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Piano Sonata No. 21 in C 'Waldstein' Op. 53: III. Rondo
Mikhail Pletnev Lyrics


No lyrics text found for this track.

The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@charlesxii5804

All credits go to Ashish Xiangyi Kumar's other Waldstein video, I just made the times stamps accurate for this performance. If you have any other observations leave them below and I'll add them. Hopefully this helps someone!

Ludwig van Beethoven - Sonate, Op. 53. Dedicated to Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein, composed in 1804.

MVT I, Allegro con brio
EXPOSITION
00:00 – Theme 1
00:34 – Transition
00:52 – Theme 2, Part 1, in E(!) Major. The chorale, one of Beethoven’s typical melodic non-melodies, is built around the 5 descending notes in the RH of Theme 1. [0:04 and similar]
01:20 – Theme 2, Part 2
01:54 – Codetta (Note the “never-ending” modulating section at 1:59)
DEVELOPMENT
04:30 – The infinitely modulating section is expanded
04:37 – Theme 1, modulating. Note the prevalence of the 5-descending-note motif
04:56 – LH figuration from the transition joins Theme 1
05:10 – Theme 2, Part 2, modulating
05:55 – The 5-note descending motif appears in the LH, except now it’s shortened to 4 notes. Inversions of it then enter in the RH, then, at 6:10, figuration from the transition which leads to the
RECAPITULATION
06:16 – Theme 1
06:34 – The unexpected landing on the Ab signals a little spurt of new material, which leads back into a restatement of the main idea
07:00 – Transition, now in A min
07:19 – Theme 2 Part 1, which when it enters is still not synced-up with Theme 1, as it’s stubbornly in A Major. It takes some time to wander to A min, and then finally lands on the “correct” key: C Major.
07:46 – Theme 2 Part 2, C Major
08:21 – The “Codetta”, with the modulating idea still attached, which leads into what is by all accounts a pretty substantial
CODA
08:46 – Theme 1 enters blithely in Bb Major, as if the entire movement is going to repeat itself. In fact this Bb Major section recalls the opening, where the main idea is stated in Bb Major immediately after it’s presented in C Major.
08:50 – Well, now it’s clear this is not a repeat. More modulation and compression
09:00 – A pause on the dominant, which leads to a syncopated RH descent over the pulsating chords of Theme 1.
09:06 – Theme 1’s RH is now in the LH. Eventually it is used sequentially [9:12], and leads into a concerto-like cadenza [9:23].
09:41 – Theme 2 enters right where you’d expect a final cadence
10:16 – A final statement of Theme 1, leading into the ending cadence

MVT II, Introduzione. Adagio molto
10:33 – Prelude
11:45 – Melody
12:43 – Postlude

MVT III, Rondo. Allegretto moderato – Prestissimo
14:14 – A SECTION
15:20 – B SECTION
15:58 – Transition
16:23 – A SECTION
17:29 – C SECTION
18:18 – Transition
18:43 – Syncopated modulations
18:55 – Arpeggiated modulations, with the A theme implied by the LH
19:31 – Eerie circling around the dominant
20:00 – A SECTION
20:32 – B SECTION
21:07 – Transition. More extended dwelling on the dominant
21:40 – A SECTION / CODA
22:09 – Sudden modulating into Ab, with the A theme continuing in the LH
22:31 – The notorious RH octave glissandi
22:49 – Another gorgeous statement of the A theme, which slips into C min at 22:57, then into Ab, then into F min, then lands on an Italian sixth chord, before suspending itself on the dominant
23:18 – A big, chordal statement of the A theme, which leads into the final cadence

The Waldstein Sonata is one of Beethoven’s most expansive and uplifting works, but its instant likability sometimes obscures that fact that it’s a deeply restless and innovative work, structurally and texturally extraordinary in ways that sound natural only because the sonata is so well-put together.

Take the opening of the first movement. What kind of a sound is this? It’s tense without being dramatic, ambiguous without being vague, motoric and shapeless and aurally without any sense of harmony even though it’s just a C maj chord in root position, of all things. There’s also the tonal restlessness of this work: right after the C maj chord we get a secondary dominant, almost immediately followed by an unprepared shift down to Bb maj. (This is one of those moments that be played either as a funny gesture, or as something more mysterious.) The second theme group (which has a surprising link to the first theme in the form of a 5-note descending motif) is in E major, rather than the more normal G maj/F maj/A min. And the recapitulation is surprisingly playful – there’s tiny dashes of new material, and the second theme group enters in the rather flippant A maj, another “wrong” key. (There’s more, like this little infinitely flexible modulating idea, but that will be singled out below.)

The second movement, an extended introduction to the rondo, is one of Beethoven’s moat harmonically deceptive and moving slow movements, and the rondo itself is a blaze of wonder. There’s the A theme, hovering over a haze of blurred harmonies; a B theme which builds the second time it occurs into a huge orchestral peroration; a transitional motif, based on the A theme, which is both joyous and sad and noble at the same time; and an extended coda which is as developmental as it is brilliant. (The mere fact that the last movement is so weighty was pretty novel for the time – Beethoven gradually shifted the heavy lifting from the first to the last movements over his 32 sonatas.)



All comments from YouTube:

@charlesxii5804

All credits go to Ashish Xiangyi Kumar's other Waldstein video, I just made the times stamps accurate for this performance. If you have any other observations leave them below and I'll add them. Hopefully this helps someone!

Ludwig van Beethoven - Sonate, Op. 53. Dedicated to Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein, composed in 1804.

