Cello Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2 (Beethoven)

Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 5, No. 1#

The sonata has two movements: A typical performance of this piece takes approximately 25 minutes.

Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2#

The sonata has two movements: A typical performance of this piece takes approximately 25 minutes.

I. Adagio sostenuto ed espressivo – Allegro molto più tosto presto#

The first movement, marked Adagio sostenuto ed espressivo, begins with a G minor chord and the piano descending in a dotted scalar pattern. The cello starts a melodic theme in measure five, and the piano modulates to E♭ major in measure seven. The two instruments are in canon in measure 10. The long periods of silence that end the movement resemble the silences present in Beethoven’s third symphony (Eroica). Flowing triplets in the piano push much of the movement forwards. The two instruments imitate each other going into a transitional theme in B♭ major at measure 70, The coda begins in measure 436. The material comes from the opening theme of the movement, and it is first in C minor and A♭ major before returning to G minor. The cello sustains a G with low triplets in the piano interrupting. The movement ends definitively in G major.

II. Rondo. Allegro (in G major)#

Beethoven’s compositional choice of a rondo finale comes from the Classical sonata form. and the two instruments pass arpeggiated and scalar figures back and forth. A more melodic section in D major begins in measure 33, and the fast-paced music passes through A major and E major before returning to G. The middle section of the Rondo is in the subdominant key of C major which foreshadows the finale of the fourth piano concerto both harmonically and linearly. A new theme is presented in the piano over 32nd notes in the cello. The first theme is heard briefly in the “wrong” key, suggesting a false return, before the piano’s arpeggios bring the music back to G major, and the material from the opening of the movement is heard in the home key. The coda introduces a rhythmically modified version of the original theme and eventually modulates to E♭ major. There is a pause in the energy in measure 278 as the cello and piano exchange simple phrases, and the piano varies a three note pattern. The cello plays a series of sixteenth notes octaves as the piano has 32nd scalar runs to end the movement.

Domenico Dragonetti#

The double bass ist Domenico Dragonetti performed the Second Cello Sonata accompanied by Beethoven himself. He shocked the composer with the virtuosity of his playing. From that day on, “Beethoven ceased to regard the double-bass as an instrument to be coddled with simplifications of the ‘cello part”.

See also#

• List of compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven

External links#

• *Performance of Cello Sonata No. 1 by Efe Baltacigil (cello) and Anna Polonsky (piano) from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format