Classical Notes - Classical Classics - Beethoven: Kreutzer Sonata, By Peter Gutmann Truly meaningful writing about music is nearly impossible. Those of us who try may come close on occasion, but a frustrating gap always remains between such utterly disparate media of expression. Indeed, apart from the artists themselves, I often deem those who truly appreciate music to be not the gifted few who can produce a cogent review or a detailed analysis, but rather those who emerge from a concert in a state of inarticulate rapture. Leo Tolstoy was criticized by none other than Anton Chekhov for the audacity of writing about matters he knew nothing about. Yet, despite his formal ignorance of musical matters, Tolstoy produced a work of remarkable insight in his 1889 novel The Kreutzer Sonata. It�s highly ironic that the pen of a non-musician conveyed such an accomplished grasp of the soul of Beethoven, arguably the greatest composer of all. The narrator, having murdered his wife, details how his vapid marriage deteriorated through lust, hypocrisy, discord, humiliation, jealousy and rage. His sardonic and jaded view of the widening gulf between the flesh and spirit of human relationships has an internal logic and perverse allure.

At a dinner party, his wife plays the Beethoven sonata of the title with an amateur violinist, kindling complex and conflicting passions. Although aware of a bond of pleasure between the performers, he personally feels it as mere agitation � being mystically and hypnotically drawn into the composer�s mental condition but being powerless to fully understand it, revealing and arousing new feelings and possibilities but unable to react meaningfully. His description of the sonata itself is justly famous: How can that first presto be played in a drawing-room among ladies in low-necked dresses? To hear that played, to clap a little, and then to eat ices and talk of the latest scandal? Such things should only be played on certain important significant occasions, and then only when certain actions answering to such music are wanted. By seizing upon this particular work, Tolstoy intuitively sensed not only the Kreutzer's intrinsic merit but its significance as a key work in Western art. Indeed, with the Kreutzer Beethoven launched a new kind of music that lies at the heart of his genius.

The Kreutzer was a personal watershed, marking Beethoven in 1804 Beethoven�s leap from a gifted, occasionally edgy, often innovative composer to the revolutionary activist who rewrote the essential rules of musical art. The Kreutzer also marked a cosmic cultural shift, although there had been ample prior hints. His piano sonatas began with the stylized drama of Mozart but added a new sense of architectural space, thickening texture and deepening gravity. Their mood, too, began to push the bounds of convention – the 1798 �Pathetique� is broody and stormy, and his 1801 �Moonlight� is contemplative but ends in a burst of energy. Among his eight prior violin sonatas, the fourth is rather grim and acerbic and the eighth rumbles with an undercurrent of nervous energy. But all these solo or duet works were intended for personal gratification or private pleasure. The Kreutzer is the very first work for such reduced forces that bursts the accustomed modest bounds of chamber music with the weighty emotional gestures that formerly were the province of opera, oratorio, concerti and symphonies for massive ensembles.

Through the Kreutzer, Beethoven raised chamber music out of the salons of royalty into the public arena. Suitably, such a momentous work had an odd genesis and a curious aftermath. Two hundred years ago, violinist George Bridgetower was one of the very few men of color to have broken into European art circles, albeit not solely on the basis of his considerable talent. Although his mother was Polish and his father West Indian, he was billed as an African prince. George Bridgetower Beethoven met and was drawn to Bridgetower shortly after the violinist's arrival in Vienna in March 1803. For his Vienna debut of May 24, Bridgetower commissioned a new sonata from Beethoven, who would play the piano part. It's tempting to speculate that Beethoven seized upon his partner�s outsider status to craft a suitably exotic and genre-stretching piece. Yet, sketches for the first movement are found in his prior notebooks and the finale had been written a year earlier for his sixth sonata, but then rejected as too brilliant.

The rest was barely done in time – the violin part of the first movement was copied just in time for the concert, Bridgetower had to read the andante from Beethoven�s own messy manuscript, and Beethoven largely extemporized all but the finale from sketches. Beethoven initially dedicated the sonata to Bridgetower, but apparently they had a falling out over a woman (although it�s not clear whether the cause was rivalry or a crude remark to which the composer took offence). In any event, prior to publication in 1805 Beethoven switched the dedication to Adolphe Kreutzer, Adolphe Kreutzer a Parisian violinist who had just published a �methode� of 42 exercises to expand left-hand technique and whom Beethoven admired for an objective performing style rare among virtuosi of the time. Alas, although the sonata would become the sole basis for his modern fame, Kreutzer never deigned to play it. The quick (for Beethoven) pace of composition is itself significant, as it suggests not a typically polished work of art in which fleeting impulse is refined into stylized moderation, but rather an unusually candid snapshot of Beethoven's volatile state of mind.

Indeed, his personal life was in crisis. Following his death in 1827, among his private papers was found an extraordinary document now known as the �Heiligenstadt Testament.� In a rambling but frighteningly blunt and intense plea, confession and suicide note dated October 2 and 6, 1802 and addressed to his two brothers (but apparently never sent), Beethoven begs forgiveness for his ill-tempered and rude behavior and reveals the �secret cause� – his smothering deafness, the cruelest fate for a rising master musician, which he had tried to hide but after six years of futile medical treatment now has given up all hope for a cure. He yearns for freedom from his suffering, provides for the disposition of his meager assets and asks his doctor to explain his condition after his death. Despite the power of his Heiligenstadt Testament, Beethoven was not a man of letters. Rather, it was in the Kreutzer that the turbulence of his suppressed feelings erupted with full artistic force.

