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[[File:Beethoven Riedel 1801.jpg|thumb|Beethoven in 1801]]
[[File:Beethoven Riedel 1801.jpg|thumb|Beethoven (1801; age 30).]]
The '''Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor''', [[Opus number|Op.]] 31, No. 2, was composed in 1801–02<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pianolessonsindianapolis.com/music-criticism/beethoven-tempest-sonata.htm|title=Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 2, "The Tempest"|website=pianolessonsindianapolis.com|access-date=2017-11-20}}</ref> by [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]. The British music scholar [[Donald Francis Tovey]] says in ''A Companion to Beethoven's Pianoforte Sonatas'':<ref>{{cite book|last=Tovey|first=Donald Francis|author-link=Donald Tovey|title=A Companion to Beethoven's Pianoforte Sonatas|publisher=AMS Press|location=New York|page=128|orig-year=1931|isbn=0-40413-117-4|edition=revised|year=1976|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/companiontobeeth0000tove}}</ref> <blockquote>"With all the tragic power of its first movement the D minor Sonata is, like [[Prospero]], almost as far beyond tragedy as it is beyond mere foul weather. It will do you no harm to think of Miranda at bars 31–38 of the slow movement... but people who want to identify Ariel and Caliban and the castaways, good and villainous, may as well confine their attention to the exploits of [[The Scarlet Pimpernel|Scarlet Pimpernel]] when the ''[[Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)|Eroica]]'' or the [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|C minor Symphony]] is being played."</blockquote>
The '''Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor''', [[Opus number|Op.]] 31, No. 2, was composed in 1801–02<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pianolessonsindianapolis.com/music-criticism/beethoven-tempest-sonata.htm|title=Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 2, "The Tempest"|website=pianolessonsindianapolis.com|access-date=2017-11-20}}</ref> by [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]. The British music scholar [[Donald Francis Tovey]] says in ''A Companion to Beethoven's Pianoforte Sonatas'':<ref name="tovey1931">{{cite book |last=Tovey |first=Donald Francis |author-link=Donald Tovey |title=A Companion to Beethoven's Pianoforte Sonatas |publisher=AMS Press |location=New York |page=128 |orig-year=1931 |isbn=0-40413-117-4 |edition=revised |year=1976 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/companiontobeeth0000tove }}</ref> {{quote|"With all the tragic power of its first movement the D minor Sonata is, like [[Prospero]], almost as far beyond tragedy as it is beyond mere foul weather. It will do you no harm to think of Miranda at bars 31–38 of the slow movement... but people who want to identify Ariel and Caliban and the castaways, good and villainous, may as well confine their attention to the exploits of [[The Scarlet Pimpernel|Scarlet Pimpernel]] when the ''[[Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)|Eroica]]'' or the [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|C minor Symphony]] is being played."<ref name="tovey1931" />}}


== Structure ==
== Structure ==
{{Listen|filename=Klaviersonate Nr. 17 d-moll op. 31.2 Der Sturm - I. Largo. Allegro.ogg|filename2=Klaviersonate Nr. 17 d-moll op. 31.2 Der Sturm - II. Adagio.ogg|filename3=Klaviersonate Nr. 17 d-moll op. 31.2 Der Sturm - III. Allegretto.ogg|title=I. Largo – Allegro|title2=II. Adagio|title3=III. Allegretto|description3=Played by [[Artur Schnabel]] in 1932}}
{{stack|{{Listen|filename=Klaviersonate Nr. 17 d-moll op. 31.2 Der Sturm - I. Largo. Allegro.ogg|filename2=Klaviersonate Nr. 17 d-moll op. 31.2 Der Sturm - II. Adagio.ogg|filename3=Klaviersonate Nr. 17 d-moll op. 31.2 Der Sturm - III. Allegretto.ogg|title=I. Largo – Allegro|title2=II. Adagio|title3=III. Allegretto|description3=Played by [[Artur Schnabel]] in 1932}}}}
The piece consists of three movements and takes approximately twenty-five minutes to perform:
The piece consists of three movements and takes approximately twenty-five minutes to perform:
{{ordered list|list_style_type=upper-roman
{{ordered list|list_style_type=upper-roman
Line 10: Line 10:
|''[[Tempo#Italian tempo markings|Allegretto]]''
|''[[Tempo#Italian tempo markings|Allegretto]]''
}}
}}
Each of the movements is in [[sonata form]], though the second lacks a substantial development section.
Each of the movements is in [[sonata form]], although the second lacks a substantial development section.{{fact}}


=== First movement ===
=== First movement ===
:[[Image:Beethoven-op31n2a.svg|none|700px]]
:[[Image:Beethoven-op31n2a.svg|none|700px]]


