Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata - A Revolution in Music - GCSE Music Analysis
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata, written in 1798, between the French Revolution and the dawn of the new century, manifests all the turbulent characteristics of the period. It seems to re-invent classical musical vocabulary, pushing towards the Romanticism of the new age. In this video, The Music Professor analyses the first movement of this powerful sonata and explains just what makes it so extraordinary, and why it continues to be relevant to listeners today.
This is essential viewing for GCSE music students or for anyone interested in the birth of Romanticism or Beethoven in general!
0:00 - Grave (Introduction)
6:51 - 1st Subject
10:19 - 2nd Subject
13:08 - Development
18:06 - Recapitulation
21:51 - End of the 1st Movement
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Commentary by Matthew King ( www.matthewkingcomposer.com )
Edited by Ian Coulter ( www.iancoultermusic.com )
Produced and directed by Ian Coulter
Credit -
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#beethoven #pathetique #musicprofessor
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What I love most about Beethoven is that he always did the unexpected, confounding listeners not only with his resetting of the rules but with the sheeer genious with which he accomplished it. Sometime, I swear I could hear him laughing at listeners' reactions. Your channel is required watching for anyone interested in expanding their understanding of music.
Lotsa piano students but i enjoy your hints at Sibelius,Hadyn.I think we'd all benefit from from some symphonic analyses. Webern variations have difficult papers i dont get.
I’ve always found Beethoven hard to get into, but this video did such a great job explaining the ideas behind the piece. Thank you!
Fascinating analysis! Beethovens Pathetique is definitely one of my favourite sonatas of all time. There is such incredible drama and complexity involved in the piece, Beethoven never fails to impress me. Excellent explanation Professor, and playing as well!
Thank you! Yes, Beethoven never fails to impress. Check out the new video on the Eroica: th-cam.com/video/uztVKbVwmx4/w-d-xo.html
@@themusicprofessor great video!
What an exciting analysis! And going to E minor was very clever and cool. What a dude in his era
The volume levels on this post are inconsistent. The lecture is very soft and the piano is very FORTE!
I first discovered this sonata at age 13, and it's been my favorite ever since.
P.S., You have wonderful explanatory power.
Thank you!
@themusicprofessor great analysis I love playing the sonata pathetique myself, iam humbly speaking, mostly a self taught pianist from the age of 15yrs old, iam 53 yrs old now, thanks to this video I now realise that I need to put more pedal when iam playing especially in the allegro di molto con brio, It adds more drama and helps to increase the sound and makes the tone a lot more richer, I use the pedal in the 2nd movement of the pathetique a little in the 3rd movement many thanks and greetings from wales uk 😀
Many thanks. Beethoven's music, which has been a lifelong companion and healer to me thus far in my 62 years, will be even more special now. Subscribed and hoping to find some music theory lessons somewhere amongst your videos. Thanks again/Diolch eto
Even before Beethoven, it was common to "recompose" the recap.
You can see recomposed recaps written out explicitly in CPE Bach’s sonatas, as well as in Mozart's, although Mozart likely relied more on spontaneous decoration and improvisation over the written material. At least that's what I understood from Robert Levin
Yes, certainly.
Chopin's C minor (revolutionary) étude main theme in turn obviously derived from the Pathétique Grave melody....
...Oh yes!
Excellent job at illuminating Beethoven's compositional skills that make the bold gestures and modern sound (at that time) of the Pathetique Sonata convincing and palatable, even to an audience mostly accustomed to the style galant.
I'll be brief. I really enjoyed your analysis. I've been playing this (sort of poorly) since my teens, now in my early(ish) 40s. Lastly, the Ben Shapiro meme broke me. Well done sir.
This is so interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for giving us your insights Professor! Very interesting and informative video.
I also want to give a shoutout to your editor. Really excellent job!
I feel as though much of the first and third movements of this sonata are indeed an echoing of the C Minor Partita.