This astounding work was not only a musical means to depict his pain and confusion, but the vehicle by which he Beethoven signalled to the world, and to himself, how he planned to surmount his distress. In contrast to all eight of his previous violin sonatas that began with the piano�s plain statement of the melody, key and tempo, here the soloist wanders out naked and lost. The tempo indication, adagio sostenuto, barely stirs and the score presents an immediate challenge – how the violinist, able to sound only two strings at once, is to sustain the static opening figures of three- and four-note chords without disrupting their tense continuity. Upon the piano�s sudden entrance, the key shifts abruptly from A major to a minor, from which it never recovers. Conventional wisdom is that Beethoven, a concert pianist, wrote a dominant role for his own instrument, but that�s not really true – he was also an accomplished violinist and in any event had to provide display opportunities for guest artists at his concerts. Indeed, the key to writing duo-sonatas is to find themes that exploit the distinctive expressive character of both instruments, while suggesting a wide range of possibilities for accompaniment.

Here, the relationship between violin and piano is complex – they both blend and chafe, suggesting a common purpose, yet plunging into frenzied competition as the piece erupts into an astoundingly stormy movement, which Beethoven aptly described on his score as �quasi come d�un concerto� (�almost like a concerto�) that heaves between gentle respite and exhausting, violent attacks of furious slashing figures at a delirious pace (labeled �presto� and generally taken anywhere between 300 to 500 beats per minute). Tolstoy pronounced the second movement �common and unoriginal� and the finale �very weak.� That�s a bit harsh, yet sensible – nothing really could top the scope and fervency of the first. Beethoven meets the challenge brilliantly but subtly, while again disrupting our expectations for a worthy successor to the opening frenzy, this time with a genial andante, a throwback that would fit in any of his prior works, comprising a placid theme with four variations of escalating complexity – first with piano figuration, then the violin elaborates, next a plunge into f-minor, and finally ornate combinations.

It�s as if, having depicted his rebellious angst, Beethoven assures us that his inner soul remains loving and steeped in common values and that he knows how to fulfil social expectations. The finale is also conventional – a rondo in which the techniques of the first movement emerge in a brighter light – the suspensions now playful, the accents joyous, the galloping theme invigorating, the interplay of major and minor modes vitalizing. Thus, having bared his soul, the deeply conflicted composer vows to endure and resolves to redirect his torment toward a more constructive end. Indeed, over the next quarter century of his life Beethoven would go on to sublimate his distress over his dire affliction to produce the greatest body of music in all of Western culture. Did the audience at that May afternoon premiere grasp any of this? Yehudi and Hephzibah Menuhin Not a bit. The atmosphere of the concert was hardly conducive to profound aesthetic reflection. Indeed, concerts of the time often lacked the sobriety of purpose we now attribute to them – the soloist at the 1806 premiere of Beethoven�s only violin concerto reportedly entertained the crowd between movements by playing his fiddle upside down.

In a note left in his original copy, Bridgetower recalled that after Beethoven played a piano run (at measure 37), he departed from the score to mimic it, prompting the composer to leap from his seat and embrace his partner before resuming. Bridgetower further reported that audience enthusiasm was directed toward the andante variations, the most conservative of the three movements, of which they demanded an encore. Bridgetower also left a curious reminiscence that the andante�s appeal was boosted by Beethoven�s �chaste� playing, but it's not clear just what he meant – perhaps the audience was vastly relieved in comparison to the shocking opening movement, or perhaps Beethoven's style appeared commendably earnest when contrasted to the carnival atmosphere of other concerts. While the Kreutzer went on to become the most popular of all violin sonatas, it is a work that emerged the following year – the Symphony # 3 (�Eroica�) – that is usually considered the means through which Beethoven transformed music with deep personal expression that overflowed the bounds of traditional structure.

Thus, Paul Henry Lang salutes the Eroica as nothing less than the greatest single step made by an individual composer in the history of music, a �feat of fiery imagination� and a �fling at the universe� that even Beethoven himself would never take again. While the Eroica may trump the Kreutzer for the sheer scope of its novelty of invention, it essentially expands the fundamental emotional premise of its predecessor – after a sprawling first movement that explores daring musical frontiers, Beethoven seemingly buries tradition in a funeral march, reawakens to a scherzo of energy and joy, and then concludes with a massive set of variations that embraces and intensifies the past before plunging into a brilliant coda that strides confidently into the future. Of the many Kreutzer recordings, a disappointingly large number are musically correct but emotionally vapid and intellectually shallow. Such an approach can function as a deliberate sacrifice in order to better integrate the work into a more uniform, if deficient, whole by avoiding the inevitable letdown after the torrid unrest of the opening movement. Yet, the undercurrent of anxiety is woven so deeply into Beethoven�s fabric that it can�t be wholly suppressed, and a slick surface seems perversely cavalier.

These include the downright saccharine Kulenkampff/Kempff (1935), the workmanlike but slightly labored Yehudi and Hephzibah Menuhin (1935), the violin-dominated Heifetz/Moiseiwitsch (1951) and Szigeti/Arrau (1944), the monumental 41 minute Menuhin/Kempff (1970) and 42-minute Schneiderhan/Kempff (1952), the elegant Francescatti/Casadesus (1959) and the nicely nuanced and patrician Szeryng/Haebler (1979) and Szeryng/Rubinstein (1958). Others achieve a superficial degree of excitement through sheer speed, bringing the work home in well under a half-hour – the vehement energy of Busch/Serkin (1941), the buoyant but precisely chiselled Milstein/Balsam (1957) and the rugged yet surprisingly subtle Groschl/Spierer (1991).