The first movement alternates brief moments of seeming peacefulness with extensive passages of turmoil, after some time expanding into a haunting "storm" in which the peacefulness is lost. This musical form is unusual among Beethoven sonatas to that date. Concerning the time period and style, it was thought of as an odd thing to write (a pianist's skills were demonstrated in many ways, and showing changes in tone, technique and tempo efficiently many times in one movement was one of them). The development begins with rolled, long chords, quickly ending to the [[tremolo]] theme of the exposition. There is a long recitative section at the beginning of this movement's recapitulation (foreshadowing the oboe recitative in the first movement of [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 5]]), again ending with fast and suspenseful passages that resolve to the home key of D minor.
The first movement alternates brief moments of seeming peacefulness with extensive passages of turmoil, after some time expanding into a haunting "storm" in which the peacefulness is lost. This musical form is unusual among Beethoven sonatas to that date. Concerning the time period and style, it was thought of as an odd thing to write (a pianist's skills were demonstrated in many ways, and showing changes in tone, technique and tempo efficiently many times in one movement was one of them). The development begins with rolled, long chords, quickly ending to the [[tremolo]] theme of the exposition. There is a long recitative section at the beginning of this movement's recapitulation (foreshadowing the oboe recitative in the first movement of [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 5]]), again ending with fast and suspenseful passages that resolve to the home key of D minor.{{fact}}


=== Second movement ===
=== Second movement ===
:[[Image:Beethoven-op31n2b.svg|none|700px]]
:[[Image:Beethoven-op31n2b.svg|none|700px]]


The second movement in B{{music|flat}} major is slower and more dignified. The rising melodic ideas in the opening six measures are reminiscent of the first movement's recitative. Other ideas in this movement mirror the first, for instance, a figure in the eighth measure and parallel passages of the second movement are similar to a figure in measure 6 of the first.
The second movement in B{{music|flat}} major is slower and more dignified. The rising melodic ideas in the opening six measures are reminiscent of the first movement's recitative. Other ideas in this movement mirror the first; for instance, a figure in the eighth measure and parallel passages of the second movement are similar to a figure in measure 6 of the first.{{fact}}


=== Third movement ===
=== Third movement ===
:[[Image:Beethoven-op31n2c.svg|none|700px]]
:[[Image:Beethoven-op31n2c.svg|none|700px]]
The third movement is also in sonata form and is back in the home key of D minor. It is at first flowing with emotion and then reaching a climax, before moving into an extended development section which mainly focuses on the opening figure of the movement, reaching a climax at measures 169–173. The recapitulation, which is preceded by an extensive cadenza-like passage of sixteenth notes for the right hand, is followed by another transition and then another statement of the primary theme. The refrain undergoes phrase expansion to build tension for the climax of the movement at measure 381, a fortissimo falling chromatic scale.
The third movement is also in sonata form and is back in the home key of D minor. It is at first flowing with emotion and then reaching a climax, before moving into an extended development section which mainly focuses on the opening figure of the movement, reaching a climax at measures 169–173. The recapitulation, which is preceded by an extensive cadenza-like passage of sixteenth notes for the right hand, is followed by another transition and then another statement of the primary theme. The refrain undergoes phrase expansion to build tension for the climax of the movement at measure 381, a fortissimo falling chromatic scale.{{fact}}


==Controversy over the name Tempest==
==Controversy over the name Tempest==
The Piano Sonata No. 17 is usually referred to as ''The Tempest'' (or ''Der Sturm'' in his native German), but the sonata was not given this title by Beethoven, or indeed referred to as such during his lifetime. The name comes from a reference to a personal conversation with Beethoven by his associate [[Anton Schindler]] in which Schindler reports that Beethoven suggested, in passing response to his question about interpreting it and Op. 57, the [[Piano Sonata No. 23 (Beethoven)|''Appassionata'' sonata]], that he should read [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Tempest|Tempest]]'';<ref>Anton Schindler (Constance S. Jolly, trans). ''Beethoven As I Knew Him''. First published 1966 by Faber and Faber, London. Republished by The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.</ref> some however have suggested that Beethoven may have been referring to the works of [[Christoph Christian Sturm|C. C. Sturm]], the preacher and author best known for his ''Reflections on the Works of God in Nature'', a copy of which he owned and, indeed, had heavily annotated. Although much of Schindler's information is distrusted by classical music scholars, this is a first-hand account unlike any other that any scholar reports.
The Piano Sonata No. 17 is usually referred to as ''The Tempest'' (or ''Der Sturm'' in his native German), but the sonata was not given this title by Beethoven, or indeed referred to as such during his lifetime. The name comes from a reference to a personal conversation with Beethoven by his associate [[Anton Schindler]] in which Schindler reports that Beethoven suggested, in passing response to his question about interpreting it and Op. 57, the [[Piano Sonata No. 23 (Beethoven)|''Appassionata'' sonata]], that he should read [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Tempest|Tempest]]''.<ref>Anton Schindler (Constance S. Jolly, trans). ''Beethoven As I Knew Him''. First published 1966 by Faber and Faber, London. Republished by The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.</ref>
Some, however, have suggested that Beethoven might have instead been referring to the works of [[Christoph Christian Sturm|C. C. Sturm]], the preacher and author best known for his ''Reflections on the Works of God in Nature'', a copy of which he owned and, indeed, had heavily annotated. Although much of Schindler's information is distrusted by classical music scholars, this is a first-hand account, unlike other scholarly reports.{{fact}}

