Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Sonata No. 21 in C, Op. 53 - Waldstein
Listen to samples and buy CD
Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein, the dedicatee of this sonata, was an important friend and early patron, recognising the young composer's genius while Beethoven was still a teenager in Bonn earning a living as a viola player.
Waldstein encouraged the boy to move to the rich cultural life of Vienna in 1792 with the farewell message "May you receive the spirit of Mozart through the hands of Haydn."
Beethoven quickly established himself as a virtuoso pianist and a significant new composer, publishing the Opus 1 piano trios and the Opus 2 piano sonatas that he dedicated to Haydn.
Within ten years he was recognised as the most exciting performer and greatest composer of his time, with two symphonies, three piano concertos, six string quartets, eight violin sonatas and 20 piano sonatas included in his published works.
The Waldstein sonata itself was published in 1804 around the same time as the Kreutzer violin sonata and the Symphony No.3 Eroica.
Of great importance for everyone in Europe, including its artists and composers, the 12 year Napoleonic Wars were about to begin. The response of Beethoven and others to the new and dangerous world around them was to be powerful and revolutionary.
Allegro Con Brio
Opening with those famously impatient C major chords, Beethoven moved the sonata form itself away from the balanced intellectual classicism of Mozart and Haydn. Here was the strength, passion and individuality that would characterize his mature compositions.
Unexpected key changes, dramatic shifts in volume and register, sudden mood swings and the frequent return of the opening motive take the listener on an exciting and powerful journey into a new era of piano writing.
Introduzione - Adagio Molto
Beethoven had written a separate second movement, later published as the Andante Favori. His final choice was for a gentle introduction built on a simple rising motive that leads without a break into the final movement.
Rondo - Allegretto moderato
The hushed presentation of the memorable theme disguises the tumultuous ideas that soon emerge. Beginning with one of the long trills that recur during the movement, Beethoven grabs our attention and never lets go. Again, huge shifts in volume and pitch explore the limits of the pianos of that time.
A contrasting central section in C minor is at first impassioned but then quiet and tense, building to a heroic reappearance of the main theme and a breathtaking Prestissimo coda, complete with glissando octaves, extended trills and unbounded energy that drives to the very end.
- Notes by Gregory Lewis