Timings, though, can be deceptive – many recordings only seem to outpace their stolid tempos by omitting the repeats of three of the four andante variations, as well as the expositions of the first and last movements, that Beethoven clearly indicated in the score. All but a few recordings omit the latter, which perhaps is justified nowadays as an outdated practice now that we can simply play replay a favorite passage, rather than have to await another concert to hear it again. While most recent versions sound too easy and seem frustratingly tepid (excepting the virile, emphatic 1973 Perlman/Ashkenazi on Decca and even more focused 1998 Perlman/Argerich live on EMI), records have preserved historical readings that revel in the Kreutzer�s power and brim with personality to invoke the power of Beethoven�s startling conception and the depth of his struggle, even for a modern audience whose notion of musical thrills is light-years beyond that of the composer�s era.

Thibaud and Cortot Fritz Kreisler and Franz Rupp (1936) remain fundamentally within the sweet and elegant bounds of classical restraint, yet yearn for freedom through an array of tonal color and subtle tempo gradation. The opening is a marvel of tense anticipation, as Kreisler invests each note with a different and unexpected rhythmic value, a hugely effective portrayal of the composer on the cusp of two eras. Although Jacques Thibaud was renowned as suave and stylish, in his 1929 pairing with his poetic French compatriot Alfred Cortot he digs into his instrument to produce a crude tone and rhythmic vagaries, the distortions suggesting the labor of a huge recreative effort. Bronislaw Hubermann Ignaz Friedman In the most gripping studio reading, Bronislaw Hubermann and Ignaz Friedman (1930) urge the other on with hugely assertive phrasing, bold dynamic outbursts, roiling swells of volume, sudden extreme tempo shifts from suspenseful hesitation to firmly decisive, and daring changes in texture from cloyingly sweet to harshly abrasive.

In a highly expressive and individual touch, the entire first movement bristles with edgy tension, as violin and piano deliberately fall in and out of synch. The second zips by, including all repeats in the same time others take without them, and the finale blends eloquence with weight. (The current Naxos release includes an equally compelling alternate take.) Most extraordinary of all is an April 13, 1940 concert by Joseph Szigeti and B�la Bart�k that quivers with musical and cultural significance. Their performing style springs from the musical traditions of their beloved Hungary, in which intonation, rhythm, dynamics and texture all yield for unbridled emotional impact. Bart�k and Szigeti in 1929 (The program also included incisive readings of Bart�k's own folk-infused First Rhapsody and astringent Second Sonata that provide crucial aural documentation of the extreme degree of departure from the written notation that is needed for a truly idiomatic performance.) Vehement patriots and anti-fascists, they were burdened with dread that the world they cherished appeared on the brink of extinction.

A mere two days after Bart�k's arrival, this was their first concert in the New World, held at the Library of Congress, the symbolic shrine of artistic freedom. This extraordinary confluence of overwhelmingly vital events channelled Beethoven�s own despair, aspirations and resolve in a way that no other performance on record can ever approach. No writing can ever fully convey the splendor of such performances. Fortunately for posterity, these magnificent recordings overcome that otherwise insoluble problem to let the music speak for itself. Copyright 2007 by Peter Gutmann Sonata for violin & piano No. 9 in… | Details | AllMusic google+ Description by John Palmer Although the "Kreutzer" Sonata, Op. 47, is dedicated to Rodolphe Kreutzer , the original dedication was to George P. Bridgetower (1779-1860), for whom the piece was written. Bridgetower, an African-Polish violinist who lived in London, toured Europe in 1802 and 1803. Upon his arrival in Vienna he was introduced by Prince Lichnowsky to Beethoven , who set about fashioning two movements to precede a finale he had originally intended for the Op.

30/1 sonata. Because the date for Bridgetower's concert had been set, Beethoven had to work quickly to complete the virtuosic piece before its first performance by Bridgetower and the composer on May 24, 1803. Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831) was a French violinist of great renown whom Beethoven met in Vienna in 1798. Beethoven 's decision to dedicate the sonata to Kreutzer instead of Bridgetower was probably related to his intended move to Paris and a wish to ingratiate himself with French musical luminaries. ( Beethoven was also considering "Bonaparte" as a title for his Third Symphony.) Legend has it that Beethoven changed the dedication because he and Bridgetower quarreled over a woman. Kreutzer most likely never knew of the dedication, and it is almost certain that he never played the piece. The "Kreutzer" Sonata was published in 1805 by Simrock in Bonn and Birchall in London.

Beethoven described the piece as "written in a very concertante style, like that of a concerto," explaining the internal conflict generally associated with his larger works. Furthermore, the piano writing is much more powerful than in preceding works, anticipating the piano sonatas Opp. 53 and 54. Beethoven 's "new path" is everywhere evident in the first movement of the "Kreutzer" Sonata. The only slow introduction Beethoven ever wrote for a violin sonata is actually the only portion of the movement in A major, which gives way to A minor at the beginning of the Presto sonata-form section. Although thematic material is very abundant, Beethoven focuses on one theme from the closing group throughout the development, which spirals progressively deeper into flat-key territory, realizing the implications of B flat major's brief appearance early in the exposition. Development of the first theme does not occur until the lengthy, weighty coda, which is much more symphonic than chamber-style in conception. The vast dimensions and free formal treatment of Beethoven 's great middle-period works are not far away. More lighthearted than the preceding movement, the central Andante, in F major, is a set of variations.

