Beethoven Pathétique

Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 – Ludwig Van Beethoven

Beethoven wrote this piece 1798. A publisher suggested the name ‘Pathétique’ with Beethoven’s mutual agreement at the same time. The word pathétique means emotional and passionate, not to be confused with a very similar English word – pathetic. C minor was one of Beethoven’s favourite keys because the sonority is dark, powerful and emotional. A large range of dynamics are used (compared to other composers in the same era) to convey and emphasize all the emotions and thoughts that Beethoven carried in mind. His style of extremity has pushed the boundaries of the music in the classical period and is considered as the commencement of romantic music. A lot of people would reckon Beethoven pinched some ideas from one of Mozart’s piece as both pieces were in the same key and share a similar structure. Even though, the styles of both pieces are different enough to identify which composer they are from.

This sonata has three movements in it.
It introduces the piece with a grand opening marked with Grave: a sustained C minor. This then develops to a fast section where there are continuous pedal notes in the left hand part. The second movement is written in Ab major with a more soothing manner, whilst hinting a bit of melancholy in certain parts of the piece. A theme is established at the beginning of this movement and is repeated 4 more times later on, each time with a slight variation in harmony and rhythm. The third movement is a rondo, played in quick speed. The first theme lasts for 17 bars and repeats for a further 3 times. The second last time repeat of the theme develops into another section which is similar to the B section of the piece, but in G major rather than the previous Eb