Interpretation of Beethoven's Sonata

Before writing this sonata, Beethoven composed a piano trio in the same key. Was the key of C minor also a special key for Beethoven? His C minor piano trio is a substantial work, lasting just under 30 minutes. This sonata, too, is considered to have a background in piano trios and string quartets.

When playing Beethoven's sonatas, not just this one, there is something particularly important to note, which stems from the era when instrumental music was the background. For example, in measure 1, beat 1, there is a forte chord, immediately followed by a sixteenth rest. Some learners ignore these rests, but Beethoven's rests are crucial. Please observe the rests precisely.

The fact that a sixteenth rest follows the initial chord, and then a dotted rhythm passage appears, suggests that the few players who played the initial chord are separate from the player performing the dotted passage (even if it's a solo), and the dotted section is considered a solo violin part.

And from measure 3, beat 3, through measure 4, it is considered a string quartet. In measure 5, multiple players play a chord again, and the soloist once again performs the dotted rhythm. From measure 7, beat 3, the string quartet continues again until measure 12, and Beethoven's characteristic sudden forte begins from measure 13. This might be a piano trio section.

Mysterious triplets begin from measure 17, and the drama of measure 1 resumes in measure 22. The section up to measure 30 is considered one section, and a new section begins from measure 32. However, a typical problem is that many learners neglect to count up to measure 30. In other words, learners often forget to count in triple meter, especially with the triplets + quarter rest starting from measure 17; they must properly feel and recognize the beat. Of course, please feel the triple meter properly from measure 1 and play accordingly.

The reason for neglecting beat recognition is that this movement is allegro molto, leading to a tendency to grasp phrases broadly. Instead of feeling phrases as blocks, always strive to feel the triple meter.

From measure 32, a string quartet is considered to begin again. If you are a teacher reading this, many students may not even know what a string quartet is. Please do let them listen to what kind of music it is. And then, explain that when the cello and viola play the bass clef notes from measure 32 onwards, there is absolutely no attack in the chord changes.

This is the difficulty of piano technique: when chords change, the piano inevitably requires new key presses, and thus, attack sounds cannot be avoided. As a result, the music can sound vertically segmented and lose its horizontal flow. The section from measure 32 onwards is a typical example. Since chords only appear on the first beat, an attack sound is unavoidable there, but please try to devise ways to make it flow as smoothly as possible horizontally.