 110 No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111
Duo	Sonata in D major for piano four-hands, Op. 6
Unnumbered (WoO)	Three Piano Sonatas, WoO 47 Piano Sonata in C major, WoO 51 (fragmentary)
Doubtful (Anh.)	Sonatina in G major, Anh. 5/1 Sonatina in F major, Anh. 5/2
Related works	Andante favori, WoO 57

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