A Pastoral Interlude

Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28, ‘Pastoral’

Composed 1801, published 1802 Dedicated to Joseph von Sonnenfels I. Allegro II. Andante III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace IV. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

The Sonata, Op. 28 sits between the overt experiments of Op. 27 and Op. 31. It is one of Beethoven’s most beautiful sonatas and was given the nickname ‘Pastoral’ by the publisher because of the many signifiers of the pastoral style the work includes, in particular the drone-like pedal notes in the outer movements reminiscent of the rustic bagpipe. Beethoven returns to the four-movement scheme and an opening sonata-allegro, but with the frequent pedal points and the repetition of melodic phrases the movement is unhurried. It shares with Op. 27, No. 1 some of the attributes of a character piece. The slow movement which follows is also far from conventional. It presents two highly differentiated types of music: a march-like opening section in D minor with a playful staccato bass, and lighthearted middle section in D major alternating triplet descents with chordal punctuations. The two are partially reconciled at the end of the movement, when the music of the middle section appears fleetingly in the minor mode of the first section. The scherzo that follows is one of Beethoven’s most engaging, full of wit derived from the disarmingly simple opening of four descending F-sharps. The implications of that are taken even further in the trio section, where every four-bar phrase begins with the same F-sharp. The drone basses and compound time give the rondo finale a distinctively bucolic flavour, and its character is established as much by the left hand bass pattern as by any melodic material. Like the rondo of Op. 27, No. 1, this is a movement that has the developmental and tonal devices of a sonata form embedded within it, creating a movement of greater structural weight which moves towards a concluding passage of exuberant brilliance.