Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas are chronologically sparse. The first two date from 1796 and were published as Opus 5 (Day 75). The last two were composed in 1815 and published as Opus 102. Between those pairs is Opus 69, dating from about the same time as the Fifth Symphony.
“Far more than in the Opus 5 Sonatas, this work brings the two instruments into equilibrium and balance of function in a large-scale cello sonata for the first time. That characteristic, along with its thematic and motivic cogency, is why the Opus 69 Sonata formed the foundation of the nineteenth-century cello sonata repertoire as it emerged in works by Mendelssohn, Brahms, and others.” It is also “one of his more intricate and beautiful chamber music compositions.” (Lewis Lockwood, “Beethoven,” pp. 305, 304)
#Beethoven250 Day 209
Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major (Opus 69), 1807–08
Brazilian cellist Antonio Meneses and Lisbon-born pianist Maria João Pires.
The first movement of the Cello Sonata No. 3 begins with a lovely melody for the cello alone that forms the basis for much of the rest of this long movement. Melodic inventiveness characterizes the exposition, and I find the short development peculiarly haunting.
The 2nd movement of the Cello Sonata No. 3 is a through-composed five-part Scherzo and Trio whose syncopation obscures exactly which instrument is playing off the beat. Jan Swafford calls it “rhythmically quirky, ironically demonic, irresistible” (“Beethoven,” p. 473)
It’s not clear if the short Adagio Cantabile is a 3rd movement to the Cello Sonata No. 3 or an introduction to the final Allegro. Such lyrical beauty could last so much longer. The authors of “Beethoven’s Cello” call it “a fleeting dream that ends all too soon.” (p. 116)
Our disappointment at the brevity of the Opus 69 Adagio Cantabile is quickly vanquished by the good-natured Allegro Vivace finale, whose forestalling of the climax seems to remind us of the Fifth Symphony, yet coyly doesn’t follow the patterns we’ve come to expect.
Scholars disagree whether Beethoven wrote the words “Inter lacrimas et luctum” (“amid tears and grief” from Seneca) on the dedication copy of the score of the Opus 69 Cello Sonata. If so, he was likely commenting on his own mental state rather than the sonata.