The third of the four variations is in the tonic minor. In each variation, Beethoven stretches the melodic aspect of the theme nearly beyond recognition while maintaining the harmonic progression and pattern of repetition of the original. A tarantella rhythm and 6/8 time contribute to the finale's atmosphere of interminable forward motion, which is enhanced by the introduction of the first theme in a fugal treatment, The sonata-form movement features a second theme on the dominant and in 2/4, which shifts immediately back to 6/8 for the closing material. Because it was originally intended for the Sonata in A major, Op. 30/1, the finale was extant months before Beethoven composed the first two movements. The prominence of F major in the development section of the finale may have prompted Beethoven to compose the Andante in that key, as well as to touch on flat keys in the first movement. In Tolstoy's novella The Kreutzer Sonata, the work symbolizes the ultimate in the powerful sensuous appeal of music.

Parts/Movements The Violin Site :: Rodolphe Kreutzer Related Links Rodolphe Kreutzer (November 16, 1766 - January 6, 1831) was a French violinist, teacher, composer and conductor. He was born in Versailles, and was initially taught by his father with later lessons from Anton Stamitz. He became one of the foremost violin virtuosi of his day, appearing as a soloist until 1810. After hearing him play the violin in Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven dedicated his ninth violin sonata (the so-called Kreutzer Sonata, 1803) to him. For a time he was leader of the Paris Opera, and from 1817 conducted there. He was a violin professor at the Paris Conservatoire from its foundation in 1795 until 1826. He was co-author of the Conservatoire's violin method with Pierre Rode and Pierre Baillot. The three are considered the founding trinity of the French school of violin playing. Kreutzer died in Geneva. Kreutzer's compositions include nineteen violin concertos and around forty operas.

He is best known today, however, for the 42 études ou caprices (1796), which are still used as pedagogic studies. Rodolphe Kreutzer was the brother of violinist and composer Jean Nicolas Auguste Kreutzer (1778-1832) and the uncle of the writer on music Léon Charles François Kreutzer (1817-1868). Beethoven: Violin Concerto, "Kreutzer" Sonata / Re ... - Deutsche Grammophon: B000966302 | Buy from ArkivMusic SEE, HEAR & LEARN MORE! Notes & Editorial Reviews Works on This Recording Customer Reviews Notes and Editorial Reviews Repin has thought this music through completely and put his own stamp on it, a stamp that stands to become more and more collectible as this fine artist matures! One of the most satisfying Beethoven recordings to hit the shelves in some time... Beethoven composed his violin concerto in 1806 for Franz Clement, a leading violinist of the day. The story goes that Beethoven delivered the solo part so late that Clement had to sight-read it.

At the first performance, the soloist stopped between the first and second movements and played a solo work of his own composition, on one string and with the violin upside down as a bit of nose-thumbing toward the composer. The debut was not successful and the concerto lay dormant until Read more the 1840s when it was revived by Joseph Joachim in performances conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. Since then it has become one of the most important works in the violin repertoire and has been recorded dozens of times. You wouldnï¿½t know any of that had you read Deutsche Grammophonï¿½s pathetic booklet. It contains only a cheap essay about Vadim Repinï¿½s experience with the concerto complete with three or four paragraphs of sycophantic bragging by annotator Michael Church about how well Repin plays the work. Not, mind you, that thereï¿½s anything wrong with an artist expressing his thoughts about the music heï¿½s just recorded, but, one might think that a company as venerable as DG would have thought to at least have mentioned the composer, what was his name again ï¿½ oh yes, Ludwig van Beethoven.

The glory of this concerto lies in its lack of outward virtuosity. Beethoven the superstar pianist could have easily composed a solo part that was long on flashy finger-work and catchy tunes. Instead, he created one of the most inwardly expressive and personal works of his career. Repin has made a very conscious choice to exploit the workï¿½s reflective nature and has delivered a performance crafted with great care, abundant warmth and loads of heart. From the very opening, his tone is sweet and although perfectly balanced with the orchestra, consistently understated so as to give the music pride of place above his own considerable ability to play it. Even the first movement cadenza (by Fritz Kreisler) is played with the utmost dignity and respect. This is some of the sweetest, most expressive violin playing that I have heard in years. The second movement is heartrendingly calm and gentle, again marked by Repinï¿½s sweet and supple tone and his spot-on intonation. Muti and the VPO provide an extremely sensitive accompaniment, with some beautiful playing from the horns and the winds.

Things finally get a bit boisterous by the final movement with Muti letting the orchestra play more vigorously than at any other time in the concerto. Throughout, our soloist maintains his self-control, giving credence to Yehudi Menuhinï¿½s quote that Repin is ï¿½simply the best, the most perfect violinist I have ever heard.ï¿½ High praise indeed, but if this performance is evidence, such praise is well deserved. Iï¿½ve heard perhaps twenty recordings of this concerto, and I cannot recall one that has held my attention so thoroughly, or one that has made me want immediately to listen a second time. Muti and Repin are a match made in heaven and are to be commended for the exquisite good taste with which they present this war-horse! Beethoven originally dedicated his ninth violin sonata to the half-Polish, half-West Indian virtuoso George Bridgetower (1780-1860) but as happened from time to time, a bar-room disagreement between the two caused the composer to fly into one of his famous rages and destroy the dedication.

He later dedicated it to Rudolphe Kreutzer, one of the leading violinists of his day, who never performed it and declared it unplayable. Leo Tolstoy would later use the work as the germ of a short-story about passions run amok. Leoï¿½ Janá?ek would in turn find Tolstoyï¿½s story to be the inspiration for his first string quartet. The first movement opens with a trick that would show up again in the fourth piano concerto wherein the soloist begins alone to be joined later by the rest of the band. The Haydnesque soliloquy gives way to stormy and at times even raucous music, sprinkled with moments of repose, only to take off again in a tear. Unlike in the concerto performance, Repin pours a good deal more of his Russian soul into the sonata and he is matched with a vengeance by Martha Argerich, who is never passive in her playing. Repinï¿½s tone is more edgy, less sweet than in the concerto, but that is not a bad thing. The tension is palpable and there are moments while listening that you have to remind yourself to breathe.

