Part 22

=Their Gift to Beethoven=.—In other words, neither Haydn nor Mozart ever sacrifices his sense of artistic finish to the expression of the heights and depths of human emotion. Putting the seal of genius upon instrumental forms, they transmitted these forms to another more colossal mind, which should make use of them, to be sure, but should absolutely subordinate them to the expression of the burning thoughts and passions of a great individuality; a mind which, like that of Shakespeare, was able to look fearlessly upon universal truths, and to bring these to the light, in this instance through the medium of tone. While their predecessors, by unwearying attempts, made possible this determination of a capable art form, so Haydn and Mozart, in their turn, paved the way for the fuller expression which Beethoven gave to music, and which would otherwise not have been possible, since the vehicle for his thoughts would have been wanting. Thus the opportunity had arrived for broadening the definition which Rousseau gave, and announcing the fact that music is the art of the expression of every emotion, whether pleasurable or painful, through the medium of highly organized sound.

=Beethoven’s Early Life=.—Ludwig van Beethoven, the last and greatest of this triumvirate of sonata writers, was a native of Bonn-on-the-Rhine, where he was born December 16, 1770. His parents were lowly people, his father a tenor singer in the Elector of Cologne’s chapel, and his mother a cook; and, moreover, Beethoven’s early life was an unhappy one, through his father’s irascible disposition and tendency toward dissipation. Beethoven, of an acutely sensitive nature, inherited his father’s quick temper and annoyances at trifles, so that all through his troubled life he was constantly in a state of irritation against something or someone. Like Mozart, he showed early and unmistakable signs of a musical susceptibility; unlike him, however, the unfolding of his genius was ultimately slow, since he attained to his greatest powers much later in life than his phenomenal predecessor. His early instruction was begun with his father; but soon he was placed in the care of several local musicians: Pfeiffer, music director and oboist; Van der Eeden, the court organist; and especially the successor to the latter, Neefe (1748-1798), a man of reputation as organist and composer for the pianoforte. As a result, Beethoven played the violin well at eight, and at twelve had mastered the works of Handel and the “Well-Tempered Clavichord” of J. S. Bach. This intimate study of the best works of the old polyphonic school was of great advantage later in solidifying his gifts as a musician.

=First Compositions=.—In 1782, were published his first attempts at composition—a set of variations, and three sonatas; and these, together with his remarkable extempore playing, began to attract the attention of persons of influence. He was appointed organist at Bonn, and at sixteen was sent by the Elector Max Franz, brother of the Emperor Joseph II, to Vienna, where he received praise from Mozart, who predicted a brilliant future for him.

=The Breuning Family=.—In 1787, his mother died; and this loss, together with his father’s intemperate habits, made his home extremely unpleasant. Fortunately for Beethoven, however, the enthusiasm for music which was rife in Germany at this time among people of culture and position was the cause of attracting to his side many true friends, who, appreciating his sterling qualities, were able to pardon his rough exterior and manners. Thus he was received as teacher and friend into the home of the cultivated von Breuning family, under whose refining influence he came into touch with the masterpieces of English and German literature. Here he first met his staunch friend, Count Waldstein; and here he had leisure for long walks amid the rural retreats which he heartily loved, and for meditation upon those musical ideas which he was accustomed to jot down in rough sketches, and which should later be translated into his immortal creations.

=In Vienna=.—Haydn, passing through Bonn, warmly praised a cantata of Beethoven’s; and the Elector, moved by such marks of approbation, sent him again to Vienna, in 1792, for serious study. Here he was instructed by Haydn till the latter’s departure for England, in 1794, when he went to Albrechtsberger, the celebrated contrapuntist, and others; but these exponents of an earlier school looked somewhat askance at the bold innovations which Beethoven introduced into recognized principles, and failed to understand the irrepressible genius which prompted them. Nothing daunted, he launched zealously into composition, supported by a growing circle of admirers to which the Elector’s patronage had introduced him; and soon became a favorite at the private soirées of the nobility, where, on account of his eccentric manners, he was known as an “original,” but where his wonderful extemporizing was received with ecstasy.

