ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Understanding Sonatas - Beethoven

Updated on April 12, 2015

I have been taking classes on the sonatas written by Beethoven, and have found them incredibly interesting. I've also learned a great deal about the context and time in which this great composer lived, and I wouldn't be a Bubbler if I didn't want to share that information with all of you.

So I am starting this series to tell you, not only about Beethoven and his contemporaries, but about the Sonata, how to listen to them, and what you can learn from them.

In this first post, I will create the background for you to understand how and why Beethoven came to the fore, and what influenced him.

It's important to understand that, while I will mostly focus on Beethoven, there are 3 great influences that have helped shape his work. These are the great musicians Bach, Haydn and Mozart.

In The Beginning - Bach

Let us travel back to the eighteenth century. Music was created for a distinct purpose, and was mostly religious in nature. Musicians didn't freelance, but worked for a patron who gave them commissions. There are no concerts, as music is intended to be enjoyed by the higher classes in their own homes.

In Bach's high days, as was the norm at the time, he was playing mostly to accompany those who were savoring a coffee at special establishments. And although he conformed to the rules of his time, he wasn't content to merely create his music following a strict schedule. He played with the music and tried to discover the limits of where he could take it. This marks the end of an Era - and the beginning of a new one.

Haydn

But Bach was still told what he could and couldn't make. He followed orders.

Haydn, born 1742, was at first merely the musical employee of yet another rich family. He wrote and played as he was told. But in 1779, right in the time of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, he was issued a task that was wholly new at the time: to make something of his own choosing.

This marks a turning point in his music. He is able to put in a lot more creativity in his creations. He starts to travel and perform in a variety of places, at one point moving to London. His star was rising, and his fame and fortune grew exponentially.

In 1795, Haydn returns to Europe, being a wealthy and popular performer, showing what was possible.

Mozart

At approximately the same time, Mozart, a young musical genius, was malcontent with his position in society. Haydn spoke highly of him, and Mozart returned the favor. And like Haydn - and Bach - Mozart starts his career by working in the employment of a court at the age of 16.

It wasn't for him. But that's how it went in those days. Still, Mozart wouldn't settle to work solely on what was given to him, and he rebelled. It didn't help that his employer, a Bishop, was very bossy. Mozart broke off his employment and went to roam Europe, to work as a freelance composer. This was wholly new at the time.

After several years, he returned to work for his former boss, but couldn't stand being reigned in, and once more broke free. As legend has it, the bishop's steward gave him a (quote) "kick in the arse".

This was a crucial turning point in the history of the musical rights movement. Never before had a composer refused to be a mere slave to an employer's desires.

Those years as a freelancer were, in fact, the most rich of his entire career. Not literally, but in terms of creativity. He composed his most brilliant and famous works in that time. But, as luck would have it, by the year 1788, he had gone out of style. He wasn't "hot" anymore. And he suffered both financially and in terms of his health as a result, succumbing to an early death, being barely in his thirties.

Beethoven Comes In To The Fold

This is the mindset of the times when Beethoven came into the fold. Mozart had recently died, Haydn was a celebrated name. It was an important transitional moment.

Beethoven was born at the right moment. When he came of age, there was room for what he brought with him. Beethoven focused on innovation, and reviewed his work with great care. That also meant he worked slower than most others. And he didn't like taking orders. But luckily for him, that path had just been cleared. He was able to choose his own path.

He decided to stay independent, though he did have his sponsors.

And he started out pretty late. He was already 25 by the time he published his first work, Opus 1. And the money he earned with it allowed him to live for a year, before it finally ran out.

The final 16 years of his life, he didn't perform in public once. And yet he was one of the most famous and celebrated composers of the late 18th, early 19th century.

Why?

Because he was the very first to write the Great Sonatas!

Your Opinion

Which of these is your favorite composer?

See results

Your Opinion

Who is your favorite composer? Do you love the great sonatas? Was any of this information surprising to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)