As far as whether or not, in the first movement, we should go back to the beginning, something curious is that Andras Schiff mentioned that he had heard Rudolf Serkin do so as opposed to just repeating the Allegro like most people, and that Serkin’s interpretation had convinced him. As you mentioned, unfortunately there is no manuscript (so it becomes a never-ending debate much like the A natural vs A sharp in the Hammerklavier). I had always just repeated the Allegro myself, but after listening to Schiff’s lecture, I now agree with him. He thought of the Grave not as an ‘introduction’ but rather the first theme, which re-appears throughout the movement (as opposed to the very peculiar introduction of Opus 111, which never returns).
The second movement is quite Schubertian if you ask me.
Wonderful sonata, and indeed very innovative (at least in terms of pianism).
Thank you once again Sir and I look forward to more such lectures!
Thank you. Absolutely right Michael. Yes, I think Beethoven makes such architectural use of the Grave material throughout the movement (it always recurs at the end of the main sections of the movement, and it becomes the primary motif of the development section too) that it must be repeated. Unlike Op 111 as you say. Another interesting case is the intro of Chopin's B flat minor sonata which also makes sense of repeated, because it makes the music modulate back to the home key. I agree the second movement (derived from the middle section of Mozart's K457) definitely looks forward to Schubert.
Great explanation! Thanks for your enthusiasm and sharing of your knowledge! You are a great teacher!
This has always been my favourite sonata. Now I understand why. Thank you Professor!
Amazing! Thank you so much!
Thanks, that was a great deal of fun. Definitely learned a lot - Beethoven looking over Mozart's shoulder at French Grave overture introduction...
Wonderful stuff! More please. 😀
Thank you.
Great journey ❤ thank You 😊
Excellent. I always said that it sounds like sobbing!
16:00 Especially thanks for that reference!
As they say, it's a definite like and subscribe. Can't stop watching your videos!
Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing your analysis! To your point at 14:37, the closest example I can think of is Bach's Prelude in E-flat major from WTC Book 1, where in the third fugato section the theme of the first section returns as the subject and the second theme in the second chorale section is sort of like a countersubject. Of course, there is no indication of tempo change in the Bach piece (although Glenn Gould plays the first section at a slower tempo - so his interpretation would actually bear more resemblance). Just a random thought.
I'm new to piano and music domain, it was hard for me me to understand all of your insights but I really appreciated them !
Thank you!
Thoroughly enjoyable 🎵
Feel I’m learning so much
Listening to this…..🖤
Yet another excellent and informative video, and I am happy to see that it is starting to get more views 6 months after its upload. You offer a more light-hearted but still viable alternative to the lectures of András Schiff, who have done some really excellent lectures on the Beethoven sonatas. His lecture on the Moonlight sonata is a particular must-see (or must-hear, as it is in audio only here on YT).
Schiff is very perceptive and he has a sense of humor that I quite like, but at times he is too snobbish/elitistic for my taste. See his lecture on Beethoven Op 111 and you will see what I mean (you have probably watched it already). Here his choice of words and his tone of voice betray a certain disdain for jazz or at least for boogie-woogie (which however according to some experts is more properly classified as a variant of the blues).
My favorite sonata. I cannot tell you how much accomplishment I felt when I finally believed I nailed it. That my old former college professor agrees meant more than anything in the world.
What a privilege it is to have access to such an eloquent, informative, and entertaining analysis of a masterwork.
Thank you for your support and encouragement
@@themusicprofessor Professor, I don't know if this is within your plans, but would you consider doing a course on music theory. I practiced the piano for 6 years and I can still read sheet music with relative ease, but I've always wanted to understand the formal and harmonic underpinnings of the works that I love. What is happening in the music "under the hood" when the magical moments happen? I've perused RImsky-Korasakov's book, but it's a little dry. Your engaging manner would make learning theory so much more enjoyable. If this is too ambitious of a project for youtube, I'd be happy to pay for such a course ((assuming that it was reasonably priced (granted that reasonable means different things to different people)).
This channel has become quite busy over the last month! It takes us a while to create the videos and unfortunately I don't currently have much spare time for lessons at the moment. I think your suggestion of more detailed theoretical discussion is what we want to do over the course of time so thank you so much for your suggestions. We will try to respond with interesting material going forward. You're right that Rimsky Korsakov's Orchestration treatise is quite dry and old fashioned, but it's also really fascinating. He was an amazing technician!