=Successes as a Pianist=.—Beethoven’s first public performance in Vienna occurred in 1795, when he performed his pianoforte concerto in C major at a concert. During a journey soon after, he played before King Friedrich Wilhelm II, at Berlin, who distinguished him with marks of favor, and to whom Beethoven dedicated two sonatas written for pianoforte with ’cello. Here also he met the conductor, =Friedrich Himmel= (1765-1814), a pianist and composer of high rank. We hear next of his trial of pianistic skill with Steibelt, a popular virtuoso, in which Beethoven won an overwhelming victory. With Wölfl, another distinguished rival, his relations were those of mutual esteem, and the two masters delighted to extemporize dashing capriccios on two pianofortes.

=First Period=.—The thirteen years, from 1790 to 1803, are usually considered to embrace his first period of activity as a composer, comprising his works to opus 50. His opus 1, three trios for piano, violin and ’cello, appeared in 1795, and soon after three piano sonatas, opus 2, dedicated to Haydn, were published. Among the other noteworthy works of this period were his first two symphonies, in C and D, three piano concertos, the piano sonatas including opus 27, the Kreutzer sonata for piano and violin, and his famous Septet for strings and wind instruments. In general, these compositions _follow_ closely the lines laid down by _Haydn_ and _Mozart_, although there is, notably in the piano sonatas, a gradual tendency toward freedom of expression, and the assertion of individuality.

Troubles now began to gather about him. About 1800 his hearing became defective, and the malady grew steadily from bad to worse, so that by 1816 he was obliged to use an ear-trumpet, and by 1822 he was stone-deaf. To add to his discomforts, his brothers Karl and Johann treated him shamefully, and a son of the former, to whom he was left guardian at the father’s death, and upon whom he lavished a father’s care, turned out a scapegrace, repaying his affection with the basest ingratitude. Weighed down by these misfortunes, Beethoven became irritable and morbid, distrusting his most faithful friends, and constantly imagining plots against himself. His utter ignorance of worldly matters, too, brought him into financial troubles, and involved his domestic affairs in a state of continual confusion.

=Second Period=.—Yet, as if to prove man’s ability to rise superior to every affliction, during this very time he was writing compositions which, for joyous freshness and spiritual elevation, have been scarcely, if ever, equalled. During his second period, extending to 1815, and including his compositions to about opus 90, he adopted a _freedom of expression_ entirely untrammelled by formal limitations, enlarging and vivifying the Sonata Form, and varying it to suit his changing moods. The joy of living, with its intensity of passion and depths of emotion, is reflected in these works, which assert a character strong in its struggle against adverse fate, confidently looking toward the goal of ultimate good.

=Compositions of this Period=.—His most popular symphonies were written during this period, which embraces those from the third to the eighth, inclusive. The “Eroica,” number three, was originally written in homage to Napoleon, whom Beethoven honored as the guide of the French nation toward that assertion of independence and individuality which he dearly loved; but when the news arrived that Napoleon was declared Dictator, in 1804, he tore up the dedicatory page in a fit of anger. Another of his greatest compositions was his opera of “Fidelio,” upon which Beethoven spent an amazing amount of time and pains, whose overture he rewrote twice. Produced in Vienna, in 1805, soon after the occupation of the city by the French, it was received coldly; and only after several revisions did it score a success at all in keeping with its grand and inspiring conception. Several orchestral overtures; his violin concerto; an oratorio; a mass in C; some of his best chamber music, including the celebrated Rasumovsky string quartets; and his piano concertos in G and E-flat, were other fruits of about this time. Of fourteen piano sonatas, we find several which have continued in unbroken popularity, notably the two in opus 27, the “Pastorale,” opus 28, the “Waldstein,” opus 53, and the “Appassionata.”

