Late in 1812, Beethoven completed the last of his ten sonatas for violin and piano, perhaps partially prompted by the arrival of the celebrated French violinist Pierre Rode in Vienna. It was first performed on 29 December 1812 with Archduke Rudolph on the piano.
In a letter to Archduke Rudolph a few days before 29 December 1812, Beethoven discussed the upcoming premiere of his Violin Sonata No. 10:
“The copyist will be able to begin work on the last movement very early tomorrow morning. Since in the meantime I myself have been engaged on several other works, I have not hurried unduly to compose the last movement merely for the sake of being punctual, the more so as in view of Rode’s playing I have had to give more thought to the composition of this movement. In our Finales we like to have fairly noisy passages, but R[ode] does not care for them — and so I have been rather hampered. — However, everything ought to go off well on Tuesday [the 29th].” (Anderson, Beethoven Letters No. 392)
The Violin Sonata No.10 is a long four-movement work, but very much unlike Beethoven’s last major chamber work, the Archduke Trio (Day 247). This work has a restraint and delicacy that achieves a kind of intimate stillness, particularly in the first movement.
#Beethoven250 Day 257
Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major (Opus 96), 1812
Violinist Benjamin Beilman (@benbeilman) and pianist Orion Weiss in a wonderful performance in a church in New Jersey.
The Violin Sonata No. 10 begins tentatively, eschewing flashiness, and taking a little while to fall into a comfortable groove. The hesitating gentleness of the unfolding of these endlessly inventive lyrical passages is utterly captivating.
“The general dynamic level is restrained and each melody, each pattern, each inflection is meticulously shared throughout by the two voices in turn or together, like lovers in rapt conversation” (Angus Watson, “Beethoven’s Chamber Music in Context,” p. 205)
The 2nd movement of the 10th Violin Sonata is an Adagio that begins with a hymn-like theme on the piano. The movement features both slow moving melodies on the violin to rhythmic piano accompaniment, and more improvisatory violin with calmer piano.
In his book “Beethoven’s Chamber Music in Context,” Angus Watson points out the appearance of the “Lebewohl” motif (Day 216) in the Adagio of the 10th Violin Concerto, first in the first three notes of the violin and then echoed by the piano, and later in the movement.
Watson suggests this “Lebewohl” motif may be Beethoven’s farewell to Antonie Brentano when she and her husband moved from Vienna to Frankfurt. Or, more innocently, the motif might have come to be recognized by Archduke Rudolph as Beethoven’s affection for him.
The short three-part Scherzo of the Violin Sonata No. 10 follows directly from the Adagio. The hard-edge Scherzo theme is contrasted with an exceptionally graceful Trio. The repeat of the Scherzo is not da capo but is followed by a Coda that takes some of the edges off.
The long finale of the Violin Sonata No. 10 begins as a set of variations on a folk-song melody, but then becomes more freeform, with asymmetrical variations, several changes of tempo, a rondo-like return of the main theme, some “fairly noisy passages,” & a bristling Presto coda.
Beethoven was not satisfied with the premiere of the Violin Sonata No. 10. Even before Pierre Rode’s arrived in Vienna, a deterioration in his playing had been noticed. For the sonata, Rode did not study the violin part beforehand and treated the occasion too casually.
In early January 1813, Beethoven wrote to Archduke Rudolph to request that he send Beethoven a copy of the score so that it could send it on to Rode for a second performance of the sonata on 7 January 1813:
“He will certainly not take it amiss that I send him the part, alas! most certainly not! Would to God that there were reasons to beg his pardon for doing so; for in that case, things would indeed be in a better state … (Anderson, Beethoven Letters, No. 402)
Pierre Rode stopped playing violin a few years later, although he continued to compose music for the violin. (Naxos recorded seven CDs of his music.)
When Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 10 was published in 1816, it was dedicated to the Archduke Rudolph.
For Maynard Solomon, soon after the Violin Sonata No. 10, “Beethoven’s creativity came almost to a full stop.” (“Beethoven,” p. 283). The next several years are often filled with compositions, but rarely are they as innovative or interesting.