In stark contrast to the opening movement, there follows a serene set of variations, music that is so much happier and relaxed than the opening movement that you wonder if the music is by the same composer. That Beethoven can maintain such a high level of interest in a slow movement of more than fourteen minutesï¿½ duration is testimony to his genius. The interplay between Repin and Argerich is at times playful and always very natural. The final movement gets off to a rollicking start with a thunderous chord from the piano followed by a jolly and contrapuntal presto, joyously tossed off by both artists with considerable ease and panache. This is surely one of the most satisfying Beethoven recordings to hit the shelves in some time and is one to own regardless of the duplication it may cause in your library. These are truly masterful performances; performances that for once reveal something new and interesting about well-known works. Repin in particular has thought this music through completely and put his own stamp on it, a stamp that stands to become more and more collectible as this fine artist matures!

-- Kevin Sutton, MusicWeb International Beethoven and Bridgetower: The Story Behind the Famous ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata | rhap.so.dy in words Beethoven and Bridgetower: The Story Behind the Famous ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata Aside from his musical genius, composer Ludwig van Beethoven was known by his contemporaries to possess an irascible nature. Hardly surprising when you consider the circumstances of his life, but underneath his passionate exterior beat a kind and loyal heart. Portrait of Beethoven by Joseph Williboard Mahler c. 1804-5 (oil on canvas) As certain people found to their detriment, if you got on the wrong side of him it was virtually impossible to get back into his good graces! Just ask Napoleon Bonaparte, who he originally dedicated his third symphony the ‘Eroica’ to. After Napoleon’s egalitarian ideals developed into warmongering and a rapacious appetite for control over Europe, the composer violently crossed out his dedication from the top of the score. Beethoven branded his nephew’s mother, Johanna, a ‘queen of the night’ and the two were locked in years of battle over custody of her son Carl.

It’s debatable if he was in a lucid moment or not, but Beethoven asked for her forgiveness on his deathbed. (You can read the incredibly moving text in Conversations with Beethoven ). Another unfortunate recipient of Beethoven’s wrath was virtuoso violinist George Bridgetower. As it’s Black History Month I thought George deserved some recognition! George Bridgetower by Henry Edridge c. 1790 Unfortunately, his falling out with Beethoven meant that his achievements were rather side-lined in history. This is a very great shame, as Beethoven had been impressed enough by his talent and character when they met to compose the bulk of his ninth violin sonata in A major, opus 47 in his honour, along with the original dedication. Here’s a fabulous vintage recording of the sonata in full by Leonid Kogan and Grigory Ginzburg: Beethoven’s penultimate violin sonata contains three movements and is pretty much as difficult to play as a violin concerto. I love that it’s just as demanding for the piano. Rather than being an accompaniment the two instruments are having the most fascinating conversation. Heaven only knows what swell of emotions were raging inside Beethoven when he wrote it.

It seems entirely plausible that it could it have been inspired by one of his ill-fated, passionate love affairs. The sonata takes around 40 minutes to perform in its entirety and is a full-on physical workout! I’m still trying to master the double-stopping at the beginning… My score of the Kreutzer by Edition Peters. Beethoven and Bridgetower premiered the work together on 24th May 1803 at the Augarten Palace Park Pavilion in Vienna at the rather unusual time of 8 am. The final movement was already written as an unused movement from a previous violin sonata No. 6 Op. 30/1 (also in A major), so Beethoven hurriedly composed the first and second movements which were only completed at 4.30 am on the day of the concert! The copyist had his work cut out, but hadn’t managed to do the violin part for the Andante and so Bridgetower had to read over Beethoven’s shoulder at the piano. In fact he sight-read the majority of the sonata to rapturous applause. The second variation of the Andante which was sight-read by George Bridgetower.

Obviously it wouldn’t have been perfect, but to have the confidence to play a work of such difficulty from sight in public speaks volumes. The following text was taken from Beethoven’s sketchbook in 1803: “Sonata per il Pianoforte ed uno violino obligato in uno stile molto concertante come d’un concerto” His affectionate dedication read: “Sonata mulattica composta per il mulatto Brischdauer (Bridgetower), gran pazzo e compositore mulattico” (Mulatto Sonata composed for the mulatto Bridgetower, great fool mulatto composer). Sadly, their relationship turned sour after Bridgetower insulted a woman that Beethoven held dear. No-one knows who she was, or what was said, and perhaps Beethoven felt more than friendship for her, but true to form, in his anger Beethoven withdrew the dedication and later granted it to another famous violinist of the time, Rodolphe Kreutzer . The irony is Kreutzer never performed his eponymous sonata, claiming it was unplayable! He considered it “outrageously unintelligible” and was not a fan of Beethoven’s music in general.

A most undeserved dedication, but the moniker was put into print and has been in use ever since. I love this clip from one of my favourite films, Immortal Beloved. Although not accurate in many aspects I love so much about this film, including the scene when Beethoven and Anton Schindler are discussing his ‘agitation’ and how music is like hypnotism, as George practices the sonata: George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower (11 October 1778 – 29 February 1860) Born an Afro-European in Poland, he lived most of his life in England and became a celebrated virtuoso violinist. His father was probably from the West Indies and his mother was German, it’s thought that they served in the household of Joseph Haydn’s patron, the Hungarian Nikolaus I, Prince Esterházy. Watercolour dated from 1800. Artist unknown. George took to the violin at a young age becoming a celebrated virtuoso; he performed mainly in London and around Europe.