MVT I, Allegro con brio
EXPOSITION
00:00 – Theme 1
00:34 – Transition
00:52 – Theme 2, Part 1, in E(!) Major. The chorale, one of Beethoven’s typical melodic non-melodies, is built around the 5 descending notes in the RH of Theme 1. [0:04 and similar]
01:20 – Theme 2, Part 2
01:54 – Codetta (Note the “never-ending” modulating section at 1:59)
DEVELOPMENT
04:30 – The infinitely modulating section is expanded
04:37 – Theme 1, modulating. Note the prevalence of the 5-descending-note motif
04:56 – LH figuration from the transition joins Theme 1
05:10 – Theme 2, Part 2, modulating
05:55 – The 5-note descending motif appears in the LH, except now it’s shortened to 4 notes. Inversions of it then enter in the RH, then, at 6:10, figuration from the transition which leads to the
RECAPITULATION
06:16 – Theme 1
06:34 – The unexpected landing on the Ab signals a little spurt of new material, which leads back into a restatement of the main idea
07:00 – Transition, now in A min
07:19 – Theme 2 Part 1, which when it enters is still not synced-up with Theme 1, as it’s stubbornly in A Major. It takes some time to wander to A min, and then finally lands on the “correct” key: C Major.
07:46 – Theme 2 Part 2, C Major
08:21 – The “Codetta”, with the modulating idea still attached, which leads into what is by all accounts a pretty substantial
CODA
08:46 – Theme 1 enters blithely in Bb Major, as if the entire movement is going to repeat itself. In fact this Bb Major section recalls the opening, where the main idea is stated in Bb Major immediately after it’s presented in C Major.
08:50 – Well, now it’s clear this is not a repeat. More modulation and compression
09:00 – A pause on the dominant, which leads to a syncopated RH descent over the pulsating chords of Theme 1.
09:06 – Theme 1’s RH is now in the LH. Eventually it is used sequentially [9:12], and leads into a concerto-like cadenza [9:23].
09:41 – Theme 2 enters right where you’d expect a final cadence
10:16 – A final statement of Theme 1, leading into the ending cadence

MVT II, Introduzione. Adagio molto
10:33 – Prelude
11:45 – Melody
12:43 – Postlude

MVT III, Rondo. Allegretto moderato – Prestissimo
14:14 – A SECTION
15:20 – B SECTION
15:58 – Transition
16:23 – A SECTION
17:29 – C SECTION
18:18 – Transition
18:43 – Syncopated modulations
18:55 – Arpeggiated modulations, with the A theme implied by the LH
19:31 – Eerie circling around the dominant
20:00 – A SECTION
20:32 – B SECTION
21:07 – Transition. More extended dwelling on the dominant
21:40 – A SECTION / CODA
22:09 – Sudden modulating into Ab, with the A theme continuing in the LH
22:31 – The notorious RH octave glissandi
22:49 – Another gorgeous statement of the A theme, which slips into C min at 22:57, then into Ab, then into F min, then lands on an Italian sixth chord, before suspending itself on the dominant
23:18 – A big, chordal statement of the A theme, which leads into the final cadence

The Waldstein Sonata is one of Beethoven’s most expansive and uplifting works, but its instant likability sometimes obscures that fact that it’s a deeply restless and innovative work, structurally and texturally extraordinary in ways that sound natural only because the sonata is so well-put together.

Take the opening of the first movement. What kind of a sound is this? It’s tense without being dramatic, ambiguous without being vague, motoric and shapeless and aurally without any sense of harmony even though it’s just a C maj chord in root position, of all things. There’s also the tonal restlessness of this work: right after the C maj chord we get a secondary dominant, almost immediately followed by an unprepared shift down to Bb maj. (This is one of those moments that be played either as a funny gesture, or as something more mysterious.) The second theme group (which has a surprising link to the first theme in the form of a 5-note descending motif) is in E major, rather than the more normal G maj/F maj/A min. And the recapitulation is surprisingly playful – there’s tiny dashes of new material, and the second theme group enters in the rather flippant A maj, another “wrong” key. (There’s more, like this little infinitely flexible modulating idea, but that will be singled out below.)

The second movement, an extended introduction to the rondo, is one of Beethoven’s moat harmonically deceptive and moving slow movements, and the rondo itself is a blaze of wonder. There’s the A theme, hovering over a haze of blurred harmonies; a B theme which builds the second time it occurs into a huge orchestral peroration; a transitional motif, based on the A theme, which is both joyous and sad and noble at the same time; and an extended coda which is as developmental as it is brilliant. (The mere fact that the last movement is so weighty was pretty novel for the time – Beethoven gradually shifted the heavy lifting from the first to the last movements over his 32 sonatas.)

@charlesxii5804

@@SallesMusic I actually liked doing it because I got to effectively analyze the work, and I've never done that before

@cratowitdabag

I'm a 13 year old inspiring pianist, any tips?

@charlesxii5804

@@cratowitdabag I'm 14 lol

@adrianwright8685

@@cratowitdabag "aspiring" We'd have to here you to decide whether you are inspiring!

@xdgirl8886

@@charlesxii5804 Wow is this your first time analysing? I thought it was very well put together, and I love your little note at the end! Do you study music in depth? I definitely wasn't analysing when I was 14 hahaha. You sound very inspiring!

35 More Replies...

@ViceroyoftheDiptera

One of the finest examples of 'is a lot more difficult than it sounds despite the fact that it already sounds difficult'

@belume5917

exactly, i love the magical sound 1:24 has, places like these show beethoven's genius

@TheMoon0946

Yea its harder than moonlight sonata

@belume5917

@@TheMoon0946 defenitely

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