One tends to think of Beethoven’s approach to C minor being one of struggle, and this is no exception. It opens in 4/4 with an "allegro con brio,” one of his favorite fast markings. The manly struggle of C minor yields to E-flat for the second subject. For the first time, Lou doesn’t have repeat marks for the exposition, and he slides right into development, which goes through no fewer than nine keys before the recap! The second subject in recapitulation appears in C Major as expected, but a long coda brings it all back to C minor with a small excursion into D-flat.
Up until now, Lou has written slow movements with heartfelt beauty, but he hasn’t reached the stage where a Beethoven slow movement is a conversation with God. Now, for the first time, he conducts one of those conversations with the Divine. This movement is in A-flat, marked “adagio cantabile,” but with a 2/2 signature to keep it from dragging. Your screen may get blurry as this movement progresses. The central panel turns to A-flat minor (7 flats)! Near the end he alternates between pizzicato (plucked strings, not a small pizza) and arco (bowed strings, not a brand of gasoline).
In third position is a scherzo, only the second time a Beethoven violin sonata is in a four movement format. This is a simple “allegro” in 3/4 and C Major. The violin part sounds at times like a buzzing bee. In the second part of the middle section, Lou steals a Russian folk melody for the first, but not the last, time.
The finale is an “allegro” in 2/2 that returns to C minor. This is a rondo, so we’ll be coming back to the first theme a lot. Yes, that’s a fugato as one episode! He wraps it up with a bravura “presto” coda.
This video features Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis.
Next week it’s another violin sonata and some variations for piano, violin and cello.