He left London for Dresden in 1802 to visit his mother and brother who was a cellist there and later travelled to Vienna where he met Beethoven in 1803. He was also the recipient of Beethoven’s tuning fork which is now kept in the British Library. In London Bridgtower was known as the ‘African Prince’ and the Prince Regent (eventually George IV) was one of his patrons. Despite the falling out with Beethoven he continued to have a successful musical career and in 1807 he was elected into the Royal Society of Musicians and in 1811 he attained his Bachelor of Music from Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was also a composer, two of his known works include: Diatonica armonica for piano, published in London in 1812 and Henry: A ballad, for medium voice and piano, also published in London. This video was taken from an exhibition commissioned by the City of London Corporation in 2007 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the first parliamentary bill to abolish slavery.

George’s achievements are duly recognised: The Pulitzer prize-winning poet and former United States Poet Laureate, Rita Dove, wrote an imagined narrative work about Bridgetower titled: Sonata Mulattica Here she talks about her inspiration for the poem, alongside contemporary violinist Joshua Coyne, in a documentary film trailer: I’m glad to say George hasn’t been forgotten! Share this: sheilascorner.com The secret of joy in work is contained in one word--excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. ~Pearl S. Buck Rodolphe Kreutzer (1776-1831) wrote a set of etudes that have become a MUST in every violinist's repertoire. In 1817 he wrote the "42 Studies" (42 Etudes ou Caprices pour le Violon). Rodolphe Kreutzer was born in Versailles, France on November 16, 1766. He was a violinist with a natural talent for the instrument and he composed his first violin concerto when he was only twelve. Rodolphe became professor of violin at the Paris Conservatory in 1796.

Kreutzer is also remembered for the famous Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata, dedicated to him by Beethoven in 1806. Rodolphe Kreutzer died June 6, 1831 in Geneva switzerland, where he had gone to improve his health. Rodolphe Kreutzer left us this wonderful set of 42 etudes, that belong in every violin students music library. Tomaso Bear has invited a bakers dozen of his friends to come to Sheila's Corner and play the 42 Kreutzer Etudes. 1. I. Adagio Sostenuto - I have not played this one. It was never taught to me or even suggested I play it. I am sure it has many good features. 2. II. - Allegro Moderato - This is perhaps the most commercially famous of the etudes. A comedian named Jack Benny, who actually played the violin and owned a Stradivari used to come on stage and begin to play this etude. Parts of this etude can also be found in other beginner violin books. There are (depending on the edition you own many bowings to go with this etude.

The International has 66 possible practice bowings and the Schirmer has 25. Number 19 (dotted 16th, 32nd, dotted 16th, 32nd, done at the tip is best known as the Kreutzer. The different editions have different versions of fingerings. I find the Schirmer uses most 1st to 3rd and the International has more 2nd and 4th position. of course any violinist will edited it to suit his/her own fingerings. Andrew from the bboard suggests trying this on the string and off. Using a metronome and increasing the tempo is a fun way to approach the etude. Perhaps starting with the eighth note on 120 and advancing in increments to 152 to the eighth note...then if you can get that fast, advance from 160 to the eighth note increasing to 200 to the eight note or 100 to the quarter. 3. III. - Allegro Moderato - This can be practiced using the same bowings as are suggested for the II. etude.

Possible metronome settings might be to start at 88 to the 8th note and move upwards to 180. The downward shifting found in measures 12,13,14,15, are invaluable...and are a very good teaching aid. for students who need to learn proper dowward shifting technic. 4. IV. -Allegro - This may be marked allegro, but slow practice in the beginning is needed to be sure the notes are detached and even. A metronome marking suggestion might be to begin 69 to a quarter note and move 69-72-76-80-84-88 to the quarter note. 5. V. - Allegro Moderato - The Schirmer edition suggests 16 possible bowings to practice in their edition. The International does not. A suggested metronome beat might be to begin at 66 to the quarter note and advance to 108-112. The three flats in this etude are stumbling blocks to some students for intonation. There also are many accidentals. 6. VI. - Moderato a sempre martellato - martele!

hard work to keep the sound even. Firm storkes, near the tip of the bow. Up bows are harder to keep the even sound. I know some who can play a few lines of this etude nicely but cannot keep the stroke going for the entire etude. The word segue means to continue in the same manner of bowing style. Metronome markings might start at 60 to the quarter note and progress to 80. 7. VII. - Allegro Assai - more marcato, martele bowing. This time starting on an up bow and jumping a few strings. Use the tip of the bow and stop with pressure. A suggested metronome setting would be to start at 66 to the quarter notes and move up in increments,69-72-76-80-84-88-92-96-100. The International edition has a page of bowing suggestions to use for effective practice. 8. VIII. - Allegro non troppo - Have good string level awareness when playing this etude. Create musical phrases within it and look for patterns. Schirmer has a sete of extra bowings.

International edition has a set of extra bowings and extra rhythms. Andrew from teh bboard suggests varying on string, off string. Upbow and downbow staccato. Suggested metronome settings are: 104 to the 8th notes and then move up slowly 104-108-112-116-120-126. 9. IX. -Allegro moderato - Play the notes evenly, use the metronome to practice. There are extensions in this one. Suggested metronome settings are: start with 80 to the quarter note then move slowly 80-84-88-92-96-100-104-108 We all love to practice our Kreutzer Etudes. 10. X. - Allegro - watch your intonation on this one. It is a fun one to play. Begin with a metronome setting of 100 to the 8th note and move in increments up to 160...or the quarter note on 80..if you can. Be sure to restez in the upper positions when called for. 11. XI.

