Surely Beethoven’s Pathétique (Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13) remains one of the most exciting and satisfying sonatas ever composed. It’s so famous that it is all too easy to take it for granted: young pianists, once over their apprentice years, tend to overlook it in favour of the great middle period masterpieces and the last five sonatas. But audiences of all types and in all lands continue to respond to it with deepest pleasure: Beethoven speaks to us now as truthfully and honestly as he did in 1799.
Second in popularity only to the “Moonlight” (the sonata with the equally unforgettable nickname), many people really know only that sonata’s iconic first movement. Whereas I feel that the Pathétique is an even finer and more cohesive entity, even if certain elements of the Moonlight show a later, more developed style.
The opening of the Pathétique, that crashing, portentous C minor chord in the dark, rich lower register of the piano (and equally dramatic on a keyboard of Beethoven’s time) could be said to have changed the narrative of piano music for all time. Written on the cusp of the nineteenth century, it gives permission, as it were, for all the wonders of piano music that were to follow in the Romantic era. Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, the Russians were all influenced by it – everyone except for the French school which remained comparatively indifferent to Beethoven, drawing rather on their own noble keyboard heritage.
Beethoven was by now, at the age of 28 or 29, no stranger to the sonata, having already published seven fine solo sonatas, at least two of which are masterpieces (op 7 and op 10 no 3). There are also two cello sonatas op 5, the second of which, in G minor, I think of as his first masterpiece in any form, and three fine, slightly lighter violin sonatas op 10.
What is new in the Pathétique is the absolute mastery of diction: not a note too many or too few, or that could be written any other way. The first movement is also famous for its powerfully experimental form, with a slow introduction which then recurs at two key moments, interrupting the headlong, exhilarating rush of the main Allegro.
The Adagio cantabile that follows presents that rare occurrence in Beethoven, a fully formed, rounded off and utterly beautiful tune. If the concluding Rondo lives at a lower level of intensity, it maintains the seriousness with an air of quiet pathos. The sonatas of Mozart may be at times sublime, but Beethoven’s Pathétique is the first great human sonata.
– Julian Jacobson
New video lecture series
In a new video lecture series on the Online Academy, pianist Julian Jacobson gives a detailed walk-through of the work. Whether you’re embarking upon playing it or simply want to discover more about it, these videos give extensive insights on style, interpretation and performance.
Click here to view the video index on the Online Academy or you can watch an excerpt from the introductory video here:
Further links & resources
- Click here to view Julian’s author page on the Online Academy or click here to view his previous blog post on embarking upon Beethoven’s piano sonatas.
- Click here to find out more and to purchase access to a recording of Julian’s online presentation on approaching four of the more accessible movements from Beethoven’s Sonatas.
- Click here to view an index of our Beethoven on Board series which features detailed video lectures on Beethoven’s first five sonatas (or click here for a blog preview for the first sonata).
- Click here for more information on Julian’s recommended edition for this work (Bärenreiter). These editions are also available on the digital sheet music app Oktav and readers can also use discount code PRACTISINGTHEPIANO30 to get 30% off an annual subscription to Oktav.