=Latter Years of His Life=.—The latter part of Beethoven’s life, after 1815, was spent in Vienna, in a state of despondency from his troubles which his general recognition as the foremost musician of his day could scarcely alleviate. His many friends placed him, by their efforts, in comfortable pecuniary circumstances; yet he constantly imagined himself struggling with poverty. Sensitive to his affliction, he made himself exceedingly inaccessible, and passed his days in unceasing labor upon those works which eclipsed, in profundity and individuality, all of his former compositions, and which were an index to the conflicting struggles in his mind. Stone-deaf, he yet revelled in a spiritual world of tone, hearing his greatest compositions only in the realms of his imagination. An attack of pneumonia in 1826 left effects which proved lasting, and which caused his death on March 26, 1827. In his last illness he was surrounded by his circle of unfailing friends, among whom the modest Schubert was admitted; and a proof of his hold upon his countrymen is shown in the fact that 20,000 persons are said to have attended his funeral.

=Last Great Works=.—The greatest fruit of these later years was his last symphony, the Ninth, or “Choral,” in which, for the first time, he introduced voices as an aid to the instrumental climax. The free vent which he gave to his radical tendencies in this symphony, its unheard-of boldness of harmonic progressions, and its defiance of all conventional rules, aroused a storm of protest from his critics which was only lulled after succeeding generations had placed the stamp of unmistakable approval upon the work, and had recognized it as a monument of genius. Near to this in importance stands his “Solemn Mass” in D, a work imbued with all the religious fervor of his declining years.

=Sonatas of Third Period=.—Other notable achievements, in the line of chamber music, mark this period; and the last five piano sonatas, extending from opus 101 to opus 111, exhibit the same undaunted freedom that is found in the Ninth symphony. Enormous in their demands upon the pianist, they are food for none but virtuosi; but analyzed, they show a _compendium of_ all known _musical resources_, from the choral fugue to the most daring flights of harmonic expression.

=Beethoven’s Dual Personality=.—Beethoven furnishes an example of a personality whose dual nature is remarkably apparent. Often unkempt, and rude in his outward bearing, he seemed at times absolutely oblivious to his surroundings and to chafe at his bodily limitations; yet his apparent rudeness toward his friends was as often humbly atoned for by his confession of his haste in judging them. His independence of spirit could brook no submission to authority other than his own conscience; and that conscience prompted him to stand firm in support of the genuine, the pure and the ideal; firm, thus, in its abhorrence of artificiality and deceit. In his ignorance of worldly wiles he was on a par with a little child; finding his true sphere when buried in the lofty problems of his art, giving to the world the fruits of his innermost spirit, which were ever animated by nobility and truth of expression.

=Beethoven Stood Alone=.—Detesting the fetters of teaching work, he left few pupils. Among these =Ferdinand Ries= (1784-1838) enjoyed an intimate association with him, and afterwards became prominent as piano virtuoso and composer. With the great men of his day he affiliated but little. Goethe (1749-1832) he met but once, on one of his journeys; but the meeting had no further results. Like other great minds, his original ideas had to make their way amid a shower of abuse from more conventional contemporaries, who lauded as his equal or superior others whose works have long since passed into oblivion; but, fortunate in finding staunch defenders, he made steady progress against his enemies, until his position in the music world became unique and unassailable.

QUESTIONS.

What did Haydn and Mozart give to Beethoven?

Give a sketch of Beethoven’s early life.

What works did he particularly study?

What were his first compositions?

What intimate friends did he make in early life?

What city did he select as his home?

What years embrace his first period?

What are the leading works of this period?

What affliction developed in 1800?

What years compose the second period?

What changes came into his style?

Name the leading works of the second period.

Tell about Beethoven’s later life, from 1815 on.

What are the leading works of this last period?

Describe the personality of Beethoven.

LESSON XXXIII.

BEETHOVEN AND THE SONATA.