-Andante - This is an excellent etude to practice shifting(correctly). Use light fingers and know where you are going. be sure to take your thumb with you as you shift. Do not cheat and play this in incorrect positions. Use the positions that are marked in the music. Andrew from the bboard suggests stopping before every shift and practicing the guiding note before the next passage. 12. XII. - Allegro moderato - This is an enjoyable etude. The arpeggio work is a must for everyone. Try to know what key you are playing each one in. At the least know if you are playing a minor one or a major one. You will have to read an octave up on some of the arpeggios. Roll long with this one and enjoy it. 13. XIII. - Moderato - Keep your fingers down when you play this etude. Also try playing it as chords and know what chord you are playing. Practice it in chords a few times. You can be aggressive with this one. Andrew from the bboard suggests practicing in a chair with elbow on a low table. This will exercise the minimization of too much arm movements and easy wrist movements. 14. XIV.

- Moderato - I find this one easy in places and difficult in others. Some of the higher notes are a bit hard to hear in your head. It is a mine field of accidentals. Your little finger will get a workout. 15. XV. - Allegro non troppo (molto moderato) - It is time to trill! The Kreutzer Etudes have a great deal of trill work. The International edition has 11 different practice drills printed out. Four are suggested in the Schirmer edition. 16. XVI. - Moderato - This one follows with more trill exercises. Be sure you know the key you are in and if the trills are half step or whole step trills. Try to do all the different ones in groups of 6-7-8-9. 17. XVII. - Maestoso (Moderato)- Put your metronome on the eight note and remember to think of it in 12/8 time to begin with. Then try it in 4/4 thinking of the 3 eighth notes as triplets.

In this exercise you will learn to be able to control your trills so you can express your trills as you want. 18. XVIII. - Moderato - martele 19. XIX. - Moderato - Trills, trills, and more trills. Also there are different rhythms included to use to practice this etude 20. XX. Allegro - The suggested pizzicato is left hand pizzacato, some fingers are better than others to do this. A through knowledge of left hand pizzicato is good before attempting this. 21. XXI. - Moderato e sempre marcato Suggested practice, Metronome 112=eight note 22. XXII. - Moderato - More trills and ornamments.The rhythm is not effectted by the ornament. Four flats, four sharps, lots of accidentals. 23. XXIII. - Adagio (quasi Cadenza) - Kreutzer No. 23 is chock full of difficulties. I think of it as the �Chopin� etude because of the many unmeasured runs that need to sound clean, yet almost improvised.

My tricks: 1. Any time you have a nonmetrical figure with a �weird� number of notes in it, divide it up mentally and visually into metrical groupings. For example, the run in the first measure has 31 notes. My suggestion is to start by bracketing the C, B=, and A as a triplet, then all the other notes into groups of four. That�s only one possibility: you may prefer a different grouping. You�re not going to accent these groups, but it does give you a way to visualize the run and to practice it with the metronome. 2. Plan a fingering that goes with your groupings. If at all possible, change strings on the �beat� (first note of a bracketed group.) Try to shift on half steps instead of the traditional 1st to 3rd to 5th position fingerings.

And put your shifts if possible on a �beat� or strong place rhythmically (such as the third note of a four-note grouping.) So for that first measure I would suggest shifting from 1 to 1 on the low A to B=, then stay in 2nd position until shifting 2 to 2 on the high A to B=. Finally, shift down to first position on the C (fourth-to-last note.) 3. Focus on your string changes in the right elbow. It�s tempting to slow down at every string change unless you think about the elbow almost leading your bow to the new string. Exception: Alternating back and forth between adjacent strings (measures 15-18) should be initiated by the wrist. 4. The fingers of the left hand should move energetically, but hit the strings very lightly. This will match up with the very light bow pressure you�ll have to use in order to fit all those notes in one bow. Obviously, you need to use every centimeter of available bowhair. 5. The printing of your edition may be questionable � is the run slurred in with the fermata note? No need to make it any harder than it already is!

But I don�t think you should be splitting the bowing within the runs, except maybe measures 33, 39, and 40. You could also change bows in the middle of measures 2, 4, 10, 22, 24, 26, and possibly 34-36 (depending on what you did in measure 33.) Just make those bow changes smooth! 6. After you�ve made the runs sparkling clean, then consider how you could make them musical with rubato and/or dynamic change (either will be subtle, given the difficulties of saving bow!) 7. Measures 27-30 are an exercise in making dynamic changes while saving bow. The large crescendos and diminuendos can involve some change of bow speed; the �hairpins� are about bow weight. Practice first with perfectly even bow division and weight, then make the adjustments as needed. No. 23 notes provided by Professor Reed Smith 24. XXIV. - Allegro - Octaves. We all have to play them and they are very important in hand frame and position work and harmonics and need I say more.

International edition has a 24a. and a 24b. Wow- two etudes for the price of one. Andrew from the bboard suggests 24b - Single notes only, linked by slurs for intonation 25. XXV. - Allegro moderato - More octaves.. Begin down bow sometimes and try beginning upbow some times. Create different rhythms. 26. XXVI. - Moderato 27. XXVII. - Moderato - Play in the upper half of the bow, watch the half steps, especially if all fingers are not down. 28. XXVIII. - Grave 29. XXIX. - Moderato, molto legato - Tranquilly and very evenly, hold fingers down clos to fingerboard, practice in groups of 4 and then in groups of 8 and finally as written. 30. XXX. - Moderato - Good practice for future Mendelssohn 31. Begin with a metronome setting of 60 to the quarter note 32. XXXII. - Andante - begin using 2 bows to each meansure. 33.

