Beethovens piano nocturnes

First, thanks to everyone who replied to my Mozart Nocturnes post. I was mainly interested in piano music, and I found a CD played by Zacharias with all of the recommended Mozart piano music.

Okay, on to Beethoven. Let me make it perfectly clear that I am interested in piano music, solo or otherwise. Fur Elise seems to be close to a nocturne. What else would be nocturnish? Brendel has a CD Opus 35 'Eroica', WoO 59 Fur Elise, Bagatelles Opus 126, and Ecossaises WoO 83. Are these all similar to Fur Elise in style? What other Beethoven piano music should I look for?

Though there's no 'moonlight' in it, I can accept your categorization of that sonata. But the 4th PC? Amazed that you hear it that way - maybe all great men *don't* think alike. For me the 4th is a celebration. No reason one can't celebrate at night, but it ain't a 'nocturne'.

A nocturne is a quiet, meditative piece suggestive of night or evening, often in ABA form, and Mozart's Serenata Notturna notwithstanding, the title seems to have come into play mainly with Romantic composers like Field, Chopin, and Fauré. The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven is perhaps 'nocturnal' in mood in the opening movement, but since that movement forms part of a classical sonata, the work as a whole cannot be characterized as a nocturne. (Beethoven described it as a 'sonata quasi una fantasia,' but that may be because the opening movement is slow and the main sonata allegro movement is the finale.) But even the opening movement of the Moonlight is in a somewhat modified sonata form. I'll leave it to others to decide whether Beethoven's music is bathed in sunlight, overcast, partly sunny, and the like, but as Beethoven's most usual forms tend to be the classical sonata forms, I don't think you're going to get too far searching for Romantic nocturnes in

That's what I thought before posting my Mozart's Nocturnes post. But one poster suggested that I'd have better luck with Beethoven. I think I'll just listen to the classical radio station some more to hear more piano music.

It may be just barely possible that you're getting just a hair technical here, Larry. If you care to consider a 'nocturne' as 'introspective music that evokes night-shadows', even C.P.E. made 'em.

And if you care to consider a 'nocturne' as 'fried chicken' even

Coronel Sanders made 'em.

As long as it's just barely possible, and just a hair . . .

But I tend to think of music in musical terms rather than meteorological ones. If, however, Lee is simply looking for rather quiet and introspective Beethoven pieces, there are no doubt any number of candidates. The first movement of the Sonata #28 in A, Op. 101, will do nicely, as will the slow movement of the Hammerklavier Sonata (#26 in Bb, Op. 106), and the slow movements of the Sonatas Opp. 109 and 111. If you are interested in the string quartets, the slow movement of #8, Op. 59/2, was supposedly inspired by a vision of a starry night. But to get to the 'nocturnal' in all these works, you have to deal with all the remaining movements that are not, and that may be more aggressive, animated, lively, etc. Beethoven does not as a rule write isolated slow character pieces of the nocturne type, such as you'd find in Chopin.

Perfectly true. The poster is looking for music of a more lyrical character than most of Beethoven's. Nevertheless the Op. 90 and Op. 101 sonatas include music that might fit the bill.

-david gable

Whatever else may be to it, for some reason it just strikes me as taking place all at nighttime. I can't pinpoint anything which makes it seem that way, but I imagine a phrase of the concerto in my head, any phrase, and it's always under cover of night.