Hey music professor, I love your videos on beethoven almost as much as I like beethoven himself. I've always wondered about the 17th sonata, the tempest 3rd movement and whether there's parallels to Fur Élise ? They're both in 3/8 and the opening theme is so similar to section A of fur Élise. Hoping to hear your thoughts!
Thank you. Yes - I discuss this exact issue in this video: th-cam.com/video/jblFQ1whX5s/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ratq5yD5SPPGpxBN
Greetings from Japan. Thanks for the video. Do you have plans to do one for the Tempest?
Hopefully. yes!
this lecture is a definite re-appreciation of this movement, my 1st attempt at any Beethoven sonata!
22:43 could you or someone explain why the D and F-natural don't resolve to an E-flat (completing the voice-leading)?
could you clarify the question?
@@themusicprofessorthe 8th measure at 6:56 where the G7 resolves to an unambiguous C minor in the next "phrase", with the inclusion of the E-flat.
now I thought about it, the answer is your characterisation of the Allegro Mannheim rocket as being harmonically unstable
I love this sonata and I have always thought that the interpretations that just go to the Allegro without repeating the Grave are a bit unbalanced. The Grave material returns so often, in both the development and the coda, that I feel that it very much should be repeated with the exposition. And I've always thought of this sonata as a whole as describing, musically describing the narrative of somebody being injured and not wanting to move cause it hurts(First Movement Grave sections), but it being too dangerous out there to stay put(First movement Allegro sections), finding a safe place to rest up and heal(Second movement), being nervous about what's out there(Ab minor episode), but ultimately feeling relaxed(End of second movement) and then trying to defeat the threat(Third Movement C minor main theme), and getting closer and closer(major key episodes first in Eb, then Ab, and then a very convincing C major), but ultimately losing the battle(C minor outburst in the coda).
Perhaps my favorite moment from the sonata is that part of the third movement where, we've been in C major, Beethoven could very convincingly end the rondo in C major, but instead, he pulls a move that I like to call the "False Picardy Third" and he does this in the Fifth Symphony first movement as well, but basically, he has this prolonged passage in major that's convincing us "Oh, we're going to end in major" but then, just as you think it's going to end in major, Beethoven puts in a diminished seventh chord and is like "Psych! It's still in minor" and then the actual minor key ending follows.
Yes. The rondo is really masterly because it's a lighter character - and in fact the parody-contrapuntal episode (which is really fascinating) is a sort of joke, but then - as you say - it turns dark at the end, because ultimately this is a Pathetique sonata! Yes - the first movement must repeat to the Grave I think, just as it continues into the Grave at the beginning of the development section.
You enter into some kind of riotous rapture when you explore this wonderful piece to us. I sometimes feel the same way when I'm teaching - BRAVO!
Brilliant. I'd love to see more long format, deep-dive videos (i.e. on Ravel!)
That's a fairly likely scenario
Why so many pianists play the last 32“ tone in bar 1 and bar 2 ff , when its not written in the sheet?
Thankyou again!Ihadbeen blindedabout ppus13.Op.22Bband26Abhave been killed so i will go look again!You have excited me about this music .It was one of myfirst delights but its popularity and appearance on youthful recitals caused me to stop listening but after really lookingharmonically and musicologically I CanNowSEEAGAIN.Never heard the Moscheles story. 3rdyear of college guy introduced me to Moscheles he is fine composer but not revolutionary.J.s.Bach work was not wellknown in Mozarts day. Id I ike to know when his keyboard works more generally became known
Great video but so quiet... when the ads came on my eardrums were nearly destroyed!
My apologies. Unfortunately we can't do much about the volume of adverts that get played.
Pay TH-cam
Thank you very much, that was great .