XXXIII.Andante - Andrew from the bboard suggests fingering both notes of the thirds/double stops, but only playing one of them during the whole etude. Then switch to the other note the second time. 34. XXXIV. Andrew from the bboard suggests fingering both notes of the thirds/double stops, but only playing one of them during the whole etude. Then switch to the other note the second 35. Sonata for violin & piano No. 9 in… | Details | AllMusic google+ Description by John Palmer Although the "Kreutzer" Sonata, Op. 47, is dedicated to Rodolphe Kreutzer , the original dedication was to George P. Bridgetower (1779-1860), for whom the piece was written. Bridgetower, an African-Polish violinist who lived in London, toured Europe in 1802 and 1803. Upon his arrival in Vienna he was introduced by Prince Lichnowsky to Beethoven , who set about fashioning two movements to precede a finale he had originally intended for the Op. 30/1 sonata.

Because the date for Bridgetower's concert had been set, Beethoven had to work quickly to complete the virtuosic piece before its first performance by Bridgetower and the composer on May 24, 1803. Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831) was a French violinist of great renown whom Beethoven met in Vienna in 1798. Beethoven 's decision to dedicate the sonata to Kreutzer instead of Bridgetower was probably related to his intended move to Paris and a wish to ingratiate himself with French musical luminaries. ( Beethoven was also considering "Bonaparte" as a title for his Third Symphony.) Legend has it that Beethoven changed the dedication because he and Bridgetower quarreled over a woman. Kreutzer most likely never knew of the dedication, and it is almost certain that he never played the piece. The "Kreutzer" Sonata was published in 1805 by Simrock in Bonn and Birchall in London. Beethoven described the piece as "written in a very concertante style, like that of a concerto," explaining the internal conflict generally associated with his larger works.

Furthermore, the piano writing is much more powerful than in preceding works, anticipating the piano sonatas Opp. 53 and 54. Beethoven 's "new path" is everywhere evident in the first movement of the "Kreutzer" Sonata. The only slow introduction Beethoven ever wrote for a violin sonata is actually the only portion of the movement in A major, which gives way to A minor at the beginning of the Presto sonata-form section. Although thematic material is very abundant, Beethoven focuses on one theme from the closing group throughout the development, which spirals progressively deeper into flat-key territory, realizing the implications of B flat major's brief appearance early in the exposition. Development of the first theme does not occur until the lengthy, weighty coda, which is much more symphonic than chamber-style in conception. The vast dimensions and free formal treatment of Beethoven 's great middle-period works are not far away. More lighthearted than the preceding movement, the central Andante, in F major, is a set of variations. The third of the four variations is in the tonic minor.

In each variation, Beethoven stretches the melodic aspect of the theme nearly beyond recognition while maintaining the harmonic progression and pattern of repetition of the original. A tarantella rhythm and 6/8 time contribute to the finale's atmosphere of interminable forward motion, which is enhanced by the introduction of the first theme in a fugal treatment, The sonata-form movement features a second theme on the dominant and in 2/4, which shifts immediately back to 6/8 for the closing material. Because it was originally intended for the Sonata in A major, Op. 30/1, the finale was extant months before Beethoven composed the first two movements. The prominence of F major in the development section of the finale may have prompted Beethoven to compose the Andante in that key, as well as to touch on flat keys in the first movement. In Tolstoy's novella The Kreutzer Sonata, the work symbolizes the ultimate in the powerful sensuous appeal of music. Parts/Movements Zhang Le | Kreutzer 42 Studies | CD Baby Music Store Available as MP3, MP3 320, and FLAC files.

ABOUT THIS ALBUM Album Notes French violinist Rudolphe Kreutzer (November 16, 1766 – January 6, 1831) received his early training from his father, and later studied with Anton Stamitz. He was one of the most prominent violin soloists of his time, and was a professor at the Paris Conservatoire, where he co- authored a violin method with Pierre Rode and Pierre Baillot. These three violinists are said to represent the founding of the “French school” of violin playing. In addition to his active role as a teacher and violin soloist, Kreutzer was a prolific composer of opera (and for a time, conductor of the Paris Opera), chamber music, and violin concertos. Kreutzer met Beethoven in Vienna in 1798, and Beethoven dedicated his Opus 47 Sonata to Kreutzer in 1803. Beethoven’s Op. 47 was originally dedicated to the violinist George Bridgetower, who premiered it with Beethoven in 1803. The two later had a disagreement which ended their friendship, and Beethoven changed the dedication of the Opus 47 Sonata to Kreutzer.

Ironically, Kreutzer refused to play it, reportedly on the grounds that it had already been performed once, and was too difficult. Even so, the “Kreutzer Sonata” by Beethoven is today considered one of the great concert pieces for violin and piano. Despite his rejection of the great sonata by Beethoven, Kreutzer’s own work maintains a central role in violin study to the present day. While the 24 Caprices by Paganini may be more often performed, the 42 Studies by Kreutzer have served as the foundation of study for generations of violinists around the world. The 42 Studies address the most basic techniques, gradually increasing in difficulty and complexity. Because of their role in the early and intermediate stages of violin training, the Studies are seldom performed as concert works. Here, violinist Zhang Le gives us a rare and valuable gift: a performance of the complete 42 studies by an accomplished concert violinist. The pedagogical function of each étude is clear, and the listener is further inspired by these imaginative and charismatic performances. This recording serves as a model for the student and teacher - a reminder that the ultimate goal of any étude is to facilitate artistry through music making.

Question: Who dedicated his Kreutzer Sonata to a violinist who refused to play it?
Answer: Beethoven