Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German
composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most
admired composers in the history of Western music; his
works rank among the most performed of the classical
music repertoire and span the transition from the
Classical period to the Romantic era in classical
music. His career has conventionally been divided into
early, middle, and late periods. His early period,
during which he forged his craft, is typically
considered to have lasted until 1...(+)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German
composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most
admired composers in the history of Western music; his
works rank among the most performed of the classical
music repertoire and span the transition from the
Classical period to the Romantic era in classical
music. His career has conventionally been divided into
early, middle, and late periods. His early period,
during which he forged his craft, is typically
considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to
around 1812, his middle period showed an individual
development from the styles of Joseph Haydn and
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized
as heroic. During this time, he began to grow
increasingly deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to
1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and
expression.
Beethoven was born in Bonn. His musical talent was
obvious at an early age. He was initially harshly and
intensively taught by his father, Johann van Beethoven.
Beethoven was later taught by the composer and
conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe, under whose tutelage
he published his first work, a set of keyboard
variations, in 1783. He found relief from a
dysfunctional home life with the family of Helene von
Breuning, whose children he loved, befriended, and
taught piano. At age 21, he moved to Vienna, which
subsequently became his base, and studied composition
with Haydn. Beethoven then gained a reputation as a
virtuoso pianist, and was soon patronised by Karl
Alois, Prince Lichnowsky for compositions, which
resulted in his three Opus 1 piano trios (the earliest
works to which he accorded an opus number) in 1795.
Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27 No. 1,
"Quasi una fantasia", is a sonata composed by Ludwig
van Beethoven in 1800–1801. He was about 30 years old
when he wrote the sonata. He had already made a name
for himself in Vienna as pianist and composer and was
beginning to explore alternatives to the classical-era
compositional procedures that he had largely adhered to
during the 18th century. The most famous works of his
"middle period", often emphasizing heroism, were yet to
come.
"Sonata quasi una fantasia" translates to "sonata in
the manner of a fantasy". While we cannot know
precisely why Beethoven used this description for the
two Op. 27 sonatas, several explanations are available.
In the case of the present work (though not its
companion), the entire sonata is played continuously
without pauses between movements, in the manner of most
fantasias. The movements are not in the usual order for
a sonata: the opening movement is a slow movement and
the scherzo and slow movement are in inverted order.
The first movement is not in sonata form, as is true
for most sonatas. As Kenneth Drake has pointed out, the
movements are in extreme contrast with each other, a
common trait of the sections of a fantasia. Lastly, the
appearance of a quotation from one movement within
another (here, from the third movement within the
fourth) is a form of freedom not ordinarily employed in
classical sonatas.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._13_(Bee
thoven)).
Although originally written for Solo Piano, I created
this Arrangement of the Piano Sonata No. 13 in Eb Major
(Op. 27 No. 1) for Flute & Piano.
PARTITION