=Bach and Beethoven Contrasted=.—We now consider the exact nature of the work which Beethoven did, in distinction from that of Haydn and Mozart. It has been said that Bach gave the Old Testament in music, while Beethoven gave the New; that is, that Bach consummated the old polyphonic school, while Beethoven did an equal work for the new harmonic school. Yet this is only a half truth; for Bach, besides perfecting former styles, gave glimpses of modern chromatic modulation and free expression; while Beethoven, a student of the old masters, employed polyphonic forms as well as harmonic, making all work together to translate his thought, and so moulding them into a means of portraying every emotion as to open the door forever to the untrammelled presentment of thought, through the medium of music.

=Beethoven’s Gradual Development=.—But Beethoven did not arrive at this result in an instant. It is true that, even in his early works, a distinction of style is shown which removes them from a mere imitation, but, as has been shown, he _began_ practically at the point _where Haydn and Mozart left off_, with compositions which can hardly be placed on a higher level than theirs; and, in the course of a life full of strenuous experiences, he gradually _unfolded the resources_ which he had received from his predecessors, until he made them adequate to give vent to the mighty ideas which welled from his soul. Thus we find in his works a period in which _form is rigidly observed_; and we pass thence through an era of expansion, during which _form becomes more elastic_, through the added requirements placed upon it, until the thought and emotion become so paramount that the _formal lines_ have entirely _disappeared_, and are only to be traced by careful analysis.

=Beethoven and the Orchestra=.—As the great exponent of instrumental music, Beethoven found the orchestra his best and fullest vehicle of expression. So his massive mind, grasping with ease the effects of manifold combinations of instruments, was able to mould his thoughts into terms of tone color in which each instrument should be employed to bring out the exact shade of feeling required. So the orchestra becomes with him a great individual instrument, responding to the slightest change of mood.

=Use of the Piano=.—But as a preparation for such orchestral work, Beethoven realized the value of the pianoforte. Attaining a marvelous degree of virtuosity in the use of the keyboard at an early age, he later found this of the greatest advantage in working out his ideas, and, further, in actually trying their effects upon auditors. Thus we find in his first pianoforte sonatas effects which appeared much later in the greater elaboration of his symphonies; thus also is shown the necessary imperfection of any division of his works into distinct periods, since his pianoforte style was so greatly in advance of his orchestral.

=Improvement in the Piano=.—In this connection, it is important to note that Beethoven’s resources were greatly increased by the improvements which had been made in piano manufacture. The demand for instruments, created by the growing popularity of the pianoforte, stimulated manufacturers to redoubled energy in perfecting them; and, conversely, the added resources thus developed were an instigation to composers to test their abilities in the invention of new effects. Thus Beethoven was placed in command of a piano of much greater power than Mozart’s; and the work of technicians, like Clementi, for whom he had great respect, was already hinting at new and marvelous possibilities.

=Added Sonority and Sustaining Power=.—This strength of construction resulted in greater sonority. Hence we find full chord progressions and rich floods of tone in Beethoven’s works, in place of the dainty harmonic accompaniment of former writers. Moreover, the increase in sustaining force, enhanced by the use of the pedal, made possible a sustained legato tone for singing passages, which had formerly to be merely hinted at through shakes and other embellishments. A consequent tone variety made it possible to emphasize a single voice in this way, while the accompanying harmonies could be kept well in the background. Again, this range of tone proved an incentive for long crescendos, from the softest suspicion of sound to an overwhelming tonal climax.

=Increased Compass=.—The added range which the keyboard developed also enhanced such effects, by the chance for brilliancy in the treble, and for profundity in the bass; moreover, Beethoven was quick to make use of the variety of effects caused by _playing in the different registers_; sometimes suggesting in this way the contrast in the orchestra between different groups of instruments, such as the strings and woodwind.