==See also==
*[[Für Elise]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|1}}
<references />

==Bibliography==


== External links ==
== External links ==

Revision as of 12:05, 31 July 2023

Beethoven (1801; age 30).

The Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2, was composed in 1801–02[1] by Ludwig van Beethoven. The British music scholar Donald Francis Tovey says in A Companion to Beethoven's Pianoforte Sonatas:[2]

"With all the tragic power of its first movement the D minor Sonata is, like Prospero, almost as far beyond tragedy as it is beyond mere foul weather. It will do you no harm to think of Miranda at bars 31–38 of the slow movement... but people who want to identify Ariel and Caliban and the castaways, good and villainous, may as well confine their attention to the exploits of Scarlet Pimpernel when the Eroica or the C minor Symphony is being played."[2]

Structure

I. Largo – Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Allegretto
Played by Artur Schnabel in 1932
Problems playing these files? See media help.

The piece consists of three movements and takes approximately twenty-five minutes to perform:

Each of the movements is in sonata form, although the second lacks a substantial development section.[citation needed]

First movement

The first movement alternates brief moments of seeming peacefulness with extensive passages of turmoil, after some time expanding into a haunting "storm" in which the peacefulness is lost. This musical form is unusual among Beethoven sonatas to that date. Concerning the time period and style, it was thought of as an odd thing to write (a pianist's skills were demonstrated in many ways, and showing changes in tone, technique and tempo efficiently many times in one movement was one of them). The development begins with rolled, long chords, quickly ending to the tremolo theme of the exposition. There is a long recitative section at the beginning of this movement's recapitulation (foreshadowing the oboe recitative in the first movement of Symphony No. 5), again ending with fast and suspenseful passages that resolve to the home key of D minor.[citation needed]

Second movement

The second movement in B♭ major is slower and more dignified. The rising melodic ideas in the opening six measures are reminiscent of the first movement's recitative. Other ideas in this movement mirror the first; for instance, a figure in the eighth measure and parallel passages of the second movement are similar to a figure in measure 6 of the first.[citation needed]

Third movement

The third movement is also in sonata form and is back in the home key of D minor. It is at first flowing with emotion and then reaching a climax, before moving into an extended development section which mainly focuses on the opening figure of the movement, reaching a climax at measures 169–173. The recapitulation, which is preceded by an extensive cadenza-like passage of sixteenth notes for the right hand, is followed by another transition and then another statement of the primary theme. The refrain undergoes phrase expansion to build tension for the climax of the movement at measure 381, a fortissimo falling chromatic scale.[citation needed]

Controversy over the name Tempest

The Piano Sonata No. 17 is usually referred to as The Tempest (or Der Sturm in his native German), but the sonata was not given this title by Beethoven, or indeed referred to as such during his lifetime. The name comes from a reference to a personal conversation with Beethoven by his associate Anton Schindler in which Schindler reports that Beethoven suggested, in passing response to his question about interpreting it and Op. 57, the Appassionata sonata, that he should read Shakespeare's Tempest.[3]

Some, however, have suggested that Beethoven might have instead been referring to the works of C. C. Sturm, the preacher and author best known for his Reflections on the Works of God in Nature, a copy of which he owned and, indeed, had heavily annotated. Although much of Schindler's information is distrusted by classical music scholars, this is a first-hand account, unlike other scholarly reports.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 2, "The Tempest"". pianolessonsindianapolis.com. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  2. ^ a b Tovey, Donald Francis (1976) [1931]. A Companion to Beethoven's Pianoforte Sonatas (revised ed.). New York: AMS Press. p. 128. ISBN 0-40413-117-4.
  3. ^ Anton Schindler (Constance S. Jolly, trans). Beethoven As I Knew Him. First published 1966 by Faber and Faber, London. Republished by The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.

Bibliography

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