Beethoven in en önemli eseri bu olmalı. Sanatında bir milat oluşturup yeni Beethoven tarzını başlatıyor. Ama maalesef acılı kaderini de derinleştiriyor. 2. bölüm en güzel melodisidir ve bestecinin eşsizliğinin sembolüdür. 3. bölüm bu dünyadan hızla kaçıp gitmenin aceleciliği içindedir. O da çok güzel bir melodi olsa da bir an önce bitmelidir. Bu sonatı ilk senfonisi olarak ta planlayabilirdi ama piyanoya o kadar yakışan bir eser ki , bunu pek hayal edemiyoruz (Turkish) . . . . . . This must be Beethoven's most important work. He sets a milestone in his art and initiates the new Beethoven style. But unfortunately, it also deepens his painful fate. The 2nd part is the most beautiful melody and is a symbol of the uniqueness of the composer. Chapter 3 is in the rush of escaping this world quickly. Although it is a very beautiful melody, it should be finished as soon as possible. He could have planned this sonata as his first symphony, but it is a piece that suits the piano so well that we can hardly imagine it.
It is wonderful, but I think there are other pieces of Beethoven that are even better (the last 3 sonatas for example, or the late string quartets).
@@themusicprofessor Onlar çok zor. Dinlemesi bile. Sizce N.32 son sonat bitmiş mi ?
Bruckner yazmış >> th-cam.com/video/6RpegRT3rj8/w-d-xo.html
I'm greatly enjoying the music; but I'm afraid the text is MUCH harder to follow, and I think this video would have greatly benefited from a dedicated voice microphone
16:03 who is this? Is this from a comedy show?
Yes. It's a famous Beethoven-parody by the marvellously talented British comedian-actor-pianist Dudley Moore
@@themusicprofessor ah thanks!
15:59 that's pretty much how I see the Beethoven's music 😂
7:40 bruh I thought you were gonna say Mozart sonata is less good, my world was about to crumble 😂
If beethoven was so revolutionary, how come he never used a minor seven chord?
He did use minor 7th chords. Besides, who says revolutionary composers are defined by their use of a specific chord?
@@themusicprofessor I was just joking. But I actually didn't find any minor 7th chords going through his sonatas. Do you have any examples of where he used them?
e.g. Op. 31 no. 3 which begins on the first inversion of ii7: a very interesting (and daring) chord to begin a sonata at that time - possibly THE most daring!
A sonata really need to go through so many keys? Why ?
Sonata form is a musical argument that depends on contrasting tonalities.
I couldn't listen to this. The topic is very interesting. The voice-piano volume difference is too great for my old ears. Pity. I really enjoyed "Mozart's Stunning Tribute To Bach" and others of yours that I have come across.
The tempo is too fast ! Do you know the word "grave" ? Allegro is not a presto...
No , Beethoven startet this sonate on this way.
Your voice is too soft, and the piano is too loud. Please balance the volume better next time.
Great analysis. But why not ease up on all those funny non-musical movie clips, which become distracting and tedious after a while? The content is too good to need such distractions.
Thank you for being the definition of a fun sponge 😀
@@mista_krabs7208 I have no idea what a fun sponge is, but I’ll take it as a compliment
It’s called being playful. Try it sometime.
The video is for GCSE music i.e. mid teens (with a low attention tolerance?)
This is not how it should be played at all, sorry it’s not convincing
I love this, but please drop the silly memes.
why while we are speaking about Beethoven (with bad echoed sound) we need to see these grotesque GenZee-style animated inserts? are they supposed to entertain us or support the revolutionary musical spirit?
Yes
@@themusicprofessor No
@@dancroitoru364 a well argued point
Ben Shapiro was kinda disturbing.
@@themusicprofessor Don't take it personal. I really love your material, just got to know your channel tonight, and already watched three videos. Both the Fur Elise and the Moonlight Sonata videos, were a total hit. Even the occasional image of your dog popping up. But I agree with @dancrooitorus364 the edits in this video were sometimes really out of place and didn't support the lecture , but rather distracted from it, with few exceptions. The part with Dudley more fitted perfectly in and supported the text.
It is a subtle art to do these kind of edits. The video would had been so much better, had it been way less (I also think that they need to be shorter, the edits) But if you really want to keep on doing them. I think that you need to hire someone, which is either a Gen-Z or a Millennial to do them. Watch Matt Walsh editor, how he does it. He is a bit older then the generation that started this, but he still does quite smoothly.
Keep up the good work. The material is really great and your points are very insightful.
Great analysis but the cartoon and movie clips were out of place and off-putting