=Structure of Beethoven’s Sonatas=.—With such resources at his command, Beethoven was able to give a fuller scope to the Sonata than was formerly possible, filling out each movement, and perfecting it for the expression of an integral part of the general idea, and finally placing it in its proper relationship to the whole. The Sonata Form, as settled by Haydn, was made the point of departure, serving almost invariably as the basis of the first movement, and frequently, in shortened form, for the second, generally slow, movement. For the third movement, Beethoven at first employed the Minuet, following the custom in the symphonies of Haydn and Mozart; but later this was generally omitted in the pianoforte sonatas, while in the symphonies its time was quickened into that of the dainty, sparkling Scherzo. For the finale, the Rondo form was most frequent; though, in order to give a fuller compass to the thought, a combination of the Rondo and Sonata forms was invented by Beethoven, and used even in his first sonatas. The Rondo form also appeared occasionally in the slow movement. Add that other forms, notably that of the Variation, sometimes supplanted one or the other of these, and we have the structure generally followed by Beethoven.

=Unity of Conception=.—All these movements were associated in an organic unity of conception which made one grow out of another with perfect naturalness. Sometimes, indeed, as in opus 27, a continuity of performance was indicated; always, however, the feeling of dependence of one movement upon another is present; so that the criticism made upon Haydn’s symphonies, that a movement of one could be interchanged with a similar movement of any other without perceptible difference, could never be made with regard to Beethoven’s works.

=Key Relationship=.—In key relationship, Beethoven struck out from stereotyped paths, frequently using _contrasting keys related to the third of the initial chord_; thus a movement or passage in C major might be followed by any key related to E, the third of the chord of C, such as E or A major or minor. The original key was most widely departed from in the slow movement, where the beauty of contrast was exceptionally noticeable.

=Number of Movements=.—The number of movements which he adopted was at first four, but this afterwards varied considerably, two or three movements prevailing; while in the fantasie-sonatas, and especially in the last five sonatas, an indefinite number of movements, some of them very short, appeared. He explained this discrepancy on the ground that he adapted the number of movements to his thought; and when he felt that he had given complete expression to this, the sonata was brought to a close.

=Development of First Movement Form=.—Of Beethoven’s first movements, it may be said that no one has ever spoken with the perfect freedom and naturalness which he displays. Each part of the movement he strengthened and developed; the first section announced two themes, contrasting, but still closely identified; sometimes with a slow introduction to usher them in; the Development was given a contrapuntal treatment, solidified by rich harmonies; the third section was varied by rhythmic or tonal devices, tending to broaden its effect; and, finally, the Coda was sometimes developed to the length of a fourth section, in which reminiscences of material used previously were worked up to a fitting climax.

=Devices for Giving Unity=.—But the most evident characteristic which Beethoven put into this form was that of _Unity_, or _Continuity of idea_. This he accomplished by several means. Of these, the first was by separating the most striking parts of his subjects into short, definite phrases or motives, and by introducing these in every variety of manner throughout the movement, sometimes in a sequence on different degrees of the scale, sometimes by imitation in different voices, again by varying the length of the component notes, and finally by dropping off portions, while the portions remaining keep the idea still before the auditor. Or, some casual phrase, in an unimportant section, will strike his fancy and he will develop it with a wealth of imagery astonishing in its inventiveness.[10]

=Continuity of Various Parts=.—This constant presentment of a thematic idea also serves to bind passages closely together which, in the sonatas of Haydn and Mozart, were separated by definite pauses. Indeed, Beethoven sedulously _avoids a complete cadence_, seeking, by leading the listener eagerly on from one connecting phrase to another, to retain the interest and make it mount up higher and higher, as the effects grow in intensity. So phrases are made to overlap one another, with their boundaries practically eliminated. It has been said that Beethoven tore down the fences which Haydn and Mozart had erected between the various parts of the Sonata Form; and this is proven by the fact that, in the Beethoven sonatas, authorities frequently differ as to where one part ends and another begins, so close and continuous is the bond between them.