Grande Sonate Pathétique

Grande Sonate Pathétique Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 ‘Pathétique’

Composed 1797-8, published 1799 Dedicated to Prince Lichnowsky I. Grave – Allegro di molto e con brio II. Adagio cantabile III. Rondo. Allegro

That sense of taking conventions and challenging them is nowhere better encountered than in Beethoven’s next sonata, the Pathétique, Op. 13. The Pathétique has been popular almost from the moment it was written, and has become so strongly associated with characteristics we regard as ‘Beethovenian’ that it comes as something of a shock to remember that it was written at a time when Beethoven had yet to publish a string quartet, a symphony or a piano concerto. It is the first movement, and particularly its use of a slow introduction, that makes the Pathétique so distinctive and compelling. Slow introductions to piano sonatas were extremely rare at this time and though Beethoven employs the formal dotted rhythms common to Baroque introductions, his abundant use of diminished sevenths, abrupt dynamic contrasts and dramatic melodic flourishes signal something new, almost orchestral in scale. It is not only the tone that is new. Beethoven also challenges our structural assumptions. This is not a mere introduction to, but an integral part of, the main Allegro, as is made clear when the slow music returns at key structural moments later in the movement. We are not listening to a fast movement prefaced by a slow introduction, but encountering fast and slow music coexisting in a single musical argument and sharing the same brooding minor mode.

The Adagio cantabile that follows shares with the first movement a seriousness of tone but in other respects presents a complete contrast. The main theme is notable for its long, singing line and the rondo form means it is presented three times, separated by contrasting episodes. The second of these episodes includes sforzandi accents, which seem to be an echo of the vigour and drama of the first movement but in the end do little to disturb the prevailing melodic flow of the movement. The serious tone lifts for the rondo finale but Beethoven maintains a strong sense of thematic integration. The rondo theme clearly harks back to the second subject of the first movement, and the central episode in A-flat connects with the key of the slow movement. The use of A-flat again towards the end of the work, in a dramatic passage that re-engages with the more passionate style of the first movement, ensures that this movement not only acts as a destination but also remembers the earlier stages of the work’s musical journey.